My Best Buy Visa Card Review 2023

Full Review of My Best Buy Visa Card

Pros & Cons

Pros Explained

• At least 5% back in rewards on Best Buy purchases or flexible financing: You'll earn 5% back in rewards or 6% back if you're an Elite Plus member when you shop at Best Buy and use your card's standard financing option. You can become an Elite Plus member by spending $1,500 or more on the My Best Buy Visa card. You can also forgo your rewards and instead take advantage of flexible financing options on purchases of $299 or more at Best Buy. 
• 10% back on your first day of best buy purchases: You can earn 10% back in rewards on your first day of Best Buy purchases made within 14 days of opening your account if you select the standard credit option rather than flexible financing. But some products don't qualify for My Best Buy Rewards.
• Other bonus categories are sometimes available: You can earn 3% back in rewards on gas purchases, 2% back on dining, grocery and bar purchases, and 1% back on all other purchases. But Best Buy includes a caveat on their 3% bonus category. This offer can be changed or withdrawn at any time. Other cards with real or implied limited-time offers for bonus rewards normally offer higher earning rates, as much as 5% back.

Cons Explained

• Confusing application process considers you for several cards: You're actually applying for up to four different types of credit cards when you apply for a My Best Buy Visa card. This isn't prominently displayed. It's buried in the terms and conditions of the offer. You're first considered for the My Best Buy Visa Platinum card which doesn't come with an annual fee. If you don't qualify for that card, you may be considered for a My Best Buy Visa Gold card that can be used anywhere Visa cards are accepted but has a $59 annual fee. Finally, you may be considered for two closed-loop Best Buy credit cards that can only be used at Best Buy. 
• Potentially misleading rewards rates: Five percent back in rewards or 6% with the full membership seems like a decent earning rate, but the card itself doesn’t provide all of that. There's a free My Best Buy rewards program that offers points on purchases without the use of any particular credit card. The advertised rewards rates show you the total rewards you’d earn from both the free rewards program and the credit card combined.
• Many limited-time offers add unpredictability: Limited-time bonus rewards categories are nice, but there isn’t any predictability as to what you might earn in the future. The limited-time 3% gas purchases category can be changed or withdrawn without notice.

Who This Card Is Best For

The My Best Buy Visa card is for frequent Best Buy shoppers with good to excellent credit. They want to earn rewards toward more Best Buy merchandise. The 5% back in rewards for shopping at Best Buy and 6% for Elite Plus members is a decent earning rate if you frequently spend significant amounts of money there.

But these rewards probably aren't worth the expense if you only qualify for the Best Buy Visa Gold card because it comes with a $59 annual fee. You’d have to spend at least $1,200 on qualifying Best Buy purchases to earn $60 in reward certificates to justify the annual fee.

The other rewards categories, including the limited-time non-Best Buy categories, can typically be beaten by other rewards credit cards without an annual fee. Consider a general cash-back credit card instead if you want to earn rewards that you can use at places other than Best Buy.

My Best Buy Visa Card Bonus

The My Best Buy Visa card bonus is disappointing but it's better than nothing. You can earn an additional 5% back in rewards above the standard 5% earning rate for a total of 10% on your first day of Best Buy purchases. But it must fall within 14 days of opening the account and you must opt for standard rather than flexible credit.

Not all products qualify to earn My Best Buy Rewards. Some purchases at Pacific Sales Kitchen & Home Stores, a Best Buy subsidiary, are excluded. Online purchases may be ineligible for this offer even if made on the first day if you apply for the credit card in a store.

Rewards Earning Details

Earning rewards with the Best Buy Visa card is a bit confusing for several reasons. The marketing for the card talks about rewards in terms of the percentage you'll earn back but you'll actually earn rewards as points worth $0.02 each. Earning 5% back means you receive 2.5 points per dollar spent.

You can earn 2.5 points per dollar spent at Best Buy or three points per dollar if you’re an Elite Plus member. You must choose standard financing to earn points. You’ll also earn 1.5 points per dollar on gas purchases unless the offer is withdrawn at some point in the future. The card offers one point per dollar on dining, groceries, and bar purchases; and half a point per dollar on all other purchases.

The way that rewards are calculated may make you think you're getting more value from the card than you actually are. Best Buy combines the points you earn from its free My Best Buy rewards program with the points you earn by using your credit card., You’ll still earn the following points per dollar spent based on your membership status if you sign up for the My Best Buy rewards program without the credit card:

• Core members: 0.5 points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases
• Elite members: One point per dollar spent on qualifying purchases
• Elite Plus members: 1.25 points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases

Depending on your My Best Buy rewards program status, the actual rewards rate you earn by using your credit card would work out like this:

• Core members: One point per dollar spent on qualifying purchases
• Elite members: 1.5 points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases
• Elite Plus members: 1.75 points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases

Some products purchased at stand-alone Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers or Pacific Sales locations within Best Buy stores aren't eligible for points. You can't use reward certificates on these purchases, either. There's a long list of other exclusions that don't earn points, including Student Deals, leased products, instant rebates, purchases made for resale, purchases paid with a reward certificate, purchases using any type of promotional financing, sales tax, and service charges.

You may automatically be issued rewards certificates in 250-point increments and your remaining points can be forfeited if your account remains inactive for 12 consecutive months. Your My Best Buy account can be terminated if it's inactive for 24 months.

Rewards Redemption Details

Earning rewards can be complicated, but redeeming them is fairly straightforward. You can get a $5 reward certificate that you can redeem for a discount on a purchase of equal or greater value, excluding sales tax, for every 250 My Best Buy points you accumulate. You can set your certificate preferences to have certificates issued automatically at as low as 250 points for a $5 certificate or as high as 1,000 points for a $20 certificate.

You can also request that certificates be issued manually if you have enough points. Reward certificates are emailed to you and expire 60 days after they're issued, so you must use them fairly quickly.

You can't redeem reward certificates for prior purchases, leased products, for some purchases at Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath stores or at Pacific Sales locations within Best Buy stores. You can’t redeem reward certificates for Best Buy or Magnolia gift cards, point-of-sale activation cards, or purchases you plan to make for resale. There are other limitations to their use as well.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

The ability to maximize your rewards is fairly limited with this program. The best way to earn rewards is to put all of your Best Buy purchases on the card and choose standard financing. The bonus categories on the card can change, so make sure you compare them with any other cards you have to see which offers the highest rewards value for a particular category. Any purchases with lower reward rates than 1.5% should go on the other card if you have a 1.5% cash-back credit card,

Make sure to set your rewards auto redemption preferences to the limit you prefer or choose to bank your rewards if you’re an Elite or Elite Plus member. A reward certificate expires in just 60 days if it's automatically issued by email. Setting a higher limit still allows you to redeem points for small rewards certificates manually whenever you have a use for one.

Cardholder Experience

The My Best Buy Visa card is issued by Citi, which scored 808 out of 1,000 points in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. The average score among national issuers was 814.

You can reach customer service for this credit card at 888-574-1301.

Security Features

This card's security features are standard for the industry.

Fees to Watch Out For

The Platinum version of the My Best Buy Visa card doesn’t have an annual fee, but the Gold version comes with a $59 annual fee. Many of the other fees and rates that this card charges, including balance transfer fees, cash advance fees, cash advance APRs, purchase APRs, and balance transfer APRs, are fairly high. Both versions of this card charge a balance transfer fee of $15 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater.

You can find cards that offer introductory no-fee balance transfers within the first 60 days of opening the account.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does My Best Buy Visa card work?

The My Best Buy Visa card lets cardholders earn rewards toward Best Buy merchandise when they use the card for certain purchases. You'll get 5% to 6% in rewards, depending on the card and membership you hold.

Where can I use the My Best Buy Visa card?

You can use your My Best Buy Visa card anywhere that accepts Visa cards. You're not limited to using it only on purchases from Best Buy. But pay attention to the card you're actually applying for because two "closed-loop" Best Buy credit cards can only be used at Best Buy stores.

What is the difference between the Best Buy Card and the Best Buy Visa?

The My Best Buy Visa card can be used anywhere that accepts Visa cards. The Best Buy store card is good only for purchases made at that store. The Visa earns rewards on purchases made anywhere. The Best Buy card only offers rewards on Best Buy purchases because those are the only purchases you can make on it.

What is the interest rate on the My Best Buy Visa card?

The interest rate on the Best Buy Visa is a variable 15.49% to 30.99% as of April 2023. The non-variable APR is 9.99% to 20.24%. The rate you'll actually be charged depends on your credit and other factors.

Final Verdict

The Best Buy Visa card offers a strong rewards rate on Best Buy purchases. The other limited-time and bonus categories don't provide much value because they aren't predictable or they can be beaten by other rewards cards. 

The rewards you earn can only be redeemed for Best Buy rewards certificates, and these expire just 60 days after they're issued. You can forgo the rewards points you’d normally earn if you’d rather take advantage of the special financing this card offers on Best Buy purchases.

People who shop at Best Buy only occasionally might do better with a straight cash-back credit card that offers 1.5% or better cash back on all purchases.