Review of the Lowe’s Consumer Credit Card
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The Lowe’s Advantage Credit Card offers cardholders a choice between 5% off purchases or special financing deals for large purchases. This card can help you save money on large purchases or simply pay them off over time, but watch out for the high interest rate, which will be applied retroactively to your balance all the way back to the payment date.
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This card can only be used at Lowe’s, where cardholders will receive 5% off most purchases. Two special financing options are available for large purchases:
- Purchases of at least $299 are eligible for 6-month financing at 0% APR
- Purchases of at least $3,500 are eligible for 84-month financing at 5.99% APR
These financing options cannot be combined with the 5% offer, and the 84-month offer is not available for purchases from Lowes.com.
The most important thing to remember about the Lowe’s credit card is that the financing offers can potentially result in some very large payments. If you fail to pay off the entire balance by the due date, the interest rate of 24.99% will be applied all the way back to the date of purchase. This will quickly negate any benefits you’ve gained from the card, as you can see:
Say you make a purchase of $400 and opt for the 6-month financing instead of taking 5% off ($20, in this case). Then, you pay $50 to the account each month but you fail to pay off the entire $400 in 6 months, having only paid $300. At this point, the 24.99% interest rate is applied retroactively to your balance.
| Month | Balance | *24.99% Interest |
| 1 | 350 | $87.47 |
| 2 | 300 | $74.97 |
| 3 | 250 | $62.48 |
| 4 | 200 | $49.98 |
| 5 | 150 | $37.49 |
| 6 | 100 | $24.99 |
| Total = $337.37 |
The result is $337 in additional interest charges to add to your balance, and this is only what happens after 6 months; the consequences become more extreme the less you pay each month, and this is nothing compared to the 84-month financing option.
The lesson to learn here is that if you choose one of these financing options you will need to create a payment schedule to pay off your balance well before the due date. This will probably mean paying more than the minimum monthly payment.
The Costs
| Annual Fee | Regular APR |
|---|---|
| $0 | 26.99% Variable |
The Fees
| Late Fee |
|---|
| Up to $38 |
The Bottom Line
This is a card for responsible Lowe’s customers only. If you shop there frequently and can consistently pay off your balance before incurring the monthly APR, you can probably reap great rewards from the 5% discount.
If you can create and stick to a solid payment plan, you can also benefit greatly from the 6 or 84-month financing options, which could let you complete large projects on a budget. A $3,500 project will cost just over $50 per month for 84 months, for example.
However, we recommend being very cautious with these long-term financing plans, and, whenever possible, to pay more than the monthly minimum. It is always possible that your last payments can be delayed or disrupted through no fault of your own, leaving you with a new mountain of payments. In some cases payment processors may have unforeseen delays, or your own finances may take an unexpected turn.
For these reasons and more, we recommend that you plan to pay off any of these financing plans well before the due date.
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