Buckle Credit Card: Should You Be Using It?
I’ve been shopping at The Buckle ever since high school – I like the styles and brands they carry and the prices are usually pretty good. Because I shop there so much, I decided to take a closer look at the Buckle card to see if it would make sense. Here’s what I found out…
Interest rate?
If you ever carry a balance, even if it’s just for a short amount of time, the Buckle credit card is not what you want to be using. As of Jan. 2011 (the time of writing this) the APR on this baby was a whopping 24.99%… ouch! So if you’re the type of person that doesn’t always pay in full, stay away this thing is dangerous!
Rewards?
This is why I was interested in the credit card from Buckle in the first place. If you’re going to spend money, you might as well earn credit card rewards for doing so, am I right?
Here’s a lowdown on the Buckle card rewards program:
- Every 4 months is a different “B Rewards” period.
- For every $300 charged during a given “B Rewards” period, you get $10 to use towards a future purchase.
- From what I can gather on their website, it appears those $10 reward credits expire about 2 months after they are issued.
Classic vs. Black?
Everyone starts off with the “Classic” Buckle credit card. The website states there’s a minimum credit limit of $250.
The “Black” version of the Buckle card is given after $500+ is spent annually on the “Classic” card. To maintain this level you need to keep spending at least $500 annually.
The extra benefits on the Black version are free shipping on domestic orders and 100 bonus points if a purchase is made during the month of the cardholder’s birthday. Sorry, but if you were expecting benefits of a concierge service and a private jet charter, you will need to turn to the real black credit card from AmEx 
Is It Worth It?
After reviewing the application, I was pretty disappointed with the Buckle credit card and here’s why…
- $10 in rewards for $300 in spending only equals a 3.33% rebate. That’s not very good considering there are major credit cards out there which give up to 5% at all clothing stores.
- The birthday bonus on the black version isn’t very exciting. If 300 points = $10 rewards, then 100 bonus points = $3.33 in value.
- What happens to spending that’s more or less than $300? Like if I spend $500 during a 4 month “B Rewards” period, will the other $200 carry over to the next period? I might be wrong, but unfortunately I see nothing on their website which suggests that it would be carried over.
- The interest rate is ridiculous.
What I Recommend Instead (sponsored offer)
I use a credit card from Discover that gives 5% on rotating categories, including department stores and clothing stores (all of them!). I has no annual fee and you can use at Buckle! There is a regular and student version, both have the 5% rewards. Check out this sweet sponsored sign up bonus that you get with it:
