Bloomingdale’s Credit Card Review

Should you open the Bloomingdale’s Credit Card at the Bloomingdale’s register, or pay with a flat 2% cash back card instead? Based on verified data, the answer is the second option for most shoppers. At the starting tier, a reader spending $100 a month at Bloomingdale’s earns $18 a year in Loyallist rewards, less than the $24 a flat 2% card would pay on the same spend.

The card only pays off at the top tier, 10 points per $1 (5% back), which takes $15,000 in net purchases in a calendar year and would earn $750 a year. Against a variable 32.99% APR, $18 of rewards is erased by interest on a balance of about $55 carried for a year.

This card works only at Bloomingdale’s. A second, open-loop version, the Bloomingdale’s American Express Card, also exists and is covered in the comparison below.

Who This Card Is For

Three kinds of Bloomingdale’s shopper show how different the math gets, using the Bloomingdale’s Credit Card’s three reward tiers and a $0 annual fee.

A regular shopper at $100 a month ($1,200 a year) earns 3,600 points at the starting tier, worth $18 a year. A heavier shopper at $250 a month ($3,000 a year) earns 9,000 points, worth $45 a year at the starting tier or $60 at 4 points per $1. A top-tier shopper at $1,250 a month ($15,000 a year) earns $750 a year at 10 points per $1.

On credit, Citi doesn’t publish a minimum score for this card, and third-party sites disagree, so no number is given here. Our guide, What Credit Score Do You Need for a Store Credit Card?, explains how store card approvals usually work. For other options in this category, see the clothing & department store roundup.

Skip this card if you shop at Bloomingdale’s a few times a year, because a flat 2% card earns more on that spend. Skip it too if you might carry a balance.

Sign-Up Bonus: Is It Worth It?

New accounts get 20% off Bloomingdale’s purchases on the day of approval and the next day, up to a total savings of $250 over the two days, subject to credit approval. There is no spend requirement. This is a one-time discount as stated by Citi, not a cash bonus, and it is a promotional offer that can change.

Here’s the math. The cap is reached at $250 / 0.20 = $1,250 of purchases over the two days. On an illustrative $200 purchase, the discount is $40. That $200 is part of the $1,200 annual spend in the standard profile, so net first-year value is: $40 welcome discount + $18 in rewards – $0 fee = $58 net first-year value. Without the discount, it is $18.

The $40 is one time, comes from Citi’s page, is subject to change and credit approval, and is not guaranteed. The maximum possible discount is $250, reached at $1,250 of purchases.

The verdict: take the offer only if you were already planning a big-ticket purchase in that two-day window, and plan the purchase before you apply. The 20% is not a reason to apply by itself. For the broader math on this kind of offer, see Are Store Credit Cards Worth It? The Real Math. Confirm the current offer at application.

Earning Rewards: The Math

The card earns Bloomingdale’s Loyallist points, and every 5,000 points becomes a $25 reward, so 200 points equal $1. Rewards come in $25 steps. That makes 3 points per $1 worth 1.5% back, 4 points worth 2%, and 10 points worth 5%.

To reach a first $25 reward you need about $1,667 of spend at 3 points, $1,250 at 4 points, and $500 at 10 points. A cardholder starts at the Loyallist tier. The spend threshold for Top of the List is not confirmed here, so check Citi’s materials and the Loyallist page. The $15,000 figure for Unlocked comes from a published summary of that page, which we could not open ourselves.

Here’s the honest finding. A flat 2% card earns 2/100 x $500 x 12 = $120 a year on the full $500 monthly mix. This card earns $18, and nothing on the $400 a month spent elsewhere. On the $100 a month at Bloomingdale’s alone, a flat 2% card earns $24, so this card loses $6 a year at 3 points and only ties at 4 points.

Pairing the two gets $18 + $96 = $114 a year, or $154 in year one with the welcome discount, against $120 with the flat 2% card for everything. The 10-point tier is the only real edge: $750 versus $300 on $15,000 of spend.

On sources: the $0 fee, the 3 / 4 / 10 tiers, the 5,000-points-for-$25 conversion and the welcome offer come from Citi’s product and compare pages and the CFPB pricing table, checked October 15, 2026. The $15,000 threshold and expiry wording come from published summaries of the Loyallist pages. The percent-back figures and the 32.99% APR are our own derivations. Confirm current rates and the offer at application.

Redeeming Rewards

Points convert to $25 rewards, 5,000 points each. You spend them as Bloomingdale’s credit at stores, bloomingdales.com and Bloomingdale’s The Outlet Store. It is credit, not cash, so these are not cash back rewards. There are no transfer partners and nothing to optimize, which keeps redemption simple.

The trap is expiry. The program terms describe an annual forfeiture of most unconverted points and a six-month reward life. Confirm both on the Loyallist page before relying on stored points. We could not read the live terms, so treat the details as unverified.

The practical effect is that a reader who shops once a year may lose points before reaching 5,000. The program belongs to Bloomingdale’s, which can change it at any time. No other expiry rule is stated here.

Fees and Costs

The annual fee is $0, permanently, so there is no break-even threshold.

The APR is a variable 32.99% on purchases, with no introductory APR. Citi’s pages render the rate only with JavaScript, so this is our derivation (Citi’s 25.99% margin from the CFPB pricing table plus the 7.00% Prime rate), not a printed figure. Confirm the rate at application.

Here’s the interest versus rewards math. At 32.99%, $18 of yearly rewards is cancelled by interest on an average balance of about $55 carried for a year ($24: about $73; the top-tier $750: about $2,273). Carrying $500 for a year costs about $165 in interest, more than nine times the $18. For more, read What Is APR and How Does Credit Card Interest Work?.

The pricing table lists a late or returned payment fee of up to $41 and a $2 minimum interest charge when interest applies. Citi’s page lists no deferred-interest promotion today. A foreign transaction fee does not apply to a card that works only at Bloomingdale’s, while the Amex version’s table lists 3%. No balance transfer terms are listed for the store card.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• No annual fee
• 5% back at the top tier, $750 on $15,000 against $300 on a flat 2% card
• 20% off for two days, up to $250
• Simple conversion: 5,000 points per $25
• An open-loop Amex alternative exists for off-site earn
• Store-only, so no foreign fee or balance transfer line to worry about

Cons

• Works only at Bloomingdale’s and earns $0 elsewhere
• The 1.5% starting tier is below a flat 2% card
• The 10-point tier needs $15,000 a year
• The 32.99% APR wipes out the rewards at a carried balance of about $55
• Points and rewards can expire
• No published minimum credit score

How It Compares

Two department-store cards from the same issuer set the context, using published figures only.

The Macy’s Credit Card reaches 5% at $1,200 a year of prior-year spend, while Bloomingdale’s needs $15,000. For the same shopper, Macy’s is the easier path to 5% and has the higher entry rate. Bloomingdale’s wins only on the larger welcome discount cap. Both APRs use the same Citi margin over the Prime rate, so they match and move together. Our head-to-head with Macy’s puts the two through the same spending profiles.

The Dillard’s Credit Card earns a flat 2 points per $1 where 1,500 points equal $10, about 1.3%. The Bloomingdale’s starting tier (1.5%) is slightly higher. The Kohl’s Card is the department-store outlier at 7.5% back. Outside Citi, the Boscov’s Credit Card starts at 2% and adds a $20 bonus for every $1,000 spent in a year.

The Bloomingdale’s American Express Card earns 3 / 4 / 4 points per $1 by tier, at Bloomingdale’s and outside it, with the same $25 per 5,000 points. Its top tier is capped at 2% at Bloomingdale’s. It has no annual fee but lists a 3% foreign purchase fee. All $500 a month on it at the starting tier earns $90 a year, still below a flat 2% card’s $120. It helps only because it earns $72 on the $400 spent elsewhere.

The store card suits a heavy Bloomingdale’s spender chasing the 10-point tier. The Amex suits a lighter shopper who wants some off-site earn. For everything else, pair either with one of the best cash back credit cards.

Nick’s Verdict

Based on verified data, the Bloomingdale’s Credit Card fits a heavy Bloomingdale’s shopper on track for $15,000 a year who pays the balance in full every month and pairs it with a 2% card for everything else. It also fits a shopper planning a large purchase in the two-day welcome window.

Skip it if you carry a balance, given the 32.99% APR, or if you shop at Bloomingdale’s only occasionally, because a flat 2% card earns more.

For a reader spending $100 a month at Bloomingdale’s, this card returns $18 a year in rewards at the starting tier, or $58 net in year one with a $40 welcome discount. For anyone who does not shop at Bloomingdale’s, it is the wrong card. To see how it stacks up against the field, read our Best Store Credit Cards roundup.