LOFT Credit Card Review

Should you open the LOFT card at the register, or walk past the offer? The short answer is that it only makes sense if you already shop at LOFT or Ann Taylor on a regular basis. Here’s the math: on a $500 a month mix, the LOFT Mastercard® returns $132 a year in LOFT and Ann Taylor certificates, and $60 of that comes from just $100 a month spent at the brands.

The card is issued by Comenity Capital Bank. Older sources and some loft.com footers still say “Comenity Bank”, but the issuer’s own October 2026 documents say Comenity Capital Bank (Comenity Bank merged into it on October 1, 2026). If the bank’s name is unfamiliar, who Comenity Bank and Bread Financial are explains how the family fits together.

There are three versions: the LOFT Mastercard®, the LOFT World Mastercard® and the store-only LOFT Credit Card. The bank, not the applicant, decides which one you get. This review is written around the open-loop LOFT Mastercard® and flags where the store-only card differs.

Who This Card Is For

Based on verified data, three profiles cover most readers.

The regular brand shopper. Spend $100 a month at LOFT, LOFT Outlet, Ann Taylor or Ann Taylor Factory and the card earns 5 points per $1. That is 6,000 points a year, worth $60 in brand certificates, on either the Mastercard or the store-only card.

The same shopper who uses the Mastercard everywhere. Add $200 a month at gas and grocery stores (2 points per $1) and $200 a month on everything else (1 point per $1) and the total reaches $132 a year. The extra $72 is real, but it is still brand certificates, not cash.

The credit score question. LOFT Mastercard®’s issuer doesn’t publish a minimum score, and approval also decides which of the three versions you receive. Applying triggers a standard hard inquiry whichever version you get; how store-card inquiries affect your credit covers the details. For context, read What Credit Score Do You Need for a Store Credit Card? and compare other apparel options in Best Credit Cards for Clothing.

Who should skip it: anyone who shops at these brands a few times a year, or who may carry a balance.

Sign-Up Bonus: Is It Worth It?

The welcome offer is an extra 20% off your first qualifying purchase when you open the card and use it immediately. The window is 24 hours, so it works on the day you are approved. It excludes tax, shipping, gift cards, gift boxes and account payments, and no minimum purchase is stated.

This is a percentage discount, not a bonus with a fixed dollar value. As an illustration only, 20% off a $100 first purchase is $20, one time. The real figure is larger or smaller depending on what you buy, and it is not counted in the net value below.

Net first-year value on the Mastercard: $0 fixed sign-up value + $132 in ongoing certificates – $0 annual fee = $132. The store-only card comes to $60. All of it is brand-certificate value, not cash.

Is the same-day window realistic? Only if you are already at the register or checking out online. Opening the card just to chase 20% off is a weak reason to take a 35.99% APR.

One warning: loft.com’s own pages are inconsistent about the offer (one clause says “$20 off”, another refers to a different card name, and some footnotes cite 2023). Confirm the current terms at application.

Earning Rewards: The Math

Using the $500 a month profile on the Mastercard:

Points convert at 1,000 points to a $10 certificate, which is 1 cent per point. The store-only card earns only the $60 brand row and nothing on the other $400.

Now the honest finding. A flat 2% cash back card on the same $500 a month earns $120 a year in cash you can spend anywhere. The LOFT Mastercard’s $132 is only $12 more, and only because $100 a month goes to the brands at 5 points per $1.

Take the brand spend away and the other $400 a month earns $72 a year in brand certificates, against $96 a year from the flat 2% card. For anyone who is not a regular LOFT or Ann Taylor shopper, this is the wrong card.

A transparency note: the 5 / 2 / 1 rates and the 1,000 points = $10 conversion are consistent across card-review sites, but the issuer’s current rewards terms weren’t available to confirm them, so check before applying.

Redeeming Rewards

Redemption is simple. Every 1,000 points becomes a $10 rewards certificate, spendable at LOFT and Ann Taylor brands only. It is not cash and it does not go toward your statement balance.

That means a point is worth 1 cent inside the brands and nothing outside them. A points hoarder with no brand plans gets nothing. There are no transfer partners and no travel redemptions.

One trap to check: certificate and points-expiry terms. The issuer’s older 2019 terms included a 12-month expiry, but the current terms weren’t confirmed, so read them before you rely on a balance sitting for long.

Per loft.com, cardholders may also get an extra 15% off on the first Tuesday of each month, and a 1% donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation on eligible October purchases. Both are qualitative perks, can change, and are not part of the net value above.

Fees and Costs

The card has $0 a year, permanently. There is no annual fee to break even on.

The cost is the interest. The card carries a flat 35.99% APR on purchases, with a penalty APR of up to 39.99%. There is no introductory APR offer.

Here is how fast interest eats the rewards. At 35.99%, the $132 a year of rewards is cancelled by interest on an average balance of just $132 / 0.3599 = about $367 carried for a year. On the store-only card, $60 / 0.3599 = about $167. Carrying $500 for a year costs about $180 in interest, more than a full year of rewards.

Other costs: the Mastercard versions carry a 3% foreign transaction fee, while the store-only card works only at the brands. Foreign transaction fee: 3%. For background, see what a foreign transaction fee is.

Balance transfers on the LOFT Mastercard cost $10 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater; the store-only card does not offer them. Late and returned payment fees run up to $41 ($30 if there was no late payment in the prior six billing periods). Cash advances cost $10 or 3% on the Mastercard versions only, and there is a $3.00 minimum interest charge.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• No annual fee
• 5 points per $1 (5% in certificates) at LOFT and Ann Taylor
• The Mastercard also earns 2 points on gas and grocery and 1 point on everything else
• 20% off the first purchase with no stated minimum

Cons

• Rewards redeem only as LOFT and Ann Taylor certificates, not cash
• 35.99% APR, with a penalty APR of up to 39.99%
• 3% foreign transaction fee on the Mastercard
• The bank, not you, picks which of three versions you get, and the store-only one earns only the brand rate
• Reward rates are not confirmed by a current issuer rewards page
• No published minimum credit score

How It Compares

Two same-cluster Comenity peers, using their published figures only.

Victoria’s Secret Mastercard. Same issuer family, the same two-version setup (Mastercard or store-only, bank decides), the same 35.99% APR and a 3% foreign fee on the Mastercard. Its brand rate is 10 points per $1 (5% back) at the All-Access tier and 15 points per $1 (7.5%) at VIP after $750 a year.

Verdict: same economics and a similar 5% brand return, so the tie is decided by which brand you actually shop.

Lane Bryant Credit Card. Closed-loop only, with a flat 35.99% APR and tiered points of 15 / 20 / 25 per $1 (Silver / Gold / Platinum), about 5% to 8.3% back. With no open-loop Mastercard earning on gas and grocery, it cannot beat the LOFT Mastercard for someone who wants one card outside the brand too.

Talbots Credit Card. The nearest twin outside the LOFT family: one application, a store-only card or a World Mastercard chosen by the bank, a flat 35.99% APR and a $0 fee. Talbots returns 5% in Style Rewards at Talbots, with 2.5% at restaurants and 1% elsewhere on the World Mastercard.

The LOFT Mastercard’s extra $72 a year on the non-brand $400 is the one thing the store-only peers lack, and it is brand-certificate value.

Nick’s Verdict

Based on verified data, the LOFT Mastercard® suits a regular LOFT or Ann Taylor shopper who pays in full every month. It does not suit anyone carrying a balance at 35.99%, or anyone who wants flexible rewards.

For a reader spending $100 a month at LOFT or Ann Taylor, this card returns $60 in brand certificates a year, or $132 a year if the same reader also puts $400 a month of gas, grocery and other spending on the Mastercard, all in LOFT and Ann Taylor certificates and not cash.

If the brand spend isn’t there, a flat 2% cash card beats it, $96 against $72 on the same $400. For store-card value math, see Are Store Credit Cards Worth It?, and to see how it stacks up against the field, read Best Store Credit Cards.