Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
If you shop at JCPenney, you have undoubtedly been offered the JCPenney credit card at checkout or have seen advertisements for the card in-store and online. The card seems to offer attractive rewards for JCP shoppers, plus a substantial discount on your first purchase.
But is the JCPenney credit card actually a good deal for loyal JCP shoppers? Between a having confusing reward structure and the restrictions on redeeming your rewards, we think that there are better options out there.
In this article, we take a look at why.
Bottom line up front: The JCPenney credit card’s rewards come with a lot of strings attached.
- The JCPenney credit card can net you up to 2.5% rewards as credit toward some JCP purchases.
- The reward certificates you earn expire, don’t stack with many discounts, and have other exclusions and restrictions.
- For most JCP shoppers, cash back rewards will provide more value for less hassle.
In this article…
Initial discount: The headline 35% discount has a lot of restrictions
When you’re offered at JCPenney credit card at checkout, you’re probably told that you can get up to a 35%* discount on your first purchase when you’re approved. But whenever you see “up to” or there is an asterisk attached to a number, there are bound to be restrictions. Here’s what’s behind that asterisk:
- The discount applies to only select categories. Most high-dollar value categories are excluded and only offer a 20% or 5% discount.
- The best sale deals are excluded. Love shopping the clearance racks or doorbusters? The 35% discount doesn’t apply at all to these items.
- You can’t use it with other coupons. If you can regularly use a 30% off coupon, you’re really only getting a 5% additional discount, and then only on select categories.
Those are only some of the restrictions on the 35% discount, but those alone should convince you that you’re likely to get a much less valuable discount than you might expect.
When you can get $200 cash back after spending $500 in total purchases within 3 months with an easy cash back welcome bonus—an effective 40% discount that you can use anywhere—there is little reason to get the JCPenney credit card for its 35% discount alone.
But what about the card’s rewards? Maybe those offer some value for JCPenney shoppers.
Ongoing rewards: Much worse than you think.
The rewards you’ll get with your JCPenney credit card are confusing and designed to be difficult to use. At most, using the card will get you a 2.5% rebate on your purchases, redeemable only toward merchandise at JCPenney.
In reality, your rewards will usually be worth much less than face value, will often expire, and might provide negative value if they cause you to make full-priced purchases you wouldn’t otherwise make, just to use your rewards.
Doing the math on the JCP credit card rewards
The JCPenney credit card’s rewards are advertised as earning 1.5 points per dollar on qualifying purchases at JCPenney. And you get a $10 CashPass Reward for every 200 points you accumulate. Doing the math, that looks like a 7.5% rebate, redeemable on purchases at JCPenney. Not bad at first glance.
But how JCPenney markets its credit card rewards is somewhat deceptive. When you dig into the fine print, you’ll find that you earn 1 point per dollar in the JCPenney Rewards program for every $1 you spend, regardless how how you pay and you’ll earn an additional half a point if you pay with a JCPenney credit card or JCPenney Mastercard. That means that you’ll only earn a 2.5% rebate on your JCPenney purchases from using the JCP credit card.
The rewards you’ll earn outside of JCPenney on the Mastercard version of the JCPenney credit card are worth less than the 1% cash back you’ll get on every purchase with most any cash back credit card. If you choose to carry the JCPenney credit card, definitely don’t use it for non-JCP purchases.
Rewards certificate restrictions
With the JCPenney credit card, you don’t receive your rewards as cash back, rather you receive them in the form of $10 reward certificates which JCPenney calls a “CashPass.” But these certificate are worth much less than cash back. Here’s why:
- CashPass certificates are only good toward purchases at JCP. A $10 discount on a purchase at JCP is less valuable than a $10 cash back reward because cash has more option value—it can be used anywhere.
- CashPass certificate expire. You must use your certificate before its expiration date, or else it’s gone.
- If you use only part of your cash pass, the remainder of the value is gone. The rewards program terms state that “If you use a CashPass to make a purchase that is less than the amount designated on the CashPass, you will forfeit the remainder of that CashPass.”
- CashPasses are applied prior to discounts. As an example, say you make a $20 purchase with a 30% off coupon and use a $10 CashPass certificate. Here’s what happens: JCPenney will deduct the $10 CashPass discount from the purchase price and then give you a 30% discount on the remaining $10. Your item will cost $7, rather than the $4 it would cost had JCPenney applied the 30% discount first.
Like most store rewards that are awarded in the form of coupons or certificates, you’ll get much less value than the face value of your rewards. You might even get negative value if you end up using the certificates for purchases you wouldn’t otherwise make.
Benefits: None that we could find
We tried to find information on any additional benefits of the JCPenney credit card that might be useful to JCP shoppers. Benefits like extended warranty and purchase protection are likely to be the most useful on JCPenney purchases like housewares, small appliances, electronics, and furniture. But it doesn’t look like the JCPenney credit card provides any benefits of this sort.
Better options: Cards with cash back and benefits
If you’re looking for a credit card to use for your JCPenney shopping, here are a few cards that we think could give you a much better deal when it comes to benefits and rewards.
Maximum cash back and extended warranty in-store: U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® card
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® card beats all other cards out there for cash back rewards when you use your phone’s mobile wallet (like Apple Pay® or Google Wallet) to tap to pay. If you use your phone to pay, you’ll get 3% or 4.5% cash back rewards at JCPenney in-store. You’ll also get the benefit of extended warranty and purchase protection on the JCP purchases where those benefits matter.
The obvious downside to the card is its annual fee, but you’ll get most of that back if you take advantage of the card’s $325 credit for dining and travel. Plus you’ll earn plenty of rewards if you spend a fair amount on the card.
Annual fee: $400
Foreign transaction fee: None
All information about the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
You can get 3% cash back or 4.5% travel rewards—at JCP, or anywhere you can use mobile wallet to pay with the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® card.
Sign-up bonus
Earn 50,000 bonus points worth $750 on travel. Just spend $4,500 in eligible net purchases in the first 90 days. Learn how to apply.
Rewards
- 5x points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center.
- 3x points on mobile wallet spending with Apple Pay®, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay.
- 3x points on eligible travel purchases.
- 1x points on all other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as Altitude Rewards points.
Altitude Rewards points can be redeemed for cash back at 1 cent per point or used to book travel through the Altitude Rewards center at 1.5 cents per point. You can also redeem your points against travel purchases through Real Time Rewards at 1.5 cents per point.
Benefits
Consumer insurance benefits
- Extended warranty protection.
- Purchase security.
- Return protection.
- Personal identity theft protection.
Travel insurance benefits
- Auto rental collision damage waiver.
- Lost luggage reimbursement.
- Travel accident insurance.
- Emergency evacuation and transportation.
- Trip cancellation/interruption coverage.
- Trip delay reimbursement.
- Travel and emergency assistance services.
Travel benefits
- Airport lounge access. Complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership with 8 free visits annually.
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry statement credit.
Partner benefits and statement credits
- $325 annual statement credit for eligible travel and dining purchases.
- Free Shipt membership until 12/31/24 with enrollment. After free membership expires, you are automatically enrolled in an annual Shipt membership at then-current prices until you cancel.
3% cash back online: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
If your JCPenney shopping is mostly online, you can get up to 3% cash back on a card with no annual fee with the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. The card earns 3% cash back at U.S. online retailers on up to $6,000 per year (then 1%) plus rewards in other useful categories.
Annual fee: annual_fees (See Rates and Fees)
Shopping at JCP.com within the U.S. can get you up to 3% cash back on your purchases with the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express.
Welcome offer
Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus receive 10% back, up to $150, as a statement credit on purchases at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Learn how to apply for this Resy exclusive offer.
All information about the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Rewards
- 3% on groceries at U.S. supermarkets
on up to $6,000 per year of purchases, then 1%. - 3% on U.S. online retail purchases
on up to $6,000 per year of purchases, then 1%. - 3% on gas at U.S. gas stations
on up to $6,000 per year of purchases, then 1%. - 1% on other purchases.
Rewards are earned as cash back.
Benefits
Consumer insurance benefits
- Purchase protection. Covers eligible purchases against theft or accidental damage up to $1,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per account per calendar year. Exclusions and terms apply.
Travel insurance benefits
- Car rental loss and damage insurance.
- Global assist hotline.
Partner benefits and statement credits
- $84 Disney Bundle Credit. Receive $7 back monthly after spending $9.99+ each month on an eligible auto-renewing U.S. subscription to the Disney Bundle. Enrollment required.
- $180 Home Chef Credit. Receive up to $15 per month in statement credits when you purchase an auto-renewing U.S. subscription for Home Chef meal kits.
- Amex Offers. Receive statement credits or extra rewards with targeted offers from select merchants. Enrollment required.
Great combination of cash back, benefits and no annual fee: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
We like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for shopping at JCP because it is a good no-annual-fee option that offers a combination of decent cash back rewards, extended warranty, and purchase protection. You’ll get 1.5% cash back on all of your purchases (and more for the first year with one of the welcome offered that was available at publication). In our view, 1.5% cash back beats the rewards you’d get on the JCPenney credit card when you consider all the strings attached.
Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® won’t get you absolute maximum rewards at JCPenney, but it is an excellent choice for a no-annual-fee, use-anywhere card, thanks to its 1.5% cash back rewards.
Sign-up bonus
Here are the best sign-up bonuses available on the the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
Learn how to apply for the biggest bonus online.
- Biggest bonus online: bonus_miles_full
- Best bonus in-branch: As of August 27, 2024, the following offer is available in branch: Earn up to $800 cash back: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases (not including Target® and Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. (That’s $600 cash back.) To get this bonus, you must apply in-person in a branch with a Chase banker.
- Easiest bonus online: Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. This bonus is offered directly on the Chase website or through personal referral links.
Rewards
- 5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠.
- 5% on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025.
- 3% on dining at restaurants, including eligible takeout and delivery services.
- 3% drugstore purchases.
- 1.5% on other purchases.
Rewards are marketed as cash back, but earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.
Ultimate Rewards® can be combined across cards you hold. If you hold a premium Ultimate Rewards card, you can transfer your points to Chase’s transfer partners or use your points for increased value when you book travel through Chase Travel℠. For more about using Ultimate Rewards, check out our guide on the Ultimate Rewards program.
Benefits
Consumer insurance benefits
Travel insurance benefits
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver.
- Travel and emergency assistance services.
Partner benefits and statement credits
- 3 complimentary months of DashPass. After your 3 months, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at 50% off for the next 9 months. Activate by January 31, 2025.
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American Express disclosures
- For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, see this link: See Rates and Fees
Amex Basic Purchase Protection benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Basic Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance disclosure: Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
