Home Depot Consumer Credit Card Review

The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card is best for DIY enthusiasts who spend a lot of money buying materials for home improvement projects. It can also be a huge boon for someone who plans to make an expensive home upgrade—for example, buying a new set of home appliances for a kitchen remodel—when you need time to pay the balance off.

• Access to special financing offers: The point of signing up for the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card is to access special finance offers, including six months at 0% APR for purchases of $299 or more. Additional financing deals are offered throughout the year, too. Home project costs can add up fast, and interest-free financing options can help you spread out expenses for no additional cost.
• First purchase discount: Open the Home Depot Consumer card and get a discount off your first purchase. You only get $25 off purchases of $25 to $999, but the discount jumps to $100 if you spend $1,000 or more. If your first purchase is $1,000, that's a solid 10% off.
• Accessible for applicants with fair credit: While other credit cards may offer better promotional APR terms, they may also require good or excellent credit. You may be approved for this card even if you have fair credit, which means your credit score is between 580 and 669.

• No real sign-up bonus: While you can qualify for a discount of $25 to $100 off your first purchase, this isn’t that exciting. First purchase discounts are common among store cards, but many rewards and cash-back credit cards offer juicier bonuses worth several hundred dollars if you meet a minimum spending requirement. If you'd like to rack up big rewards for spending a lot on your home, this isn't the card for you.
• No rewards program: You won’t earn any rewards with this store card. That’s unfortunate since there are many credit cards with no annual fee that give new cardholders 0% APR on purchases for a limited time (offers may be as long as 21 months), plus rewards for each dollar you spend. 
• Deferred interest “gotcha”: While getting six months at 0% APR for purchases over $299 is a good deal, the devil is in the (potentially costly) details. If you don't pay your balance off in full before the deferred interest offer ends, you'll be charged interest on the remaining balance going forward plus back interest from the initial purchase date. If this happens, you'll lose anything you saved by using the card.
• High standard purchase APR: It's normal for store cards to carry high purchase APRs, but because the main benefit of this card is the deferred interest offers, it's crucial to pay attention to the standard purchase APR (which could be as high as 26.99%) and pay balances off on time.

Like many store cards, this card isn’t packed full of benefits, but it does give cardholders the following perks:

• One year to make returns: As a cardholder, you'll get a full year to make eligible returns, which is four times longer than the normal Home Depot policy.
• Additional special financing offers: Cardholders get additional financing deals that change throughout the year. Some offers may be good for as long as 24 months, depending on what you buy and how much you spend.

J.D. Power ranked Citi sixth in its 2019 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. That puts the bank in the middle of the pack when compared to 10 other card issuers. Citi earned 799 out of 1,000 points in the study; the industry average was 806. 

Citi's mobile app does get good reviews online, including 4.8 out of 5 stars on iTunes and 4.3 out of 5 stars on Google Play. Citi's mobile app ranked seventh in J.D. Power's 2019 U.S. Credit Card Mobile App Satisfaction Study. 

You’ll get standard credit card security benefits (like $0 liability for unauthorized charges) with the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card, and Citi will replace your card if it’s lost or stolen. Cardholders can also set up account alerts to get notifications when purchases are made or when payments are due.

While the fees charged by this card are standard for a store credit card, the real “gotcha” to watch out for is the back interest you will be charged on “interest-free” purchases if you don’t pay your balance off in full within the specified time frame. Using this card will actually cost you money if you carry balances beyond the end of promotional financing offers.