Gap Good Rewards Mastercard®

Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® Card Review

The Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® may lead you think that this is a one-store card with its big Gap logo on the front. However, you actually get access to all the brands that form part of Gap Inc.

This means you can earn and redeem points at five different brands, giving you much more flexibility than other retail cards. New cardholders also get access to a several attractive benefits, including a 20% Gap bonus when they sign up, 10% on all Gap purchases, the chance to upgrade to Silver status.

Keep reading to learn more about this card’s many features and to see if this is the ideal card for your wallet.

One Card with Perks at 5 Brands

One of the major features that sets this retail card apart from many of its competitors is the fact that it’s not a single-store credit card. While you may receive a card that has “GAP” printed on it, this is actually a Gap Inc. card.

This means that you can use the Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® at all five of Gap Inc.’s brands:

• Gap
• Banana Republic
• Old Navy
• Athleta
• Hill City

What’s more, you earn five points for every dollar you spend at any of the brands listed above. These are some of the biggest clothing brands in the United States with stores all over the country. Even if you don’t live by a store, you can shop online.

Additionally, each of these brands features different price points and styles of clothing. In essence, you can dress yourself and your family exclusively in these brands while earning the maximum amount of rewards points for your purchases. That can’t be said for all retail cards.

One of the most rewarding parts of this card is that you can redeem your points at any Gap Inc. brand. To give you an example, you can rack up lots of points at the Banana Republic and Athleta and use your points for huge savings at Gap or Old Navy.  

Earning Points

The Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® has a two-tier points system that is very easy to follow. You earn five points for every dollar you spend at Gap Inc. brands. Any other purchases you make with your card earn you one point for every dollar.

Again, the power of this card lies not in how many points you earn per purchase but the fact that you can earn points at five different retailers.

The one-to-one ratio for non-Gap Inc. purchases is the very least a rewards card can offer a consumer. If you take into consideration the higher-than-average APR for this card, you may want to think twice about whipping out your Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® for every single thing you want.

Visa may be everywhere you want to be, but there is always a price. And that price can be unappealingly high on this particular card. It’s best to stick with Gap Inc. purchases to make the most out of this credit card and justify its high interest rates.

How Much Are Points Worth?

For every 500 points you earn, Synchrony issues you a $5 rewards certificate. If you use your Gap Card exclusively at Gap Inc. retailers, that comes to about $5 for every $100 you spend.

If you look at this points value like it’s a cashback reward, it’s almost like earning 5% cash back on your Gap Inc. purchases. That’s an above average rate. However, keep in mind that these rewards are very different from cash back (more on that in the next section).

The exciting thing about this points value is that it is the same across all Gap Inc. brands, even though each brand has different price points. A good tip for using this card is to earn your points at big-ticket retailers, like Banana Republic. A single outfit there can cost you several hundred dollars, which can earn you at least $10 in credits. If you use those credits at a more inexpensive brand, like Old Navy, you can come away with a lot of merchandise for almost nothing.

Redeeming Your Points

Now, the Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® does have some drawbacks when it comes to redeeming your points. As stated in the previous section, your rewards are very different from cash back rewards.

The first major difference is that you cannot use rewards certificates like cash or gift cards. In short, you cannot get anything for free with your rewards credits.

Anything you redeem with your rewards must be priced higher than the amount of the reward. This, essentially, makes rewards certificates more like discount coupons.

The good news, though, is that you can combine a certificate with one other offer or promotion at the time of purchase. This excludes employee discounts, however, so don’t go running to your friends trying to make out like a bandit with their discount.

How You Receive Your Rewards Certificates

Another drawback of the Gap Visa rewards is how Synchrony issues its certificates. Cardholders have very little control of how and when they redeem their points.

Instead, Barclays automatically issues rewards certificates every month based on how many points you have earned. You receive certificates in increments of $5 with $50 being the maximum.

These certificates have expiration dates printed on them, so you’re pretty much compelled to use them ASAP. Furthermore, Synchrony only issues a maximum of $250 in rewards every month.

If you thought you were going to get thousands of dollars in store credits all at once, these details should bring you back to reality. Don’t worry about losing any excess points, though. Those will roll over to the next month.

If you haven’t used your credit card in 24 months, you should know that you will forfeit any points you have earned that haven’t been converted to rewards certificates. If you do sign up for this card, remember this phrase: “use it or lose it.” Otherwise, you can be flushing money down the drain.

Silver Status

Another key feature of the Gap Good Rewards Mastercard® is that cardholders can easily upgrade to Silver status after their first year. This isn’t a separate credit card but rather an elite cardholder status that offers additional perks.

Many retail cards may advertise these premier statuses to try to get you to sign up. However, many of them don’t really deliver much once you read the fine print. Some are nothing more than free loyalty programs that anyone can join with or without a retail card.

Silver Status perks, however, can be very appealing, especially if you are a fan of Gap Inc. brands. Silver cardholders get to choose their own sale day and receive a 20%-point bonus every quarter. They also get free online shipping on any purchase (no matter how small) and even free alterations on Banana Republic purchases.

How to Reach Silver Status

Of course, you have to meet certain requirements to get this status, but they’re not unreasonable. All you need to do is earn 5,000 points within a calendar year and make sure to make the minimum required payment once you have earned those points. That comes out to $1,000 spent at Gap Inc. stores in a year, which isn’t difficult to do.

Three to four months after meeting the spending requirement, you will receive a fancy silver-toned card in the mail that alerts cashiers to your Silver status. You still keep your account, though, and your credit card number stays the same.

This isn’t like receiving a totally new credit card. So, you don’t have to worry about updating your account information on a dozen different websites.

Extra Cardholder Benefits

If you are still hesitant about applying for the Gap Good Rewards Mastercard®, then you may want to consider some of the additional perks that this card offers. Once you sign up and are approved, you immediately get 20% off your first purchase with your new card. This discount only applies to online Gap and Gap Outlet purchases, and it expires 30 days after you open an account.

On top of getting 20% off your first purchase, you can also qualify for free shipping on your first purchase. All you have to do is pay with your new Gap Visa when you check out.

Should You Apply for the Gap Good Rewards Mastercard®?

While this credit card allows you to earn and redeem points at any Gap Inc. brand, cardholders get additional perks only at Gap stores and online. This includes the introductory discounts mentioned in the section above and free shipping as part of the Silver status.

The rewards benefits of this card are almost identical to the other retail cards under Gap Inc. Your decision to apply for this card over a Banana Republic card, for instance, comes down to how often you plan to shop at Gap over the other brands.