5 Things to Know About the Overstock Credit Card
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» Editor's note
In 2023, Overstock purchased rights to retailer Bed Bath & Beyond’s name and subsequently rebranded itself as Bed Bath & Beyond. The Overstock credit card, however, has retained its name, though it now earns 5% back on Bed Bath & Beyond purchases.
The Overstock credit card aims to reward customers for shopping for furniture and home decor, and on that front, it does its job well. The card earns 5% back in rewards at Bed Bath & Beyond, formerly known as Overstock, and comes with a free membership to the company's loyalty program, Welcome Rewards by Club O, which offers more ways to earn points.
(Image courtesy of Citi)
The main drawback of the Citi-issued Overstock credit card, though, is its limited redemption options: Points earned on Bed Bath & Beyond purchases can only be converted to credits to pay for more stuff from Bed Bath & Beyond.
If you’re a BB&B loyalist, the Overstock credit card is a natural fit that can save you money on home goods. But if you prefer, say, Wayfair for your furniture needs, or you want a credit card with a range of redemption options, you’ll be better served with a general cash-back card.
Here are five things to know about the Overstock credit card.
Technically, there are two Overstock credit cards: the Overstock Mastercard issued by Citi, and the Overstock store credit card issued by Comenity. This review focuses on the Citi-issued Mastercard version, which earns rewards and can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. The Comenity-issued store card closed to new applicants as of July 2023.
1. It offers solid rewards
The rewards rates for the $0-annual-fee Overstock credit card are competitive with some of NerdWallet’s highly rated cash-back cards. Its tiered rewards structure means that you can earn more in some categories than you could with a 2% flat-rate card — although note that you're earning the following rates "in rewards," not in cash back:
5% back on bedbathandbeyond.com purchases. (This rate is also available without the card through the Welcome Rewards by Club O program, but unless you have the card, you'll have to pay to join Welcome Rewards by Club O. More on that below.)
3% back on apparel and department store purchases.
2% back on gas. (Gas purchased at superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs earn 1%.)
1% back on all other qualifying purchases.
Rewards are earned as points that can only be redeemed for dollars toward future Bed Bath & Beyond purchases. General cash-back cards such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card or Chase Freedom Unlimited® have a broader menu of redemption options that typically includes statement credits and direct deposits.
2. You get free membership to the retailer's rewards program
A Welcome Rewards by Club O membership costs $19.95 a year, but you’ll get it for free if you have the Overstock credit card. The membership comes with perks that can accelerate your ability to earn rewards points. Among other perks, loyalty members get:
Free returns for in-store credit on eligible products.
Price matching with select competitors.
Double rewards for writing a product review, with a max of 4,000 points per review.
Access to Overstock’s Extra Rewards Store, where you can buy items that earn up to 40% more rewards.
3. Rewards are valuable and redemption is straightforward
It’s true that rewards earned with the Overstock credit card are only for credits on bedbathandbeyond.com purchases, but if that’s all you want your points to do, you’re in luck. The retailer's rewards policy is generous and flexible.
First, each point is worth 1 cent, so 100 reward points is equal to $1 in reward dollars. That redemption value is on par with cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Citi Double Cash® Card.
There’s also no cap on the rewards you can earn, and rewards earned on purchases don’t expire as long as you're a Welcome Rewards by Club O member. However, note that rewards earned from writing reviews or making referrals expire after 90 days. Membership bonus rewards, which are earned on eligible purchases made before joining the loyalty club, expire after 45 days.
Rewards can be combined with other discounts, coupons and credits without any restrictions. There’s no minimum redemption amount, either.
4. 'Special financing' is available, but be careful
There are two types of financing with the Overstock credit card: short term and long term. Short-term financing doesn’t charge interest as long as you pay off the balance in full before your promotional term is over; long-term financing does charge interest, but at a much lower rate (9.99% as of this writing) than the card's ongoing APR on purchases (34.24% as of this writing). Financing is available for purchases starting at $199, and terms range from six to 60 months.
But be wary of the short-term offers in particular, which range from six to 24 months. These aren't 0%-interest promotions, where interest is truly waived, but rather deferred-interest offers, where the interest is merely set aside for a certain amount of time. With these kinds of offers, if you don't pay off the entire balance within the promotional period, you’ll owe interest on the full purchase price, retroactive to the day you bought it. Yikes.
Better options exist for financing big purchases. The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card gives cardholders a lengthy promotional reprieve from interest: 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 17.49%, 23.99%, or 29.24% Variable APR. Plus, interest is not charged retroactively if you don’t pay off the balance before the intro APR period ends.
» MORE: Best 0% APR credit cards
5. You don't have to get the card to get many of its benefits
There’s a workaround to getting 5% at Bed Bath & Beyond without getting the Overstock credit card, or paying for a Welcome Rewards by Club O membership.
Overstock gives free one-year memberships to “active military members, veterans, teachers, students, first responders, nurses and medical providers.” As noted above, Welcome Rewards by Club O members get 5% back at Bed Bath & Beyond, the same rate offered with the Overstock credit card.
Granted, this workaround for 5% back has limitations — it will only work for some people, and the membership is only free for a year — but it still may be worth pursuing. Say you plan to buy furniture for your new place, and you want a discount on those upcoming expenses. You could sign up for Welcome Rewards by Club O (which is free if you belong to one of the aforementioned groups), take advantage of the 5% rewards rate and let the membership expire when the year’s up.
If department stores and gas are high-spend areas for you, other cash-back cards earn the same or better rewards rate as the Overstock credit card. The $0-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express earns 3% on U.S. online retail purchases and U.S. gas stations on up to $6,000 per category.* (Terms apply; see rates and fees).
Or you could make the Citi Custom Cash® Card your designated gas card. You’ll get 5% on gas on up to $500 per billing cycle as long as gas is your top spending area in that time frame. The annual fee is $0.
To view rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, see this page.
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