How the Lane Bryant Credit Card Works

Like many other retailers, women's plus-size retail chain Lane Bryant offers a retail reward credit card to its customers. The bank behind the card is Comenity, a financial services company that provides credit card services to hundreds of retailers across the country. While the card offers a number of attractive perks, there are some restrictions and downsides customers should be aware of before filling out the application.

The Lane Bryant credit card is store-only and not affiliated with Visa, Mastercard or any other card networks. The card can only be used at stores and websites in the Lane Bryant family including Lane Bryant, Lane Bryant Outlet, lanebryant.com, Cacique and cacique.com.

The card is obtained through a standard credit application. Approval and credit limit depend on the same factors as any other credit product such as credit score, income and other debt.

Cardholders can choose to pay off the balance in full each month or carry a balance with smaller payments over time. The minimum payment per month is $27. The card comes with a 25-day grace period, so those who pay off the card in full each month avoid interest payments altogether.

Purchases made with the card at Lane Bryant stores or Lanebryant.com accrue two points per dollar spent. 

The rewards program is separated into three tiers. The points are awarded at the same rate, but these tiers receive reward vouchers of higher value and discounted shipping from the Lane Bryant websites. Anyone who spends up to $399 with the Lane Bryant credit card falls into the Preferred tier. After accumulating 400 points, the cardholder receives a $10 reward voucher to be used against the next purchase. There is a maximum limit of $40 rewarded per calendar month. 

The Premier tier is achieved when spending $400 to $799 in a calendar year. At this level, 400 points gives $15 of vouchers with a limit of $60 per month. Platinum level is reached when spending more than $800 in a year. Platinum rewards are $20 of vouchers per 400 points, up to $80 per month.

Cardholders in all three tiers receive special offers, bonus point events and a birthday gift. Another perk for all cardholders is an extended return period of 60 days. Online purchases come with free shipping over $100 for Preferred members. Premier members get free shipping over $75. Platinum members get free shipping on all online orders.

Frequent shoppers at the Lane Bryant family of stores will benefit the most from this card, especially those who spend enough to reach Platinum level.

Victoria's Secret and Gap are main competitors that also offer retail reward credit cards.

Like the Lane Bryant card, the Victoria's Secret Angel credit card is store-only, and can only be used at the Victoria's Secret family of stores. Purchases earn one point per dollar spent, with $10 vouchers awarded for every 250 points accumulated. This is increased to $15 per 250 points once a cardholder has earned more than 1,000 points. New cardholders are rewarded with $15 off the first purchase made on the credit card. This card has an annual interest rate of 24.99%.

The Gap's credit card comes in two versions: store-only or with added Visa affiliation. This allows Gap cardholders with Visa to accrue bonus points anywhere Visa is accepted. New Gap cardholders receive a sign-up discount of 20%, followed by a point system. Purchases made at the Gap family of stores (Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and the outlets) receive five points per dollar spent, while purchases made elsewhere receive one point per dollar (Visa-enabled cards only). For standard customers, $5 reward vouchers are given for every 500 points accumulated. Frequent customers who reach Silver status also get an extra 20% bonus points per quarter. The interest rate on the Gap card is 25.24%, while the Gap Visa card comes with a higher rate at 27.24%.

The annual percentage rate (APR) on the Lane Bryant card is 28.74%, which is considerably higher than comparable cards from banks and financial institutions. Still, it falls within the normal range for retail reward cards.