Six Terrible Reasons Why My Husband Opened the Wrong Credit Card

I’ve been married almost 20 years but my husband never fails to surprise me.

Today we were coming home from the 4th of July picnic at my Mom’s nursing home when he mentioned something about a Kohl’s charge card.

You have got to be kidding!   Store-branded credit cards are almost always a bad idea:

• the rewards are limited to the store at hand
• the opening bonus is insubstantial
• you are taking a hit on your credit score for a very limited benefit

If you have a good to excellent credit score, and you pay your bills on time and in full every month, there are far better offers out there.

This is the same guy that has been refusing for months to consider applying for a travel rewards credit card — one that would provide a sign-up bonus worth hundreds of dollars and put us not the path to our next vacation.

 Travel Rewards Credit Cards and the Noncompliant Spouse

Okay, so this is my hobby, not my his.  After 20 years, I’ve learned to live and let live.

But lordy, lordy, a Kohl’s charge card?

There are a million and one better options that provide flexible rewards that can be redeemed for travel.

My husband is an independent thinker who has his own opinions about things.  He has told me he didn’t want to keep track of another credit card and that is that.

The Six Worst Reasons, Ever, to Open a Kohl’s Charge Card

Here are the reasons my husband offered for opening the Kohl’s Charge Card.

1. the 20 percent discount on that day’s purchase
2. a 15 percent discount for a future purchase
3. cardholders get special coupons
4. he shops at Kohl’s four or five times a year
5. the card is a nice color
6. the checkout girl was cute

Do the Math, Folks

We probably spend $500 to $600 per year at Kohl’s, if that.  Generously assuming a 20 percent discount on all purchases, we would be saving $120 per year at most.

Contrast that with the $400 bonus and cash back savings on the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®.  This card pays 2x points on all purchases!  

Plus you get 10 percent of your redemptions credited back to your account.

Say we charge $10,000 of purchases in a year.  That would be $200 cash back when redeemed for travel expenses.

So, in the first year, when the annual fee is waived, we’re looking at $400 plus $200, plus $60 for a total $660 in rewards toward travel expenses.  You can read my full review of the pros and cons of the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® here. 

There are numerous other bonus offers that may be even more lucrative, and other credit cards like the Amex Blue Cash Preferred that offer 3x bonus points on all department store purchases, including Kohl’s.