Shopping Smart With Store Credit Cards

Hi lovelies!

I often talk about how my Banana Republic credit card gets me some crazy good savings. After a recent SUPER successful trip to Banana, I thought I would share the plus sides to a store credit card and how to maximize the rewards!

I recently used my BR CC to book an upcoming girls trip to Las Vegas for my mom's birthday (you'll see more of that next month!) A few weeks later, I got the *beautiful* email that I had received a $100 BR reward! Naturally I wanted to hop onto their website and buy the first thing I saw, but I wanted to be smart about this and wait for the best time to shop. This is usually near the end of a season when they are trying to get all the old clothes off the shelves to make way for the new season's arrivals. Fast forward to this weekend when I came along with hubby on a little work trip to San Diego. He dropped me off at Fashion Valley, a high end shopping center right outside of the city that has everything from Chanel to H&M. Highly recommend!

ANYWAY. When I spotted the "60% off Sale" sign in the window, I knew my opportunity had arrived. Man did I score! I ended up leaving the store with 3 sweaters, a ruffle sleeve top, a preppy skirt, a sleek dress, and a gold bangle bracelet. Everything on sale! With the 60% discount, my total came to $160. Minus my $100 reward AND an extra 10% off I get every time I use my BR card, I only ended up paying $40 for everything! News flash, not one item I bought had an original retail price of $40! Keep scrolling to see more pics of all the pretties I got for under $6/item.

DISCLAIMER: Just like any credit card, you have to really be very careful about not spending above your means, and ensuring you can pay it off completely every month. If you don't, you can end up paying WAY more than you thought when interest and fees come into play.

So how do you use store credit cards smartly?

1. Don't spend more than you can pay off at the end of the month -- store credit cards tend to have incredibly high interest rates
2. Be patient and wait for sales at the end of the season to maximize your rewards
3. Many lines of credit can hurt your credit score, so choose wisely which store credit cards you want to open (ie Forever 21 now offers credit cards -- DON'T DO IT)
4. Sign up for store emails so you can be aware of special sales for card holders or extra bonus point dates
5. Utilize a big purchase that you have the money for (for example, an upcoming trip) and book with a store credit card to rake in points
   

Thanks so much for reading! Did you find this useful, or have your own feedback on store credit cards? Leave me a comment below!