How does the Gap Credit Card Works?

GapCard, Gap’s credit card, is available in several variations. A store-only card, which may be used at Gap shops as well as Banana Republic, Athleta, Old Navy, and Intermix, is the most basic option. It can also be used to make purchases online.

Consumers can also apply for a Gap card that is associated with Visa. This card can be used everywhere Visa is accepted, and it earns Gap rewards points, though at a slower pace than in Gap family stores. Cash advances are available to Visa cardholders for a 4% fee or a minimum charge of $10, whichever is greater.

Rewards

New cards receive a 20% discount on their first purchase of Hole items. Factors are earned at a rate of one level per dollar spent on the Hole family of stores. Visa-enabled credit cards that are used to make non-Hole transactions earn one point per dollar spent. These variables will be exchanged for $5 rewards for 500 points, effectively lowering the cost of all Hole store transactions made with the cardboard by 5%.

Members will earn higher membership standing levels with additional benefits based on their overall Qualifying Purchases after hitting certain milestones.

There are three levels of difficulty:

• AVERAGE ANNUAL MODEL SPEND: $500
• ENTHUSIAST: Cardmembers start at the Fanatic level and progress to the Enthusiast level after spending $500 to $999 per year.
• ICON: 5,000 or more factors as a Cardmember, or $1,000 or more in yearly model expenditure.

Cardholders also receive a slew of benefits and opportunities to participate in special events. These include Tuesday-only offers for more rewards points and a 10% discount on any items, as well as birthday bonus offers and a waiver of the company’s return receipt policy.

Drawbacks of Card

 The fact that both the regular Gap card and the Gap Silver card can only be used at Gap is obviously a major disadvantage (and the Gap Inc. family of brands).

If you purchase at Gap frequently, this isn’t a disadvantage because you won’t mind having incentives that can only be used once. However, if you want to diversify how you spend your rewards (for example, cash-back to spend on whatever you choose or travel rewards with a variety of redemption possibilities), you won’t be able to do so here.

Final Verdict

 While the Gap Visa offers a generous 5 points for $1 spent on Gap-branded items, you can only use it at Gap-branded stores to earn the higher rewards rate, and you can only use your rewards at Gap-branded stores to redeem them.

If you’re a big Gap fan, you might want to consider the Gap Visa, which can be used anywhere. If you’re not a Gap fan, however, you’re probably better off with a retail-focused, general rewards card that gives you more points for every transaction and has more redemption choices.