The Dillards credit card can be valuable, but you’ll get a lot more out of it with other, less restrictive credit cards. Is there more? Tag along!
Is the Dillards Credit Card Real? Of course! It is an option for getting a discount on apparel, cosmetics, home items, and other merchandise carried by the department store brand’s more than 270 locations.
Frequent Dillard’s shoppers can benefit from using the card, but it doesn’t compare to general rewards credit cards.
Is There More to the Dillard Credit Card?
If you apply for the Dillard’s card, you might just end up with one of two cards:
- The Dillard’s credit card: A closed-loop card that can only be used at Dillard’s in-store and online.
- The Dillard’s Mastercard: An open-loop card that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
If you qualify for both cards, you can choose which one. Both Dillard’s credit card options earn 2 points per $1 spent at Dillard’s, regardless of whether you shop online, in-store, through the catalog, or by phone.
The Mastercard option also earns 2 points per $1 spent at U.S. gas stations and grocery stores and 1 point on all other purchases. For every 1,500 points earned, you get a $10 rewards certificate or a 10%-off shopping pass—your choice. But you have to do a bit of work to make a choice.
For instance, you’ll have to call the customer service number on your statement, or the option will revert to a 10%-off shopping pass. Your selection remains in effect unless you change it.
Does the Dillard Credit Card Have Restriction?
Depending on how much Dillard’s shopping you do, you may hit limits. For example, you can earn only four reward certificates or one shopping pass per billing cycle. And there are annual limits too: You can’t earn more than 48 reward certificates or a dozen shopping passes per calendar year.
On top of that, unredeemed rewards will expire at the end of the 12th month after they’re earned. That’s a lot of variables to manage as a cardholder. If you’d prefer rewards to be simpler, without limits, check to see if you may qualify for a credit card that provides a flat 2% cash back everywhere.
If you possess good credit, you can look into something like the Citi Double Cash Card, which rewards 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay it off.
That’s more valuable than the six-tenths-of-a-cent per point you receive if you choose the $10 rewards certificate on the Dillard’s credit card.
What are the Dillard Credit Card Benefits?
When you open a Dillard’s credit card, you’ll get a 10%-off shopping pass if you charge $100 on the same day. The shopping pass will be enclosed in your first statement as a bar code that you can use to make purchases in stores or online.
It’s a small discount compared to those provided by some store credit cards—and compared to introductory offers on general rewards credit cards, it’s crumbs.
With a good credit score of 690 or higher, a card like the $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card can offer a much richer sign-up offer: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
Is there a Restriction?
Yes, that’s a bigger sum of spending to attain, yet you have more time to accumulate it, and you’re not restricted to spending at a specific store.
The Active Cash also earns 2% cash back on purchases, and it does have an intro offer: 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% variable APR.
Final Words
As a cardholder, you’ll be in either the “Classic” or “Elite” status level. You’ll have to charge $2,000 or more in a calendar year on the card to move up from the former to the latter.
Elite status brings with it bonus point promotions, free gift wrapping, and standard shipping, but you’ll have to continue making purchases of $2,000 or more annually to continue receiving Elite benefits.
While these perks are nice to have, they are not likely to be worth going out of your way to meet a spending requirement, unless you can do so on purchases you would have made anyway.
