Target REDcard Review: 5% Discount and No Annual Fee

For those who shop for everything at Target — food, clothes, household essentials — the perks on the Target REDcard™ Credit Card hit the bull's-eye.

The $0-annual-fee card gets you a 5% discount on all eligible Target purchases, which means you don’t have to wait to redeem rewards; you’ll get savings right at checkout.

Because the Target REDcard™ Credit Card carries high ongoing interest rates, it’s not a good fit for folks who are planning to spend time, well, in the red. But for those who pay their bills in full every month and are looking for some extra savings, it’s worth getting.

» MORE: 4 big mistakes to avoid with your Target REDcard

Key features of the Target REDcard™ Credit Card

Card type: Store.

Ongoing rewards: 5% discount on all eligible Target purchases.

Annual fee: $0.

Other benefits: 

• 10% discount awarded every cardholder anniversary when you sign up for Target marketing emails.

• Limited-time offer: 10% discount on hotels booked through Hotels.com through Dec. 31, 2020, for travel through March 31, 2021.

• Exclusive offers, gifts and early access to promotions.

• Free standard shipping (and free two-day shipping on qualifying items).

• 30 days of extra time to return purchases.

Because the card's 5% discount is applied at checkout, you don't need to worry about accruing and redeeming rewards on this card; you'll get your savings upfront. The 5% discount doesn't apply to certain purchases, though. For example, you won't get a 5% discount on prescriptions, Target Optical eye exams, or Target gift cards and prepaid cards. For a full list of exclusions, see the card's terms and conditions.

» MORE: How to make the most of the Target REDcard

Benefits of the Target REDcard™ Credit Card

Valuable discounts

For prolific Target shoppers, the Target REDcard™ Credit Card could be one of the most rewarding credit cards available. It offers an outstanding 5% discount on eligible Target and Target.com purchases, plus a 10% discount coupon every year on your card anniversary when you sign up for Target marketing emails. Even better, the 5% discount also applies to certain types of gift cards (for travel, restaurants and movie tickets, for example) and purchases made at Starbucks located inside Target. You can also stack the card's 5% discounts with savings through Target's app.

Provided that you stick to your usual spending habits and don’t overspend, those perks could potentially help you save hundreds every year across a broad range of purchases. And for an annual fee of $0, the price is right.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best credit cards for families

Extra perks at Target

The Target REDcard™ Credit Card also features a handful of other loyalty benefits, including exclusive offers, gifts and early access to certain promotions for cardholders. These deals could make the Target REDcard™ Credit Card even more valuable for shoppers who can take advantage of them.

Not all of the benefits that the Target REDcard™ Credit Card markets are big game-changers. Take the card’s free shipping benefit, for example. Target already offers free standard shipping (and free two-day shipping, on select items) on orders over $35 for all shoppers. The free shipping benefit on the Target REDcard™ Credit Card is fairly similar; it offers free standard shipping (and free two-day shipping on select items) on all orders placed through the Target website — only it doesn't come with a $35 minimum order requirement. One caveat: Certain add-on items — generally, food items that cost less than $10 — will qualify for free shipping only when your order is at least $25. Unless placing orders of $35 or more on Target.com is an honest-to-goodness challenge for you, the free shipping perk shouldn’t factor into your decision on whether to get the card.

Drawbacks and alternatives

High APR

Like most store cards, the Target REDcard™ Credit Card carries a high interest rate: The ongoing APR is 22.90% Variable. If you carry a balance — even just some of the time — think twice before getting this card. Any interest charges you might incur can quickly snowball, swiftly wiping out the value of the discounts the card offers.

You may want to consider the Discover it® Cash Back instead. It offers 5% cash back in rotating quarterly bonus categories upon activation on up to $1,500 in spending each quarter, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. In 2017, 2019 and 2020, either Target, Target.com or both have featured among these rotating categories. The card also comes with a cushy 0% APR period: 0% intro APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 11.99% - 22.99% Variable APR. Its annual fee is $0, and it starts off with a generous sign-up bonus: INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300..

You can also use this card — or any other card, for that matter — in combination with the Target app for more savings at Target. To get those extra savings in the app, click the red plus sign next to deals listed to add them to your virtual wallet before checking out.

Can only be used for Target purchases

The Target REDcard™ Credit Card offers excellent perks for shopping at Target, but you can't use it for other purchases.

If you want to use the same card everywhere, try the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer instead. This card, which comes with an annual fee of $0, offers a top-notch 2% cash back on all purchases. You get 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and the other 1% cash back when you pay it off. It's an excellent choice for cardholders who value simplicity and prefer to use one card for all purchases rather than using multiple cards to take advantage of different bonus categories.

MORE: NerdWallet's best credit cards for groceries

Is the Target REDcard™ Credit Card right for you?