SEARS INTEREST RATES

well they have to jack it up so high to cover all those no intrest no payments deals they run

Citibank controls the interest rates, not Sears.  Sears has to abide by them and Sears actually pays the interest on those no interest no payment deals.  So, the higher the interest on Sears cards, the more Sears pays to Citibank.  To wrap it all up, the higher the interest, the more Citibank gets from both Sears and the customer.

Very professional "Brand Central Manager"

I certainly agree that the interest rate is much too high.  Especially not with the horrible economy, it will make some folks wait to purchase high dollar items later or maybe even second hand at garage sales, etc.  Fortunately, I do not carry a large balance at Sears.  Perhaps Sears could find another bank or outlet to manage those card accounts or bid them competitively sometime in the future to hold down those credit card costs, or even do it themselves as some other companies.  I do like the point benefits of the card as we use those every Christmas!!

yea nice of them, all credit cards, to start upping fees and intrest rates now that the economy is hurtung that really ought to help

Rate is high, but like the rebate from pharmacy, etc. use.    Paying in full is the 'only' way to prevent high interest rates.   On occasion I did forget my payment and sent it in by phone ---- was charged a high fee for same but when called -- they removed the service charge which was nice (should not have been on there anyway)

Have not heard from you in a while. Glad to see you are still on the post.

Hi, Sears associate here.

As TMG said, CitiBank is the bank backing the credit cards. If you get a credit card from any retailer, like Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc., the rates will be in the mid-20s or higher. This is the industry standard. The stores don't make a penny off of the interest rates charged.

If you dislike the high interest rates, you can always treat the Sears card as a tool with a specific function. For instance, I use my Sears MasterCard for my appliance and electronics purchases that will be no interest/no payments.

And, keep in mind that every credit card's rates have increased with the economy's downturn. Anyone out there had an interest rate decrease (or even an unrequested credit limit increase) in the last 10 months on any of their credit cards?

BlueCrewGuyInMA said…

Hi, Sears associate here.

As TMG said, CitiBank is the bank backing the credit cards. If you get a credit card from any retailer, like Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc., the rates will be in the mid-20s or higher. This is the industry standard. The stores don't make a penny off of the interest rates charged.

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wait store cards from any bank have higher intrest rates then a card with out the stores logo on it but the stores dont make anything for it? am i missing something here?

You'd have to ask CitiBank, or the bank backing a particular store's card, why the rates are higher. If I had to hazard a guess, it would be because people tend to use those cards exclusively at those stores (sometimes by habit, while some of the cards can only be used at the store on the card), which means the bank makes less money. A generic card is more likely to be used more often, so the bank makes more money.

Of course, with a Sears card (as an example), you have access to no interest/no payments promotions, discounts for using the card at certain times, rebates only for Sears card users, and coupons that are only for Sears card users. So, it's not like you get nothing. And if you use a credit card wisely, it pays you for using it, and not the other way around. If someone is irresponsible with their credit card, even a 5% interest rate card can turn into a monster.

in 3 years of having the card the only advantage i saw in having it was i could use it to get my discount at work instead of having to write a check

Whenever stores run a no interest/no payments option for x months, the retailer actually pays the interest to the credit card company.  That's why for the longest time there would be promotions for only certain amounts of time from retailers.  Now that retailers have gotten desperate for money flow, they are putting out a lot more of those promotions to win customers.

Basically, the credit card companies are going to get their interest either way, whether it's from the customer or from the retailer itself.

The retailer can get the money back if the customer does not pay off the promotional balance within the time limit, causing the interest to be the responsibility of the customer, but somebody's gotta pay in the end.

I've opened lots of Sears Gold cards where the customer gets the lowest rate, around 15-17%. The advantages of Sears cards are simple, cash rebates, additional discounts during 10% credit events and making payments at stores. Store payments post that day, even quicker than paying online. How else can you make a payment on the due date?

Anytime a purchase is 15 bucks or less, always offer, "You can get this for free by opening a new Gold Card." 

madgolfer said…

I've opened lots of Sears Gold cards where the customer gets the lowest rate, around 15-17%.

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wow i didnt know sears gold card rate went that low mine started at 22% and went up .5% every 6 or 8 months and i have good credit mever missed or made a late payment and never went over my limit.

hell one guy had 30% intrest rate and good credit etc

my decision to stop shopping at sears &kmart is the only solution and  they son't really care anyway'

What retailer's credit card has what you'd consider a low, or reasonable, interest rate?

You are very truthful with that statement. The higher the interest the Sears Card has, the more Sears pays in. Especially with the No Interest, No Payments, for whatever time frame. You're Brand Central, try being the knowledgable Home Improvement Customer Solutions Consultant.

sounds to me like a company hving a credit card with thier name on it is a waste of money to me

Not really. The stores do get a little financial incentive from the card-issuing bank when customers use their store credit card to pay for things, instead of losing money by paying credit card processing fees (usually 1-3%). And, people tend to use their store credit card at that store, so that's good for the store. That's why every retailer has its own credit card. Customers with retailer cards also tend to spend more money at those retailers (though there isn't really a causative relationship between merely having the card and how much someone spends). If it wasn't worthwhile financially, it wouldn't be done. However, that doesn't mean that it's 100% profit for the retailer, or for the card-issuing bank for that matter.

Sears offers so many needed options when applying for a store card.  I am sorry some posters are upset abt. the APR.  The Sears APR is in line with other comparable stores.  They also do not charge a yearly fee, which is not the case with many other credit cards.  Sears truly does offer a card for many different situations and you can get a discount on purchases.  Sears also offers AccountCare which will actually cancel your monthly payment for a period of time if you experience job loss, leave of absence or other life changing circumstances.  Some needed help during these economic times.