According to a report by Zillow, more than half of all homeowners purchased a property that needed updates, and the average homeowner has made 6.7 improvements to their home. And just like you always want to use the best tools for the job, you’ll want to use the best credit card available to purchase tools and other home improvement supplies.
The right credit card can offer you three important features when you’re working on a home improvement project.
First, it can offer you a means of financing your project. For example, a credit card can have an interest-free introductory financing offer, or it can feature special financing for projects and other large purchases.
In addition, the right credit card can offer you valuable benefits such as damage and theft protection, extended warranty coverage, and return protection.
Finally, the right credit card offers discounts or rewards for your home improvement store purchases.
Here are the four best credit cards for home improvement projects:
The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card
Home Depot offers a consumer credit card that can only be used for in-store and online purchases from The Home Depot.
It features six months of deferred interest financing on purchases of $299 or more. Just note that with this kind of financing, interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the entire purchase balance is not paid in full within six months.
It can also offer up to 24 months of deferred interest financing during special promotions. Finally, it offers cardholders a year of no-hassle returns, as opposed to their standard 90-day policy. There’s no annal fee for the Home Depot card, but regular interest rates can be steep—even higher than mainstream consumer credit cards. So, obviously, you’d be wise to only use it for the promotional financing.
Learn more about The Home Depot Consumer Credit card.
Lowe’s Advantage Card
This card from another home improvement superstore currently offers a choice of a 5% discount on most purchases, or six months of deferred interest financing. Some items such as services, gift cards, and certain brands are excluded from the discount offer, but not the special financing.
You can also opt for the current project financing offer. This offer can be used on any project over $2,000 and is valid for in store purchases only. You can get up to 84 months of fixed-payments with a reduced APR until it’s paid off. This of course, is based on your credit history.
The standard interest rate for this card is quite high, but there’s no annual fee. If you buy a lot of supplies at Lowe’s, use this card for the 5% discount, but look elsewhere for 0% financing.
Discover it® Cash Back
Please note the below offer for the Discover it® Cash Back has expired or is no longer available.
Aside from being one of MU30’s most recommended cash back cards, The Discover it® Cash Back card has several features that can help you as you start your home improvement project.
First, it offers an introductory 0% APR for 15 months on new purchases. Unlike deferred interest financing, this is a true 0% intro APR that applies for 15 months, and interest will only occur on the remaining balance once that rate has expired. After the intro rate expires, the ongoing variable APR applies.
Discover also offers valuable benefits such as damage and theft protection. All of these can be very valuable when you are buying appliances and other expensive materials for your project.
The Discover it® Cash Back offers 1% cash back on all purchases, and 5% cash back on purchases from featured categories that change each quarter (up to the $1,500 quarterly maximum, activation required). In fact, the featured categories sometimes include home improvement stores.
Finally, after your first year of being a cardholder Discover will automatically match all rewards you’ve earned in your first year. So, if you earned $200 in cash back, you’ll get a $200 cash bonus for a total rewards earn of $400 in the first year. There’s no annual fee for this card.
Chase Freedom Flex℠
Like the Discover it® Cash Back, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter on purchases from bonus categories that you activate.
Chase Freedom Flex℠ also offers 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1% cash back on all other purchases made with the card. It also offers a sign-up bonus of $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Also, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ features a0% Intro APR on Purchases for 15 months and 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months from account opening, then an APR of 20.49% - 29.24% Variable. There’s no annual fee. If you can pay off your home improvement project within the introductory period, this card will fit you perfectly.
Finally, Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers a damage and theft protection policy for your cell phone as well as extended warranty coverage.
Check out our Chase Freedom Flex℠ review here.
Summary
Home improvement projects can easily be funded using a credit card (assuming you can quickly pay off the card). But some credit cards offer better rewards when it comes to home improvement. Stick with one of these cards and you’ll get the best bang for your buck.
Compare more recommended credit cards
If you didn’t find the credit card that suits your home improvement needs, there are many more to choose from.
Finding the right credit card is much simpler if you know your credit score and can narrow your search to only the cards you know you’ll get approved for.