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TJ Maxx offers two credit cards for opportunities to earn rewards when you make purchases. We’ll take a look at the benefits, drawbacks, and whether alternative credit card rewards programs are a better deal for qualified applicants.
As a retailer specializing on name brands at discounted prices, TJ Maxx is the best choice for clothing, furniture, and home goods at great prices. And for loyal shoppers to earn great rewards, TJ Maxx offers its retailer credit cards, the TJX Rewards Credit Card and the TJX Rewards Platinum Mastercard. However, do the benefits stack up to some of the drawbacks that may make you think twice? Read on to learn more about these credit cards from TJ Maxx, as well as discover some alternative options for qualified applicants.
Overview | TJ Maxx Credit Cards
To begin, apply for TJ Maxx’s line of store-branded credit cards in-person or online. Depending on your creditworthiness, you will either receive approval instantly or have to wait 7 – 10 days to be approved. Because there’s only one TJ Maxx credit card application, applicants will be given either the basic TJX Credit Card or the TJX Mastercard.
TJX Rewards Credit Card
The basic T.J.Maxx credit card, the TJX Rewards Credit Card, offers numerous rewards opportunities for cardholders. However, it is only available for use at T.J. Maxx, tjmaxx.com Marshalls, HomeSense, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post, and sierratradingpost.com.
When making qualifying purchases, you can earn 5 points per $1 spent. For every 1,000 points cardholders earn, they will subsequently receive a $10 reward certificate. In essence, the TJX Credit Card provides a 5% discount if you spend those certificates.
Additionally, the TJX Rewards Credit Card comes with a few other perks. Once you’ve opened an account, a 10% discount will be applied to the first in-store purchase with the TJX Rewards Card. Cardholders also gain access to exclusive special shopping hours, first dibs on tjmaxx.com arrivals, private parties, advanced arrival alerts, and “Surprise and Delight” benefits throughout the year.
Considering there is no limit to the number of points that cardholders can earn, you can earn substantial savings by spending within T.J.Maxx’s family of brands. Best of all, there’s no annual fee for using the TJX Rewards Credit Card.
TJX Rewards Platinum MasterCard
Adding to the rewards of the TJX Reward Card, the TJX Rewards Platinum Mastercard earns the same 5x point reward for qualifying purchases, while also earning 1x point per $1 spent on qualifying purchases everywhere that Mastercard is accepted.
The TJX Mastercard also comes with a number of great benefits, including:
- Price protection, which enables cardholders to earn discounts if they find a purchased item advertised for a lower price later on.
- Extended warranties, which doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to 1 year.
- Fraud protection and Identity theft assistance, which helps resolve unwanted purchases if the cardholder’s identity is stolen or compromised.
| TJX Rewards Credit Card | TJX Rewards® Platinum MasterCard | |
| Cash Back Benefits | 5 points/$1 spent at TJX family of stores 10% off first purchase | 5 points/$1 spent at TJX family of stores 1 point/$1 spent everywhere else MasterCard is accepted 10% off first purchase |
| Annual Fee | $0 | $0 |
| Average FICO Score to Qualify | 620 and above | 650 and above |
The Drawbacks of TJ Maxx Credit Cards
If you’ve been considering signing up for a TJ Maxx credit card, you should be aware of some significant drawbacks that may make you reconsider your decision:
- First, when it comes to store-branded credit cards, high APRs are to be expected. However, at a variable APR, the TJ Maxx credit card may be among the highest. Only responsible cardholders should use this card, paying off balances before they rack up some hefty interest charges. Couple this with a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases made abroad, and you can be in hot water in no time.
- Second, the cash-back rewards offered by this credit card aren’t true cash-back that you earn in the form of statement credits on your balance. Instead, cardholders can only use the reward certificates earn exclusively at the TJX family of stores.
It’s for these reasons and more that you may want to compare TJ Maxx’s credit cards to alternative options.
How TJ Maxx’s Credit Card Compare to Alternative Programs
Before applying for TJ Maxx’s credit cards you should explore all-purpose cards that will offer more spending flexibility and favorable rewards programs. Three we recommend are:
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase Freedom Unlimited is a true cashback card which can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. A cashback of 1.5% is received on your purchases. No upper limit on point accumulation, no expiry of points, option to transfer points to another Chase credit cards like Sapphire Preferred or Reserve to increase point value and redemption against travel through ultimate rewards increase the value by 25%, a combination of all these benefits make Chase Freedom Ultimate a wonderful alternate card.
As part of intro offer you can get $200 in cashback rewards when you spend $500 in purchases within the first three months of opening your account.
You could apply for a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. After the intro period, a variable APR of 14.99%–23.74% is applied.
Fraud protection, zero liability protection, fraud alerts, purchase protection, and extended warranty adds to the versatility of the card.
Capital One® Quicksilver Cash Rewards
If you want to be constrained by category while spending then Quicksilver cash rewards from Capital One is ideal. You will be able to earn 1.5% cash back on all your spending. As a new card user, you can get a $200 bonus when you spend $500 in purchase within the first 3 months. You save on the annual fee, during the time of this writing there is no annual fee charge.
New cardholders can avail of the 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 15 months and after that period variable APR rate of 15.49% – 25.49% is applicable.
This card can be used at all locations where MasterCard is accepted.
If required the option to claim the benefits which are provided by MasterCard is also available such as extended warranty, purchase protection, travel accident insurance and car rental insurance. Not having points expire and how much you can redeem allows any time redemption possible.
Blue Cash Everyday from American Express
TJ Maxx credit cards offers benefits which are mostly confined to its own brand of stores. Blue Cash Everyday card from AMEX can allow you to earn cash back on various categories including shopping for groceries and clothes. To know more about outlets that are considered for cash back, click on the link.
You get 3% cash back at US Supermarkets up to $6,000 per year, after which the cash back is at 1%.
You can earn 2% cash back at US gas stations and select US department stores.
Also, 1% cash back can be earned on all other purchases.
As part of the introductory offer Blue Cash Everyday new card members can earn $150 cash back by spending $1,000 in purchase within the first three months.
Blue Cash Everyday card also comes with Plan It option which can help you make a large purchase and plan out a payment schedule. The points that you acquire are applied as reward dollars which can be redeemed for a statement credit, gift card or can be used to shop from at the retailer outlets associated with Amex.
Fraud protection, car rental insurance, travel accident insurance, roadside assistance hotline are some of the other valuable benefits that a Blue Cash Everyday caardholder will be able to avail.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, the TJX Rewards Credit Cards, including the Mastercard, only make sense for loyal shoppers to the TJX family of stores. While there are some rewards to earn, the drawbacks may discourage all but the most responsible cardholders that never carry a balance. With stronger alternatives available for qualified applicants, you may want to consider other credit cards that offer true cash-back, travel rewards, and more.
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