| Last updated on October 13th, 2023
L.L.Bean® Mastercard®
L.L.Bean® Mastercard®
L.L.Bean® Mastercard®
- 19.74% to 28.74% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate Regular Purchase APR
- 19.74% to 28.74% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate Balance Transfer APR
- 29.99% variable based on the Prime Rate Cash Advance APR
At a Glance
The L.L.Bean® Mastercard® is a low maintenance, no annual fee retail card issued by CitiBank. Outdoor enthusiasts will earn Bean Bucks on every purchase and enjoy free shipping, free returns, and free monogramming.
- Best Benefits
- Rates & Fees
- Why Should You Apply?
- 4% back at L.L.Bean
- 2% back at restaurants
- 2% back at gas stations
- 1% back on all other purchases
- Free standard shipping & returns
- Free monogramming
- Regular Purchase APR: 19.74% to 28.74% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate
- Balance Transfer APR: 19.74% to 28.74% variable based on creditworthiness and the Prime Rate
- Balance Transfer Transaction Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater
- Cash Advance APR: 29.99% variable based on the Prime Rate
- Cash Advance Transaction Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3% of the transaction amount in U.S. dollars
- Late Payment Penalty Fee: Up to $40
- Return Payment Penalty Fee: Up to $40
- You shop at L.L.Bean at least every two years
- You primarily shop at L.L.Bean online and/or spend less than $50 per purchase
- You don’t live near a physical L.L.Bean location or prefer doing your shopping online
L.L.Bean® Mastercard® Review
If you spend more time outdoors than indoors, the L.L.Bean Mastercard could become your new favorite piece of plastic in your camping, fishing, or hunting toolkit. The L.L.Bean® Mastercard® allows cardholders to earn “Bean Bucks” from everyday purchases, which can be used to purchase L.L.Bean merchandise.
Earning and redeeming Bean Bucks is straightforward but even more important is the fact that the L.L.Bean credit card presents the only opportunity shoppers have to earn rewards for their loyalty. Having no annual fee, cardholders will earn 4/2/1 rewards on popular categories and be able to enjoy exclusive perks that are particularly handy for the online L.L.Bean shopper.
Signup Bonus & Introductory Offers
The L.L.Bean Mastercard has an unimpressive signup bonus that, on its own, isn’t a compelling enough reason to open the card. Newly approved cardholders will receive a one-time coupon for 15% off an L.L.Bean purchase. Applicants should be prepared to shop and have a few items in mind since the 15% coupon must be used during the same browser session that the card was opened. The safest bet would be to have items in your shopping cart before applying.
What Are Bean Bucks?
Bean Bucks are the currency of L.L.Bean’s cardholder rewards program. In lieu of “points,” cardholders will earn a portion of a Bean Buck on every purchase. One is worth $1 USD. Earnings post after each billing cycle, which could be frustrating for the L.L.Bean shopper who wants shops several times a month. Bean Bucks don’t expire unless there have been 24 consecutive months of no activity on your account (either using the card to make a purchase, initiating a balance transfer, or requesting a cash advance).
How to Earn Bean Bucks
Every transaction earns a percentage of a Bean Buck, these earnings are equivocal to earnings cents on a dollar. Depending on the purchase category, certain purchases will earn more of a bean buck than others. The rewards structure is practical albeit, unimaginative:
- 4% back at L.L.Bean
- 2% back at restaurants
- 2% back at gas stations
- 1% back on all other purchases
Say for instance that you spend $50 at L.L.Bean. The 4% reward would mean that you earn 2 Bean Bucks on the purchase. Spend the same amount on your cable bill and you will only earn ½ of a Bean Buck.
L.L.Bean Bonus Categories and Limitations
The restaurant bonus category is far from encompassing and excludes bakeries and eateries inside department stores, grocery stores, or warehouse clubs. The gas category excludes gas purchases at supermarkets, superstores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and non-automobile fuel. Foreign transactions also will not earn rewards (although this card has a foreign transaction fee, so it isn’t recommended for use abroad anyway). While the highest reward tier is awarded to L.L.Bean purchases (and rightfully so), as a brand dedicated to outdoor activities and lifestyle it would’ve been nice if the bonus categories were more geared towards the types of activities their merchandise is geared towards.
Redeeming Bean Bucks
L.L.Bean® Mastercard® rewards have more versatility than the average retail loyalty program, namely since earnings have stand-alone value and don’t need to be converted or amassed in specific amounts. Although these rewards are limited to redemption for L.L.Bean merchandise, they are wonderfully simple and straightforward to use. Bean Bucks are used to reduce the total price at checkout; they cannot be converted to cash or used towards card payments nor towards shipping costs. Having an individual value of $1 each, every Bean Buck applied will reduce the total dollar price at checkout by $1. They can be used for full or partial payment of an order and can be used both instore and online:
- Using Bean Bucks Online: cardholders need only log in to their account and their available Bean Buck balance will display in the shopping cart. When ready to check out, simply apply as many (or few) Bean Bucks as you would like, that amount will be subtracted from your final price).
- Using Bean Bucks in Store: Enter your account information prior to paying and inform the cashier that you would like to apply your available Bean Bucks.
When returning merchandise that was initially purchased with Bean Bucks (either totally or partially), the refunded amount will be refunded as Bean Bucks or store credit at the store’s discretion.
Other L.L.Bean Perks
Aside from the ability to earn rewards towards store credit, the L.L.Bean® Mastercard® carries two small but impactful perks that are sure to be coveted by those who identify with the L.L.Bean lifestyle.
- Free Shipping & Free Returns: The perfect perk for the heavy online shopper, L.L.Bean cardholders are entitled to complimentary standard shipping to the continental U.S. with no purchase minimum (non-cardholders would need purchases of $50 or more to qualify)—a savings of $6 an order. Eligible purchases must be made with the L.L.Bean card (or Bean Bucks). Free shipping does not apply to express shipping, oversized freight delivery, or L.L.Bean business orders.
- Free Monogramming: Add that special finishing touch to every piece with their complimentary monogramming service, an $8 value (per item) that is available both online and in-store. Eligible items include those that have been purchased with the L.L.Bean credit card or Bean Bucks.
Citibank Ratings
How does the LL Bean Card stack up? Here are a selection of expert reviews for the card, as well as an overview of Citi as a bank:
| BestCards | Better Business Bureau | TrustPilot |
|
4/5 |
4/5 |
3/5 |
Should You Apply for the L.L.Bean® Mastercard®?
The card’s bonus categories are just “okay,” – while not particularly impressive, its offerings are on-par with industry standards. The signup bonus is equally unimpressive, offering an almost inconsequential 15% discount that will cover little more than the purchasing tax. Despite these shortcomings, however, the L.L.Bean® Mastercard® certainly has the potential to be valuable to current customers, primarily due to its above-average rewards and redemption system and free shipping for online orders.
The direct and immediate value of Bean Bucks (with $1 USD) paired with the fact that rewards don’t expire (except in the case of 2 years of inactivity) make the L.L.Bean Mastercard’s reward program stronger and most valuable than other retail credit card rewards. Although reward redemption is limited to L.L.Bean usage only, there is still a considerable amount of flexibility in the nature of Bean Bucks that makes it easy to forget its constraints. Use Bean Bucks for total or partial payment of your merchandise with no tricky reward conversions or—even more impressive—minimum redemption amounts.
The free shipping perk gives cardholders significantly more purchasing freedom as they will no longer be pressured to meet $50 purchase minimum. For those who have the tendency to shop in small batches, this card will save them a considerable amount in shipping costs. If anything, this ability makes the L.L.Bean® Mastercard® most beneficial for those who don’t live near an L.L.Bean store. Overall, even if you only shop at L.L.Bean twice a year this card is worth considering. This is an extremely low maintenance card and only needs to be used once every two years to justify owning it. Cardholders will earn 1 Bean Buck for every $25 dollars spent but the free shipping alone would make this card worth it. However, this card is not suited to be an everyday use card and instead should only be used for L.L.Bean perks and purchases.
The information related to L.L.Bean® Mastercard® has been collected by BestCards.com and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
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