Lowe’s Advantage Card Review

Update – the below offer is now EXPIRED

Check out the amazing offers that you can get when you sign up for the Lowe’s Advantage Card.

Home improvement fans head to Lowe’s constantly to pick up appliances, tools, and major project supplies or to replenish those smaller items you can’t finish up the job without. Customers are generally loyal to their Lowe’s stores, so a store credit card that offers discounts on your purchases is a welcome reward for that loyalty.

Today I’m reviewing the Lowe’s Advantage Card—a Lowe’s store credit card with benefits. Good discounts, financing options, and no annual fee await the cardholders, but is this the best option for you? Let’s find out.

• DIY-ers and home improvement fans
• Anyone with a Lowe’s branch near them
• Contractors or regular people planning a large project who want to take advantage of low APR financing options

Lowe’s actually offers two store credit cards, a private card called the Lowe’s Advantage Card and a business version (that actually has three different options). For the purpose of this review, I’m going to focus on the private card.

The Lowe’s Advantage Card is easily one of the best store credit cards I’ve come in contact with so far. It offers good discounts that are easy to redeem, flexible financing options, and even special deals for major projects. Super low APRs make this store card even more attractive, and the convenient mobile app only adds to the attractiveness of the Lowe’s Advantage Card. I signed up for the card to test drive it in person. Here’s what I discovered.

• 5% off all purchases automatically applies
• Option for financing of six, 12, 18, or 24 months
• Big project financing for up to 84 months
• Mobile app
• Friendly customer service
• Weekly promotions

You can sign up for a Lowe’s Advantage Card online or in person. The online application asks for basic information (name, email, address, monthly income), asks which type of statements you want (electronic or paper), offers Card Security that cancels your balance in case of unemployment, hospitalization, etc., and shows you a copy of the terms agreement. The whole thing just takes a minute or two. In-person is just as quick and easy.

After signing up for the Lowe’s Advantage Card I was excited to see it in action, so I headed over to Lowe’s. Normally, I’m an online shopper, but home improvement supplies are things that you need to hold in your hand before you buy them, so a brick and mortar store it was.

Lowe’s Advantage Card Rewards Program

I put a few things in my cart and headed for checkout. I was given a $30 coupon to use on my first purchase, which was a nice welcome bonus. After your initial purchase, things get even better. When you get to the register, you’re given a choice of which Lowe’s Advantage Card benefit you want to take advantage of: 5% off your purchase or financing (how long depends on how much money you’ve spent).

On my second run, I chose the 5% discount because I wanted to see what would happen. The 5% discount was taken off of my total right there. I didn’t have to spend money to earn points, go to my card account and redeem the points, or even log in to opt into the promotion. Right there, I saved 5%  instantly. Lowe’s earns major points for having the most flexible and easiest to use rewards program I’ve ever seen.

Five percent is a generous discount the likes of which I haven’t seen yet from other store credit cards. And it is particularly liberal when you consider that Lowe’s’ biggest competitor, Home Depot, doesn’t offer any discounts with its store credit card.

Lowe’s Advantage Card extended financing options

Another aspect of the Lowe’s Advantage Card that I like is that you get to choose your bonus feature. You can elect to get the 5% off your purchase, or you can choose from Lowe’s extended 0% financing options of six, 12, 18, or 24 months depending on the category and size of your purchase. Here is the financing breakdown:

• Spend $299+ and get six-month financing
• Spend $299-$998.99 and get 12-month financing
• Spend between $999-$1,998.99 and get 18-month financing
• Spend $1,999 or more and get 24-month financing

Lowe’s’ financing options are extremely flexible and the perfect way to make purchases more affordable. This way, you can get the supplies you need to finish a project and pay off the balance over time without interest.

Big project financing

Additionally, if you are a contractor or are doing your own major renovations, the Lowe’s Advantage Card offers even longer financing options for really big projects. Here are the numbers for that feature:

• Spend $2,000 or more and get 36 months of a fixed APR at 3.99%
• 60 months at 5.99%
• Or 84 months at 7.99%

These rates apply to any purchase over $2,000, and I have to say, they are some of the best APRs you will find anywhere, even with a regular credit card (unless you find a 0% APR introductory rate, but even those promotions only last at most 18 months).

So, these are fabulous rates and great options for anyone who wants to spread out their payments over a really extended amount of time. Let’s create an example to help you see how this financing option works.

Let’s say you purchase $10,000 worth of goods with your Lowe’s Advantage Card. In this case, you are given the choice of a three, five, or seven-year repayment plan with respective interest rates. Here is what you would pay in actuality:

As you can see, the longer you take to pay off your purchase, the more interest you’ll pay, but the lower the monthly payment will be. Which financing option is best for you depends on your finances. Regardless of which option you choose though, these APRs are some of the lowest you’ll find anywhere including standard credit cards and lenders.

Note that if you come into extra money and make additional payments so that you pay off your purchase faster, you’ll end up paying less interest than the chart above displays.

Big project financing options can be applied to purchases and installations.

Deferred interest

The one thing you don’t want to do is get caught paying deferred interest charges. When you opt for a financing option that gives you 0% APR or reduced APRs for a certain amount of time, the deferred interest builds silently in the background.

If you pay off your purchase fully before the financing term ends, you won’t have any issues, and you’ll never hear about the deferred interest. If, however, you have a balance at the end of the financing term, even if it’s only $1, you’ll be charged the deferred interest. That means you’ll have to pay interest charges dating back to the date of purchase until the current date. Additionally, you’ll be charged the regular APR which at the date of this writing was 26.99%. Here’s what that looks like:

• You spend $1,000 with your Lowe’s Advantage Card
• You opt for the 18-month 0% APR financing promotion
• After 18-months you haven’t finished paying off your $1,000 purchase
• You will be charged 26.99% APR for the full 18 months, a total of $227.10

That’s a lot of interest to be hit with all at once. And if you don’t finish paying off your purchase, each month the interest will climb. Basically, you want to avoid deferred interest at all costs, so make sure to pay off your purchases within the allotted financing time frame. Finance experts recommend paying off your purchases one month before the deadline, so you don’t run into any timing issues.

Here’s a quick look at the usual fees and charges that come with owning a Lowe’s Advantage Card:

Annual fee

The Lowe’s Advantage Card charges no annual fee, so even if you don’t use it, you won’t lose out on anything.

APR

The Lowe’s Advantage Card standard APR is 26.99%. That’s a lot, as is the norm for store credit cards, so make sure to avoid APR charges by paying off your balance in full each month or by the end of the financing period.

Late payment fee

The Lowe’s Advantage Card charges a $27 late payment penalty fee if you are late or miss a payment. If you’ve been late making payments before, within the last six months, you’ll be charged a $38 late payment penalty fee.

Aside from the great 5% discount and financing options available, the Lowe’s Advantage Card also gives you some nice rewards. Check out some of these benefits you’ll get:

Welcome bonus

As mentioned, when you sign up for the Lowe’s Advantage Card, you’ll automatically receive a $30 coupon to use on your first purchase. $30 isn’t a lot of money, but it’s more than most store cards offer as a welcome bonus, and besides, getting $30 of free stuff is always a bonus.

Mobile app

Lowe’s really went all out when it came to the mobile apps. There are actually three different apps you can download (Lowe’s Mobile, Lowe’s Iris that works with your IoT to help you control your smart home devices remotely, and Lowe’s TV for entertainment on the go), but I’m just going to focus on the Lowe’s Mobile shopping app.

The mobile app is beautifully designed and easy to use, to begin with. Plus, it lets you add your Lowe’s Advantage Card so you can check out instantly at any store or online. You can create shopping lists using the product or department finder on the app, scan barcodes to find out information about a specific item while you’re in the store, or limit your online search to items that are currently available in the store for pick up.

One of the coolest aspects of the Lowe’s Mobile app is that you can collaborate with project specialists in Lowe’s to help you create a shopping list of the materials you’ll need for a project. And, of course, you can handle all of your Lowe’s Advantage Card account details via the app including payments history, upcoming payments, and more.

Weekly savings coupons & deals

The Lowe’s Advantage Card entitles you to weekly deals and promotions, and Lowe’s runs some amazing deals. While this article was written, for example, you can get 40% off on major appliances and 25% off of lawn furniture and patio accessories.

Additionally, if you put in your zip code, Lowe’s will tell you exactly what deals are available in your area. That’s a nice touch.

Vanity card

Another small perk is that you get to choose the design on your card. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but it’s always nice to be able to personalize your life.

Free shipping

Get free one to three-day standard shipping on select purchases. No minimum purchase required.

Online tools

Not limited to the Lowe’s Advantage Card cardholders, Lowe’s also offers great online tools to assist with getting the most out of your building projects. Tools include buying guides, how-to tutorials, and project calculators.

Lowe’s has a fabulous customer support team that is knowledgeable and ready to help you solve your problems. I like that you can send a text message with questions and receive an SMS answer back. It makes customer service interactions a lot more convenient. You can also call one of Lowe’s toll-free numbers if you prefer to speak to someone.

Alternatively, you can always connect with Lowe’s via one of its social media handles including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Of course, you might not like the idea of having to carry around a credit card that only works in a single chain of stores. If that’s the case, there are better options for you to consider.

Here are a few great cash back credit cards that not only give you rewards points every time you shop, but these cards are accepted in just about any store you patronize, including Lowe’s.

Normally, when I compare a regular cash back credit card to a store credit card, there is no competition. The regular card always wins hands down. With the Lowe’s Advantage Card though, it’s not as clear-cut. It’s hard to beat an instant 5% savings on the spot, and financing options make purchases more cost-effective. So, the Lowe’s Advantage Card is really a great choice.

On the other hand, if you’re in the market for a real cash back rewards program, or if you want a credit card that you can use anywhere you go, then the Lowe’s Advantage Card isn’t the card for you. Instead, one of the other options will serve you better.