You can get up to 10% rewards on home improvement store purchases with a card from our list of the best home improvement credit cards. Here are the cards that offer the best rewards at home improvement stores.
You might also want to consider a card with an introductory 0% APR on purchases or a card with a great extended warranty benefit for your home improvement project. More on that below.
The best credit cards for home improvement store rewards
| Card | Home improvement rewards | Other rewards |
|---|---|---|
 Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card Annual fee: $0 | Earn up to 3% cash back rewards in a category you choose on up to $2,500 in spending each quarter. Home improvement/furnishings is an eligible choice category. After $2,500 of spending across the card’s 3% and 2% categories, you’ll earn 1% cash back. Get up to 5.25% cash back rewards in your 3% bonus category when you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards with Platinum Honors status. More on the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card. | 3% on a select category. 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. 1% other purchases. 2% and 3% categories are limited to $2,500 in purchases per quarter. |
 Discover it® Cash Back Annual fee: $0 | Double cash back for new cardmembers, plus 5% in the Q2 2024 Discover it bonus categories means you can get 10% on up to $1,500 of home improvement store purchases in Q2 2024. 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of category purchases in Q1 2024. From April-June 2024, eligible categories include home improvement stores More on the Discover it® Cash Back card. | Double cash back in the first year. 1% cash back on other purchases. |
 Citi Custom Cash℠ Card Annual fee: $0 | 5% cash back on the first $500 of spending each month in the eligible category, in which you spend the most. Eligible categories include home improvement stores. Rewards are earned as Citi ThankYou® Points. More on the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. | 5% eligible categories include Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment. 1% on all other purchases. |
 U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card Annual fee: $400 | 3x points, worth up to 4.5% toward travel when you use a mobile wallet to pay for home improvement purchases. To earn increased points on home improvement store purchases, you must pay with your mobile wallet. U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve points can be redeemed for cash back at 1 cent per point or travel through the Altitude Rewards Center at 1.5 cents per point. More on the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card. | 5x on prepaid hotel and car rentals booked with the Altitude Rewards Center. 3x on mobile wallet purchases. 3x on eligible travel purchases. 1x on other purchases. |
 U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95/year | 6% cash back rewards on the first $1,500 of purchases each quarter on two select retailers you choose. Retailer options include home improvement retailers Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Ikea, Lowe’s, and Menards and furniture retailers Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Wayfair.com. More on the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card. | 6% at the two retailers you choose, up to $1,500 spending per quarter. 3% in an everyday category on up to $1,5000 spending per quarter. 1.5% all other eligible purchases. |
Other cards to consider for home improvement projects
On this page, we list the cards that offer the greatest rewards at home improvement stores, but there are other types of cards to consider for home improvement projects.
A card with a great extended warranty benefit might be the best home improvement credit card if your priority is protecting appliance and furniture purchases. If you’re looking to finance your home improvement project, a card with a 0% introductory offer on purchases will likely be the best card for your home improvement project. And large home improvement projects are a great opportunity to get a new credit card with a generous welcome bonus.
Cards that offer an extended warranty benefit may provide you with more value than the best home improvement rewards cards. If you’re purchasing appliances or furniture, getting an extra year or two of warranty coverage may prove more valuable than a marginal 1% cash back rewards.
A 0% introductory offer on purchases might be more useful to you. Cards with a 0% introductory offer on purchases can enable you to pay for your home improvement project over 18 months or more, interest-free.
Expensive home improvement projects can be a great opportunity to earn one or more credit card welcome bonuses. We publish lists of the best cash back welcome bonuses, as well as the best welcome bonuses for bank programs like Ultimate Rewards®, Citi ThankYou® Rewards and airline programs like Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus and American Airlines AAdvantage. See the links under “Welcome bonuses” on this page for more links to the best welcome bonuses.
My take on the best home improvement store rewards cards
If you frequently make purchases at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Menards, or other home improvement stores, you should have one or more cards that earn 5% rewards on home improvement purchases. Any of the above cards can be good picks if you consistently make home improvement or hardware store purchases.
However, for most people, home improvement projects are costly one-time endeavors. Here are a few ways that you can maximize your home improvement credit card rewards:
Big welcome bonuses. Large home improvement projects can run into several thousands of dollars. If you’re planning a large project, your best bet might be to use your planned spending to go after a new cardmember welcome bonus. You can frequently get north of $750 with one of the best cash back credit card welcome bonuses, you can earn miles with a card from a major airline like Delta, United, American, or Southwest, hotel points with a hotel chain like Marriott or Hyatt, or transferable points through a program like Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou Points.
Gift cards. If you have a rotating category card like the Discover it® Cash Back, Chase Freedom Flex℠, or Citi Dividend Card, chances are that you’ll be able to earn 5% on home improvement stores at some point during the year. If your project timeframe doesn’t match up with a rotating category card’s bonus categories, you can still get an effective 5% on your purchases by purchasing a gift card to use later. You can also purchase $500 of gift cards during a month to maximize the rewards on a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card.
More on the best credit cards for home improvement store rewards
Here are some more details on our picks for the best cards for home improvement store rewards.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: Choose home improvement as your 3% category and earn up to 5.25% cash back rewards with Preferred Rewards.
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card earns up to 3% cash back rewards on one category you select, and home improvement is in the list of available categories. You’ll earn 3% cash back rewards in your selected category, plus 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, on up to $2,500 of spending each quarter. You’ll earn 1% cash back rewards thereafter and on other purchases.
The card really starts to shine for home improvement purchases when you qualify for the Bank of America Preferred Rewards relationship banking program. If you qualify for the Preferred Rewards program at the Platinum Honors tier, you’ll get a 75% credit card rewards boost, which turns the card’s 3% rewards categories into categories that earn 5.25% rewards
Annual fee: $0
This is a direct bank link. All information about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card sign-up bonus
$200 Online Bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
The bonus is about average for a card with no annual fee.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Extended warranty.
Rewards:
3% cash back in a select category of your choice: gas and EV charging stations, online shopping/cable/streaming/internet/phone plan, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy, or home improvement/furnishings.
2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs.
Bonus rewards in 2% and 3% categories are limited to the first $2,500 in spending each quarter. Additional purchases earn 1% cash back
1% cash back on all other purchases.
Rewards get multiplied by up to 1.75x depending on your Bank of America Preferred Rewards status.
Learn more:
Learn more about the card in our review of the Customized Cash.
Read more about the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program.
About the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card offers increased rewards in a category of your choice, plus up to a 75% boost to your rewards if you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards with Platinum Honors status. The card has no annual fee.
You’ll get 3% base cash back on an eligible category of your choice. Categories include gas and EV charging stations; online shopping, including cable, internet, phone plans and streaming; dining; travel; drug stores and pharmacies; or home improvement and furnishings. Plus you’ll get 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and 1% on purchases everywhere else. 3% and 2% category rewards are limited to a combined $2,500 in spending each quarter.
The card doesn’t feature any notable benefits.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card rewards
| 3%* (Up to 5.25%**) | Select category of your choice. Choose from among: Gas and EV charging stations. Online shopping, including cable, internet, phone plans and streaming. Dining. Travel. Drug stores and pharmacies. Home improvement and furnishings. | |
| 2%* (Up to 3.5%**) | Grocery stores | |
| 2%* (Up to 3.5%**) | Wholesale clubs | |
| 1% (Up to 1.75%**) | Other purchases |
* Earn increased rewards on up to $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter in 2% and 3% categories, then earn unlimited 1% thereafter.
** Get up to a 75% bonus on the rewards you earn if you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards. Gold status gets you a 25% rewards bonus; Platinum gets you a 50% bonus; Platinum Honors gets you a 75% bonus.
Discover it® Cash Back: 5% cash back on home improvement in Q2 2024
With the Discover it® Cash Back card, you earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in total spending in categories that rotate quarterly. From April through June 2024, Discover’s Q2 2024 rotating categories include home improvement stores. That means you can earn 5% back on up to $1,500 of home improvement store spending during the quarter. If you’re a recently new cardmember, that 5% becomes 10%, thanks to Discover’s first year cash back match bonus.
Discover it® Cash Back welcome offer: $100 statement credit + double cash back in your first year. (Annual fee: $0)
Get a $100 statement credit when you’re approved and use the card within the first three months. Plus, get all of your cash back doubled in your first year of having the card. Get this welcome bonus.
The $100 statement credit after approval is an easy welcome bonus, even if it is smaller than other easy welcome bonuses. More interesting is the doubled cash back in the first year of having the card which turns the cards 5% rotating categories into 10% rotating categories.
5% cash back in rotating categories. (More in our card review.)
This is a referral link. All information about Discover it® Cash Back has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
About the Discover it® Cash Back card
Discover it® Cash Back is the original credit card offering 5% cash back rewards on spending in rotating categories. The card offers new cardmembers double cash back rewards in the first year and has an annual fee of $0.
The card’s rewards structure is relatively simple. Each quarter, Discover publishes the Discover it® Cash Back bonus categories. Spending in these categories earns 5% cash back, on up to $1,500 in spending during the quarter. All other spending earns 1% cash back.
Unfortunately, Discover eliminated most of the additional benefits on its cards, so the Discover it® Cash Back card has no notable additional benefits.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: 5% cash back on flexible categories, including home improvement stores
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card can be one of the best cards to use to get home improvement rewards at Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other home improvement stores. That’s because you’ll get 5% cash back on up to $500 of spending in your highest-spending eligible category each month. This card is particularly nice because you can use it for home improvement projects when you need to, and other categories when you don’t have a home improvement project to complete.
5% eligible categories include Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
Annual fee: $0
This is a direct bank link. All information about the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card sign-up bonus
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The 6-month window to earn this bonus makes it an easy bonus to earn.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Citi Entertainment® – Access to event ticket pre-sales.
Rewards:
5% cash back on your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, on up to $500 of purchases.
5% eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
1% cash back on all other purchases.
Rewards are earned as ThankYou® Points.
Learn more:
Learn more about the Citi Custom Cash in our review of the card.
See our overview of the ThankYou® Rewards program.
About the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card earns ThankYou® Points, but is marketed as a cash back card. With the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, you can get 5% cash back on up to $500 in spending on the category where you spend the most each month. The Custom Cash carries no annual fee.
Eligible 5% categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, live entertainment, select travel, select transit and select streaming services.
The best way to use the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is to select a bonus category and use the card primarily for that bonus category. The card earns 5% rewards only in the eligible category where you spend the most each month, and only on your first $500 in spending in that category. Other purchases earn 1% rewards.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card rewards
| 5%* | Your chosen top eligible spending category each billing cycle. | |
| 1% | All other purchases |
*Earn 5% on the first $500 spent in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle. Eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card: 3% cash back or 4.5% travel rewards with mobile wallet payments
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card isn’t really marketed as a home improvement card, but it can be a great card to use in this category if your preferred home improvement store lets you use a mobile wallet to pay. That’s because the card offers 3x points on every purchase made with Apple Pay®, Google Pay™ and Samsung Pay. Better yet, if you redeem your points for travel, you can get 50% more value, making it effectively a 4.5% rewards card toward travel.
Note that Home Depot does not accept mobile wallet purchases. Lowe’s has been reported to accept Apple Pay and Reddit folks say that Menards accepts mobile wallet.
About the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card rewards
U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card: 6% at two retailers you choose
The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card get you 6% cash back rewards on up to $1,500 of spending in combined purchases at two retailers you choose. You can parlay this 6% into home improvement rewards by choosing one of the many home improvement stores available: Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Ikea, Lowe’s, and Menards. The list of 6% eligible stores also includes stores that sell home furnishings, such as Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Wayfair.com. If your home improvement trip requires a stop at Costco or Sam’s Club, you can select wholesale clubs as your everyday category and get 3% rewards on up to $1,500 in spending in this category as well.
Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee in the first year, then $95.
This is a direct bank link. All information about U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card sign-up bonus
Get a $250 bonus after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening. And enjoy $0 annual fee the first year ($95/year thereafter).
The welcome bonus requires more spending than the best easy cash back welcome bonuses, but having 120 days to earn the bonus is nice.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Extended warranty protection.
Return protection.
Purchase security.
Rewards:
6% on your first $1,500 of combined eligible purchases at two select retailers you choose.
3% on your first $1,500 of eligible purchases in one select everyday category you choose.
1.5% on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as cash back.
Learn more:
Learn more about the Shopper Cash Rewards in our review of the card.
About the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card
The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card offers a unique and flexible take on rewards: 6% back on a limited amount of spending at your two favorite stores. The card has an introductory annual fee of $0 in the first year, and an ongoing annual fee of $95/year.
You get 6% cash back on the first $1,500 in combined purchases made at two retailers you choose. Popular retailers like Target, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Home Depot and Ikea are among the choices. In addition, you can choose one 3% category (bills and home utilities, gas and EV charging stations, or Wholesale clubs) and you’ll earn 3% on the first $1,500 you spend at this retailer. All other purchases earn 1.5% cash back.
U.S. Bank does not provide any additional information on benefits of the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card. Additional card benefits may be available through Visa Signature. See your card’s Guide to Benefits for details.
Frequently asked questions
Does Home Depot have a cash back credit card?
Home Depot offers its own store credit card, but it does not offer cash back. If you’re after rewards, you can do better with a credit card from our list of the best home improvement cash back credit cards. If you need financing for your project, you can probably get a longer 0% financing offer from another credit card.
Can you put a home improvement project on a credit card?
It depends. Large home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s will let you put purchases on a credit card, but if you’re working with a general contractor, you might have to pay in cash. Few contractors accept credit cards and those that do will often charge an additional fee to use your card. You’ll have to decide whether paying a fee is worth it. Additionally, you probably won’t earn increased rewards for your home improvement project, since home improvement credit cards typically offer rewards at home improvement stores.
Why do contractors not take credit cards?
If you’re working with a contractor, you may find that your contractor doesn’t accept a credit card for payment. Usually this is because of the fees associated with taking a credit card. While it might make sense for a large retailer like Home Depot to pay a processing fee to accept credit cards, some contractors decide that these processing fees eat into their margins too much to make them worthwhile.
