My Best Buy Credit Card

The short answer

The My Best Buy Credit Card offers store rewards or promotional financing on qualifying purchases. Julia treats them as a choice, not a pair, so she would pick the benefit that suits a planned purchase rather than assume she could keep both. The Studio's one-line fit is "Planned purchases at this retailer, as a companion to an everyday card."

In her example, a $1,200 camera bundle earns 3,000 points on Standard Credit, which become $60 of certificates, equivalent to 5%. A 2% cash-back card would earn $24 on the same bundle. The certificates pull ahead only if they replace shopping you were going to do anyway: used in full they leave you $36 ahead of the cash card, but if they replace only $20 of planned shopping, the $24 in cash comes out ahead.

The no-fee, store-only card has a Wallet Score of 34 out of 100 on the everyday card test. It suits a planned Best Buy purchase paired with a future purchase you can name. It fits less well if you would shop just to use a certificate, or if the version offered carries an annual fee.

What it costs

The comparison assumes a card version with no annual fee. The pricing disclosure lists annual fees from $0 to $59, across store-card and Visa versions, so check which version you are offered. With a $59 fee, Julia's $60 of useful rewards would fall to just $1, well below the other card's $24 on that purchase alone.

You still owe the full purchase price; the points are a reward, not a discount today. Interest is a cost to avoid, so the example assumes the bill is paid without interest.

Membership is a separate cost. Plus and Total are paid memberships, and if you are joining just for the membership reward, include the membership cost, because a subscription and a credit card are separate decisions. The comparison throughout is a 2% cash-back card, along with a lower price at another store.

What it earns

• 2.5 points per dollar on qualifying Best Buy purchases using Standard Credit.
• Every 250 points can become a $5 Best Buy certificate, which is $60 of certificate value on 3,000 points, equivalent to 5%.
• Plus and Total members currently get 1% back in points on qualifying Best Buy purchases, separate from the card's 5%. An eligible member using Standard Credit can see 6% combined.
• The current new-card offer can add another 5% in points on qualifying Standard Credit purchases made on the first purchase day within 14 days of opening.

Points have no cash value. Certificates discount eligible future purchases, and the program also lists e-gift cards from participating partners, with varying redemption requirements. The Studio's rate card describes 5% back at Best Buy only, and the card earns nothing on everyday spending elsewhere. Outside-Best-Buy Visa rewards do not automatically come with the store-only card, so check where and how you can use the points with either version.

The credits, used honestly

The card has no statement credits. The reward arrives as certificates, and a certificate is worth its face value only under certain conditions.

• Expiry: certificates expire on the date shown, typically 60 days after they are issued. Active credit cardmembers can choose point banking rather than immediate certificates, subject to the rules. Check the settings before turning points into a certificate, because that is when the redemption timing changes.
• Use: certificates give no cash change and cannot pay the card bill. E-gift cards have their own terms, so do not assume every redemption gives the same value.
• The simple test: would at least $24 of the reward replace something you would buy anyway? That is the cash you give up on the other card. If you cannot name a likely next purchase, Julia would keep the cash.

A $60 certificate is not $60 off today's bill.

The catch

Financing and rewards do not mix. Promotional financing does not earn the card's Standard Credit points, so Julia would give up the $60 reward for the payment arrangement. It also does not earn Plus or Total membership points: an eligible member who would have received both rewards gives up $72 altogether, $60 from the card and $12 from the membership. She would leave both rewards out of the financing calculation.

The current storewide offer is 12 months on qualifying purchases of at least $299, and it is deferred interest: you need to pay the promotional purchase in full within the period to avoid interest from the purchase date. Ten planned payments of $120 would clear $1,200 before the deadline with proper allocation, but the minimum could be lower and might not finish the payoff in time. Track that purchase's balance and its actual expiration, because on-time monthly payments alone do not prove you will meet the full-payoff condition. Compare any true 0% purchase offer at the same price and payment budget.

The opening offer is narrow. It would raise the bundle's total certificate value to $120, but that is not 10% on every purchase during the 14 days, and it does not repeat each year.

On protection, the Studio's two checks found no payable coverage. The published benefit schedule has no accidental-damage insurance, and a closed-loop store card cannot buy a common-carrier fare.

Who it fits

It fits a household with a planned Best Buy purchase, a competitive price and a future purchase it can name for the certificate. Julia would choose using the selling price, any account fee and the rewards she could use without extra shopping. If financing mattered more, she would compare its full conditions, knowing which rewards she would lose.

It fits less well if you would buy something extra to use a certificate, if you want cash to spend anywhere, or if the version offered carries the $59 fee. Limited acceptance holds the Studio's score down, and the score assumes the certificates go toward purchases already planned. If they could not, their value to you would be lower.

The arithmetic

Julia's bundle costs $1,200 before tax, paid without interest.

• The reward: 2.5 points per dollar earns 3,000 points. At 250 points per $5 certificate, that is $60. A 2% cash-back card earns $24.
• Used in full: $60 replacing a planned purchase at a competitive price leaves you $36 ahead of the cash card. If the reward replaces only $20 of shopping you would do anyway, the $24 in cash is better.
• Price first: the same bundle at $1,150 elsewhere, with equivalent shipping and returns and 2% back, costs $1,127. At Best Buy, subtracting a fully useful $60 from $1,200 leaves $1,140. Buying elsewhere saves $13, even after giving the points their full certificate value.
• With a membership: its 1% reward is $12 on the bundle either way, so it is not an extra card benefit.
• Financing: the card reward of $60 and the membership reward of $12 are both given up, $72 in all.
• The opening offer: another 5% in points would bring the certificate value to $120.
• A $59 fee: $60 of rewards falls to $1, against $24 on the other card.

Before you apply

Check the exact card version and its annual fee on Best Buy's page, because the fee can change the answer on even a carefully priced purchase. Compare the selling price, any account fee and the rewards you could use without extra shopping, and decide whether the reward or the financing matters more. Look at the certificate expiry and the opening offer's first-purchase-day rule before counting either. The Studio checked these terms on October 6, 2026.