Posted by: John S Kiernan

Rating: 4.7 / 5

The Verdict: The Old Navy Credit Card is a superb offer for people who do a lot of their shopping at Old Navy and its corporate siblings: Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. Not only does the card score you a 15% discount on your first purchase at OldNavy.com after account approval, but it also awards you the points equivalent of 5% cash back at those stores. Plus, it doesn’t charge an annual fee.

As a result, it would yield roughly $184 in rewards over the first two years of use, based solely on the average person’s annual clothing budget of $1,846. In fact, it would likely amount to much more considering that earning 5,000 points in a calendar year, which you can do by spending as little as $1,000, qualifies you for “Navyist” status and a 20% quarterly rewards bonus. You’re therefore looking at earning about $221 during your first two years as a cardholder.

The Old Navy Credit Card is not, however, a worthwhile financing tool. It doesn’t offer 0% introductory rates of any kind, and its 25.49% regular APR is significantly higher than the market average for credit cards that require “fair” credit for approval. That means you should always pay your bill in full when using this card.

On that note, it’s important to point out that approval for an Old Navy Credit Card won’t mean the same thing for everybody. That’s because both the Old Navy Visa and the Old Navy Store Card are on the table when you submit an application, with the former being reserved for people with good credit and the latter available to those with fair credit. The two offers are basically identical, save for the store card’s use being limited to Old Navy-family purchases and the Visa offering the points equivalent of 1% cash back on all other purchases. And those differences shouldn’t concern you too much, considering that most people apply for an Old Navy Credit Card specifically to save at Old Navy, and 1% is merely the market-average earning rate for a rewards card, making it quite easily replaceable.

Keep that in mind as you take a closer look at this excellent retail credit-card offer below.

The Highlights

• 15% First-Purchase Discount: A 15% discount will apply to the first purchase that you make at OldNavy.com following approval for an Old Navy Credit Card. This offer expires 90 days after you open your account and is not applicable to the purchase of gift cards or to shipping costs. Such qualifications are to be expected, of course, and if you plan things strategically, this particular card feature can provide one heck of a welcome bonus. After all, there is no cap on the amount that you can save. 

• Up To 5 Points Per $1 Spent: Although the Old Navy Card’s initial discount does not apply to a purchase made at Gap, Banana Republic or Athleta, its ongoing-rewards structure does. You will earn 5 points per $1 spent at each of those stores, which translates to 5% cash back when you consider that 500 points (the minimum redemption amount) are worth a $5 gift certificate. Purchases made elsewhere, assuming you’re approved for the Visa version, earn 1 point per $1 spent, the equivalent of 1% cash back and roughly the market average for a rewards card. 

• No Annual Fee: Odds are you aren’t going to make the Old Navy Credit Card your sole spending vehicle. It’s excellent when it comes to clothes shopping, but the Old Navy affiliation doesn’t do you much good at the gas pump, for instance. That’s why the card’s lack of an annual fee is so important. After all, you probably don’t want to pay for what amounts to a specialist in your credit-card portfolio, which you may or may not use on a regular basis.

The Lowlights

• Points Expire: If you don’t use this card to make a purchase for 24 months, any unredeemed points that you’ve earned will expire. What’s more, although there is no limit on the number of points that you can earn in a calendar year, you cannot redeem more than $250 worth of points in any single billing period. You should therefore make sure to redeem on a regular basis so as to avoid a stockpile of earnings that will take months to unload when you’re ready to close your account. 

• Very High Regular APR: The Old Navy Credit Card charges interest at a 25.49% annualized rate. That’s high, even for a credit card. Just consider that the average “good-credit” credit card has a 18.14% APR and the average store credit card has a 24.30% APR, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report.

  With that being said, Old Navy sells affordably priced clothing, not big-ticket electronics or home appliances, so you’ll hopefully be able to always pay your bill in full and escape this dark side of the Old Navy Card. 

• No 0% Introductory Interest Rates: Although most Old Navy shoppers probably don’t find themselves needing 0% financing capabilities too often, the Old Navy Card’s lack of such an offer is important to note for a couple of reasons. For starters, many other store-affiliated cards do provide special financing of some sort, which creates a point of differentiation between the Old Navy Card and other offers. What’s more, the Old Navy Card is a Visa, which means its use is not limited to the retailer. That in turn brings outside financing needs into the equation and underscores this card’s unsuitability for certain types of consumers. 

• 3% Foreign Transaction Fee: Rarely will an Old Navy shopping trip take you beyond U.S. borders, but life might. And if the Old Navy Credit Card is your only plastic, any purchase that is either made or processed abroad will be inflated by 3%. It could therefore affect you if you travel outside the country or make purchases through internationally based merchants. And if you’re thinking that you can simply convert hard currency for use abroad, keep in mind that credit cards provide far cheaper exchange rates.

Other Things To Consider

• Reach “Navyist” Status By Spending $1,000+ Per Year: If you amass at least 5,000 points in a calendar year, you will qualify for “Navyist” status. This scores you a 20% quarterly rewards bonus, free shipping for online orders within the Old Navy family and free basic alterations on items purchased at Banana Republic.

  Upgrades are processed 90 to 120 days after you reach the 5,000-point threshold. Your account must be in good standing for you to benefit, and you have to qualify anew each year. 

• Up To $10 In Account-Communication Bonuses: You’ll get 500 bonus points for enrolling to receive paperless monthly account statements. You’ll also get 500 points if you provide your email address for the purpose of receiving notifications. Considering that 500 points can be redeemed for a $5 gift certificate, you’re looking at an easy $10 in savings. 

• Presale Access & Exclusive Deals: These are both self-explanatory and simultaneously uninformative. Old Navy doesn’t offer much detail on these particular perks, but you have to figure even murky access to presales and deals is better than none.

Compared To The Competition

 

	Old Navy Credit Card	Gap Credit Card	Walmart® Credit Card	Kohl's Credit Card	TJX Credit Card	Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards
Annual Fee	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Initial Bonus	15% discount on the first purchase	15% discount on the first purchase	10% discount on purchases made the day you open the account	30% discount on the first purchase An additional 15% discount when the card arrives in the mail	10% discount on the first purchase	$100 cash after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months
Ongoing Rewards	5 points per dollar spent at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases	5 points per dollar spent at Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases	3% discount on Walmart.com purchases 2% discount on Murphy USA & Walmart gas stations 1% discount on all other purchases	N/A	5 points per dollar spent on purchases at T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Sierra Trading Post 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases	1.5% cash back on all purchases
2-Year Rewards	$221	$221	$782	N/A	$184	$956
Intro Financing	Not offered	Not offered	Not offered	Not offered	Not offered	0% on Purchases and Balance transfers for 9 months (3% fee)
Regular APR	25.49%	25.49%	17.15% to 23.15%	24.49%	27.49%	13.49% to 23.49%
Editors’ Rating	4.7 Stars	3.5 Stars	2.5 Stars	4.8 Stars	4.5 Stars	4.4 Stars
Winner	Walmart® Credit Card			Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards

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