Home Depot Consumer Credit Card 2024 review: A flimsy choice to finance a project

Editor’s note: This article contains updated information from a previously published story.

There are better ways to finance a renovation or construction project than with this card – including another card from Home Depot.

Home Depot Consumer Credit Card * The information for the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. basics

• Annual fee: $0.
• Welcome bonus: $25 off a purchase of $25 up to $299, $50 off a purchase of $300 up to $999 or $100 off a purchase of $1,000 or more (excluding tax and delivery fees) within 30 days of account opening, valid through 7/31/24. Plus, six months special financing on qualifying purchases of $299 or more.
• Rewards: None.
• Intro APR: 0% APR on purchases over $299 if balance is paid in full within 6 months. If not, regular interest is charged from the purchase date. This is a deferred interest offer and not the same as a typical 0% APR offer that doesn’t have the balance paid in full requirement and instead any remaining balance is subject to the card’s regular APR.
• APR: 29.99% fixed APR on purchases. 
• Other perks and benefits: One year to make returns, up to 24 months of special financing during promotions, zero liability on unauthorized charges. 
• Does the issuer offer a preapproval tool? No, but it does offer a pre-qualifying tool which will indicate the likelihood of approval but is not a guarantee.
• Recommended credit score: Fair to excellent.

About the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card

The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card barely has a leg to stand on when it comes to offering value. Although the card has no annual fee, there’s little in the way of cardholder benefits. Mostly, it dangles the promise of some discounts and potential savings on your Home Depot spending. You can receive $25 off a purchase of $25 up to $299, $50 off a purchase of $300 up to $999 or $100 off a purchase of $1,000 or more (excluding tax and delivery fees) within 30 days of account opening, valid through 7/31/24. Plus, six months special financing on qualifying purchases of $299 or more.

If your goal is to get some breathing room on a big project, consider if that six-month offer is really going to be enough time to pay off the balance in full. Otherwise you’re going to get walloped after six months with a hefty interest charge on top of your original balance. A better choice might be the Home Depot Project Loan * The information for the Home Depot Project Loan has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. card, which functions like an installment loan with the retailer, which offers fixed monthly payments and much longer repayment terms.

There are no meaningful benefits to this card, aside from the discounts and deferred interest option, other than the option to return items up to a year after purchasing and a standard zero fraud liability policy. The other potential perk is that it might be possible to get accepted for the card with a fair credit score and then use the card to build your credit score to ultimately apply for a different, better card. But if credit-building is your goal, there are plenty of better ways to tackle that project than this card. Go for a card designed to help you build credit that comes with some useful perks to boot.

Pros

• No annual fee: You do not have to worry about paying an annual fee for this card. 
• Special financing: Purchases over $299 receive an intro APR as long as the balance is paid within six months. 
• Extended return window: Cardholders can return items up to one year after purchasing, which is four times longer than non-cardholders. 

Cons

• No rewards system: You are not getting much benefit from the card, as there is no earning potential. 
• Deferred interest: If balances are not paid in full within six months, the standard 29.99% fixed APR applies from the date of purchase. 
• Other cards offer more. There are better ways to finance a big project than with this card.

Home Depot Consumer Credit Card APR

Receive 0% APR on purchases over $299 if balance is paid in full within 6 months. If not, regular interest is charged from the purchase date. This is a deferred interest offer and not the same as a typical 0% APR offer that doesn’t have the balance paid in full requirement and instead any remaining balance is subject to the card’s regular APR. The card has a regular APR of 29.99% fixed. Balance transfers are not allowed and the minimum interest charged is $2. If you miss your payment, a late payment fee of up to $40 can be applied to your account.

Cardholder benefits

The Home Depot Card has two benefits outside of delayed interest: an extended return window and $0 fraud liability. Cardholders can make a return up to one year after the date of purchase, which is significantly longer than the 90-day return window for those who don’t own a Home Depot card. Cardholders are not held liable for unauthorized purchases made on their card. 

Occasionally, promotional offers extend financing for up to 24 months, but these cannot be predicted. 

How to get the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card

To get the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card, you fill out an application in-store check online to see if you prequalify. Your basic information including legal name, address and Social Security number are required to apply. If you are certain that you want to get the card, you can go ahead and apply, but note that it will result in a hard credit inquiry.

How the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card compares to other cards 

Home Depot Consumer Credit Card vs. Lowe’s® Advantage Card * The information for the Lowe’s® Advantage Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The biggest retail competitor to Home Depot is Lowe’s. The Lowe’s Advantage Card is a store card, like the Home Depot Consumer Card, but offers a little more financing flexibility. Lowe’s cardholders can choose between an upfront 5% off eligible purchases or orders made at U.S. store locations and Lowes.com, six months special financing, or 84 fixed monthly payments at reduced APR. This already makes it more advantageous over the Home Depot card, as it gives the option to make payments over multiple years at a lower APR or simply take a discount at each purchase. The Lowe’s card has no annual fee. 

Home Depot Consumer Credit Card vs. Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi * The information for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

You can do some moderate home improvement shopping at Costco. With the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi * The information for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , cardholders can earn 4% cash back on gas and EV charging for the first $7,000 per year then 1%, 3% cash back on restaurants and travel purchases, 2% cash back at Costco and Costco.com and 1% cash back on all other purchases. A Costco membership is required to apply. Although there is no annual fee, you will need a Costco membership, which starts at $60. 

The ability to earn cash back puts this card ahead of the Home Depot card. The card has a 20.49% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. Balance transfers must be completed within two months from account opening and a fee of either $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies, so you might need to space out your bigger buys to avoid paying high interest rates. 

Home Depot Consumer Credit Card vs. Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card * The information for the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If your goal is a card that can help build your credit, consider the Petal 2 card (issued by WebBank). It charges no annual fees, foreign transaction fees or returned payment or late fees. The card has a 18.24% to 32.24% variable APR based on creditworthiness. You can get 1% cash back right away and up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments. Plus, earn 2% to 10% cash back at select merchants. 

The Petal 2 is designed to help you build a positive credit history, so it reports to all three of the major credit bureaus. You can track your score and learn about credit right in the app. This is a great example of a card that offers meaningful perls while helping you build your credit profile.

Should you get the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card?

The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card is like using a flat head screwdriver in a Phillips head screw. Sure, it can get the job done, but there are far better tools to use. The tight timeline to repay the deferred interest offer is restrictive for any large renovations that you may want a longer runway to pay off. 

Also, the fact that you cannot use the card at any other stores or earn any sort of points for in-store purchases is a huge drawback. There are other cards that offer longer low intro APR periods and also offer points on purchases. If you have a fair credit score and want to use the card to build credit, it is certainly an option, but is not likely to yield the best value. 

Home Depot Consumer Credit Card summary

HOME DEPOT CONSUMER CREDIT CARD DETAILS
Annual fee	$0
Rewards	None
Regular APR	29.99% fixed
Foreign transaction fees	N/A
Major perks and benefits	Extended return window, $0 fraud liability, promotional financing offers

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