The Scheels Credit Card can indeed be a decent one for regulars who don’t mind redeeming rewards at the sporting goods store alone. In this guide, is every detail you need.
The Scheels credit card is a co-branded store charge card that’s well suited for heavy users of the Midwestern-based sporting goods chain. To apply for the card, applicants must have a Scheels account or enroll in one for free to do so.
From First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), the card is restricted in ways most store cards are: it earns bonus rewards on Scheels purchases only, and rewards are redeemable only for purchases made with the brand. Despite that, the card may provide savings for loyal Scheels shoppers.
What do Scheels Cards Shoppers Get?
Scheels offers three credit cards in total: the Scheels Visa card, the Scheels Premier Edition Visa card, and the Scheels Secured Visa card.
Each of these three cards offers rewards (not in the form of cash back, but in the form of Passion Points that are each valued at 1 cent) to be redeemed in-store. Here is what each card offers:
- The Scheels Visa card with no annual fee earns 3 points for each dollar of purchases at Scheels and 1 point for each dollar of purchases elsewhere.
- The Scheels Premier Edition Visa card earns 5 points for each dollar of purchases at Scheels and 1.5 points for each dollar of purchases elsewhere. It features a $0 annual fee.
The customers are required to spend over $25,000 every year within a calendar year on the Scheels Visa card to become eligible for the card. That means you cannot apply for the Premier card, but rather you can be upgraded to the Premier card by meeting the annual spending requirement.
Visa card account holders also have the option of applying for the Scheels Secured Visa card, which enables card users to build credit. As a secured card, Scheels requires customers to fund a security deposit (in $50 increments and ranging from $500 to $5,000) at application, which is also their credit line.
The card is rewarded the same way the Scheels non-premier Visa card is: 3 points for each $1 spent at Scheels and 1 point for each $1 spent anywhere else.
You don’t need to have a Scheels account to apply, though the Secured Visa does carry an annual fee—$35—which is not usual with store credit cards.
How to Redeem Points From The Scheels Credit Card
Unlike other comparable store cards, the Scheels points redemption process is not complex and is automatic. Cardholders receive a $25 Scheels gift card at the end of a billing cycle for each 2,500 points that are accumulated with the card.
Shoppers can elect to receive a plastic or digital gift card, in values up to $1,000 per transaction, which can be used both online and in stores.
Points don’t expire, but note that it may take anywhere from 30 to 60 days after the date points are posted to your account to receive a gift card.
Despite a generally uncomplicated redemption process, as with most co-branded store cards, points earned with the Scheels card are redeemable only with the brand, which can be restrictive.
For more general rewards, look into a rewards card that gives cash back that you can use to buy something besides Scheels.
What are the Earnings From Scheels Credit Card?
You will earn 2% cash back on qualifying purchases and redeem it for gift cards, statement credit, etc. As a new cardholder, you’ll get a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months and a 0% intro APR on balance transfers.
12 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% variable APR. A sign-up bonus is available, too: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
For a higher rewards rate on certain purchases, you can rely on the $0-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express.
It provides 3% back at U.S. supermarkets for up to $6,000 in purchases annually; 3% back at U.S. gas stations for up to $6,000 in purchases annually; 3% back on U.S. online department store purchases, composite and specialty store purchases, for up to $6,000 in purchases annually; and 1% back on all other purchases.
Cash back only comes in the form of a statement credit but is more valuable than the Scheels card offers. This card also has a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months for new cardmembers, then the standard APR of 20.24%-29.24% variable APR.
The sign-up bonus will also pay for purchases made at Scheels. Earn a $200 statement credit when you make $2,000 in purchases with your new card in the first 6 months.
A Final Note
The Scheels Card promotion includes the following: Cardmembers can get 0% APR for 6 months when they charge $500 or more in a single transaction at Scheels.
Unlike with the special financing on some other store credit cards, this is not a deferred interest promotion. That means that there will not be any interest quietly accumulating during the promotional period that you’ll be paying later.
Instead, after you make the necessary $500 or more purchase in a single transaction, you’ll get 0% interest for 6 months on the individual transaction purchase itself.
If you pay your balance in that timeframe, you won’t owe any interest. And if you do have a balance remaining, you’ll only be charged interest on what’s outstanding past that date.
With each interest-free period, any other purchases you make that are not eligible for special financing will also be charged the card’s regular interest rate.
A 0% APR time, in which the interest is really forgiven, is rare for a store charge card. Almost all have special financing in the form of deferred interest, which is quite costly over the long run.
