The Sephora Visa credit card may not really have a limited rewards program, and the expiration rule only helps extremely high-frequency customers. Even they won’t save much.
The Sephora visa credit card, issued by Comenity Bank, are store cards that provide additional rewards at the chain of stores that sell cosmetics.
But depending on which one you are approved for, non-Sephora rewards are limited or even zero. Unless you’re shopping at Sephora on the regular for beauty splurges, you’ll at best receive occasional discounts of a few dollars on a purchase. In most cases, you’ll be better off with a generic cash-back credit card.
The Sephora Credit Card
Depending on your credit history and other information that you provide on your card application, you may qualify for one of these Sephora credit cards:
The Sephora Credit Card, which may be used to buy products at U.S. Sephora department stores or online at the Sephora website. Which can be used where Visa cards are accepted. Both cards have a $0 annual fee.
Are there Rewards to Earn from the Sephora Credit Card?
Both cards earn 4% back (reward, not cash back) on every $1 spent at U.S. Sephora stores or online at the Sephora website.
The Sephora Visa Credit Card also earns 1% back for every $1 on everything else purchased. Plus, as of November 2024, it earns a sign-up bonus: $20 in rewards when you spend $500 within the first 90 days outside Sephora.
Though 4% back is a good rewards rate at Sephora, the Visa version of the card is not particularly useful for any other kind of expense.
Get the most out of it by using it in combination with another rewards credit card to earn bonus rewards on non-Sephora expenses or a different credit card that can serve as an overall rewards accumulator.
What are the Advantages of the Sephora Credit Card?
As a card member of Sephora, you can be enrolled in Beauty Insider, the company loyalty program. That implies that you will earn Beauty Insider points as well as credit card rewards on all eligible purchases, and you can combine these two sources of rewards to spend on future purchases.
That 4% rewards rate comes only if you happen to be shopping at freestanding Sephora stores. Sephora kiosks in department stores, as well as stores in stores, don’t count. If you don’t have an eligible Sephora store close to where you live, you can still earn that same high rewards rate when you shop online from Sephora.
Another option to consider if you have a go-to card for all your purchases is the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which pays 2% cash back on all qualified purchases, not just at Sephora.
It also provides a sign-up bonus, which can cover some Sephora purchases: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after you spend $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
Benefits of the Sephora Credit Card
The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, for example, is able to offer 3% cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases, up to $6,000 per year, and 3% cash back on U.S. purchases made online through websites.
On up to $6,000 spent per year; and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations on up to $6,000 spent per year. All other purchases that qualify earn 1% cash back. It also has a sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card within your first 6 months.
Bottom Line
You can redeem rewards only at U.S. Sephora stores, not Sephora stores in stores or at sephora.com. You earn a $5 credit card reward for every 125 reward dollars you earn, and rewards are paid in $5 increments.
Those rewards are more fleeting than a bottle of cologne left in the sun on a windowsill. Earned reward dollars expire in 18 months, while you’ve got 90 days after the day those credit card rewards accrue to spend them.
That is, as soon as you’ve earned that $5, you don’t have long to use it. That also makes it hard to build up points in the hopes of paying for the cost of a major purchase; forget a deep discount on that $500 blow dryer you’ve been eyeing.
