Wayfair.com is an online furniture store based out of Boston, Massachusetts, that offers a variety of options for furnishing both your home and office. It’s a popular online retailer known for its frequent and generous sales. Wayfair also offers a consumer credit card which includes promotions, benefits, rewards and access to special financing offers. If you’re wondering whether the Wayfair credit card from Comenity Bank is right for you, our review of the card’s features might help make your decision a little easier.
Limits of the Wayfair Credit Card
Before we get into the details of the Wayfair card, it’s important to know that this card can only be used at Wayfair and it’s associated stores, including Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane and Dwell Studio. If you’re looking for a more flexible card in terms of both rewards earning and spending, you might want to consider a solid cashback card, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card or the Discover it card. Neither have an annual fee and both earn cash back for every purchase.
Check out: Our complete list of cashback cards.
Benefits and Perks of the Wayfair Store Card
The Wayfair store card comes with a few benefits that regular Wayfair customers will appreciate, including:
- $40 sign-up bonus
- 3% back on Wayfair purchases
- Up to 12 months of deferred-interest financing
- $0 down on financed purchases
Let’s take a closer look at these perks.
Sign-Up Bonus
When a shopper is approved for the Wayfair credit card, they can receive $40 off their first order of $250 or more. It’s important to note that this offer will only apply to the first order placed on a new Wayfair credit card account.
This offer cannot be combined with any other discounts or offers, including special financing. If you choose special financing, you will forego the $40 discount as well as any rewards on that purchase.
Rewards
The Wayfair credit card allows cardholders to collect rewards for purchases. Every time a qualifying order is placed with the card, you’ll earn 3 percent back in Wayfair reward points. That includes sale items, too. You can also earn rewards by inviting friends to shop at Wayfair.com.
The reward points can be collected and redeemed as Rewards Dollars. They can be used toward purchases from Wayfair.com, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane and Dwell Studio.
Special Financing
The Wayfair credit card provides cardholders with access to $0 down special financing offers on eligible orders. To apply special financing to an order, simply select the special financing option during checkout. If you opt for special financing, you will not receive rewards for the purchase.
All qualifying order over $250 will be eligible to receive six months of no-interest financing. Qualifying orders that are over $500 will be eligible for 12 months of interest-free financing.
Be aware that if you make a late payment or fail to pay the balance in full within the agreed upon time period, you can be charged interest back to the original date of purchase. This is called deferred interest.
If you want to avoid the potential cost of being hit with a deferred interest payment, consider getting a card that offers an introductory 0% APR on new purchases.
Free Shipping
While not specifically a perk of the Wayfair card, any order over $49 gets free shipping. You don’t have to worry about how much it’ll cost to get that new sofa shipped to your house. That’s particularly good news given that Wayfair, like it’s competitor Overstock.com, is an online-only retailer with no brick-and-mortar store locations.
Unfortunately, free shipping does not extend to returns. You will have 30 days to return an item, but you will be responsible for the shipping costs unless the item is defective or damaged on arrival.
Watch Out for the Fees and High APR
The Wayfair credit card has no annual fee, but includes a high APR. This is a high interest rate, which most store credit cards are notorious for. However, Wayfair cardholders can still avoid paying interest if they are diligent when it comes to paying off their balances.
To avoid paying interest, cardholders must pay off their entire credit card balance within the grace period. This would be at least 21 days after the billing cycle closes. Don’t wait until the day before the bill is due to pay it; this can result with interest being charged.
When a balance is carried, no matter how little, the minimum interest charge will be no less than $2. As long as your balance is above $25, the minimum payment will be at least that or more.
You should never pay your card late as this is detrimental to your credit score. A late, missed or returned payment will also cost you $38 plus interest.
How to Apply for the Wayfair Credit Card
The Wayfair credit card application can be found online. You can also apply by phone through Wayfair customer service. Applying online is the quickest and easiest way.
Tips to Avoid a Hard Pull
The shopping cart trick may work for this credit card. This trick allows you to obtain a credit card without a hard pull on your credit report. It’s a good tactic to use if you have bad credit, are applying for a more than the average number of credit cards, or simply don’t want to sacrifice a couple of points on your credit report.
To use this trick, make sure you have opted in for credit card promotional emails from Wayfair (or other online stores) and make sure your pop up blocker is off. Put items in your shopping cart at Wayfair.com and then hit checkout.
You should then get a pop-up window with a promotional offer for a credit card. If you are asked for your full Social Security number, the application may trigger a hard pull. However, if you are only asked for the last four digits, this trick should work.
Be sure to provide the most accurate and up to date information when you apply. The card issuer will do a soft pull and if the information does not match exactly, you will be denied.
If you are given an offer at checkout, you may get instant approval. If so, your card will be added to your shopping cart to use immediately. You will receive the actual card in the mail within 10 days of approval.
How to Make a Payment on Your Wayfair Card
To make a payment on your card, you can mail it in, call customer service or pay online. To pay online, you must register first at the Comenity Bank account center.
You cannot use your debit card to make payments. You can use your checking account, but you must have your checking account number and your bank routing number. Be aware that your checking account number and the numbers on your debit card are not the same.
Should You Get the Wayfair Credit Card?
Since you can potentially use the shopping cart trick to get the Wayfair credit card without getting a hard pull on your credit report, this could be a good card for the right applicant. To be able to get a credit card without a hard pull, which can affect your credit score, is unusual.
I wouldn’t recommend someone apply for a card just for a one-time discount, though, since a new card can still affect your credit age (and your credit score). However, if you are trying to improve your credit or have a borderline credit score, this card could help.
While it’d be nice to get interest-free financing for an expensive furniture purchase, the special financing options that come with this card aren’t great due to the potential penalty of deferred interest that looms over the bill. If you have good credit, there may be better credit options for financing a large purchase, such as a credit card with a 0% introductory rate.
Due to the interest rate on this card, you never want to carry a balance past the special financing period. Also, this card usually comes with a low credit limit. This card reports to the credit bureaus, so you’ll want to keep in mind that if you use more than 30 percent of your overall credit limit, it will negatively affect credit score. If you are getting this card to improve your credit, be careful not to use more than 30 percent of your limit or be ready to pay it off immediately.
Consider All of Your Options
While it’s great to be able to pay off a big purchase like new furniture over a long period of time and save a few bucks while you do it, there are a lot of credit cards that can help you do that. You don’t have to get the Wayfair card. It has limited flexibility, and it’s financing options come with some potentially expensive strings attached.
If your credit score is good enough, consider one of the many cards on the market that offer both cashback rewards and an introductory 0% APR period for purchases. You can’t beat the flexibility of a good cashback card, and you’ll never be hit with deferred interest charges.