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.
The Target Circle™ Mastercard offers a 5% discount on almost everything you buy at Target. But the best credit card for Target purchases isn’t always the Target store card.
There are other cards that offer more rewards (up to 6% cash back) and sometimes you might want to take advantage of a credit card extended warranty benefit, which the Target Circle card does not offer.
Here are the best credit cards to use at Target.
Our quick recommendation: Target Circle™ Mastercard plus a card with extended warranty
Here’s our quick recommendation for which cards you should use at Target.
- Use a card with an extended warranty benefit such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited® when purchasing items with warranties like electronics and small appliances.
- Use the Target Circle™ Mastercard for everything else.
This two-card combination will give you a good balance of protection on your purchases and generous rewards with no annual fees.
The best credit cards to use at Target
Our recommendation above is the best two-card combination if you only consider your shopping at Target. But when you consider the larger picture of your spending, here are the other options that you should consider.
Best for maximum Target discount: Target RedCard™ Mastercard
Quick take: If you shop at Target regularly, this card should be in your wallet. Unless you need an extended warranty on a specific purchase, this card is the one you should use at Target.
Pros. 5% discount at Target. Free 2-day shipping at Target.com. Extra 30 days for returns and exchanges at Target
Cons. No extended warranty benefit. Lackluster rewards outside of Target
Up to 6% cash back: U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card
Quick take: Most valuable if you shop at two of the retailers on the card’s 6% retailer list and pick wholesale clubs as your 3% category.
Pros. Earn 6% cash back on two retailers you choose, including Target, on up to $1,500 in combined eligible purchases each quarter. Purchase security. Return protection. Extended warranty protection.
Cons. Capped rewards. Annual fee.
Best to use everywhere with mobile wallet: U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
Quick take: Great choice for a single card to use everywhere you shop in-store if you travel and dine out a few times a year.
Pros. Earn 3% cash back or 4.5% toward travel when you use a mobile wallet to pay at Target or any other retailer that accepts mobile wallets. Purchase security. Return protection. Extended warranty protection.
Cons. Annual fee.
Best no-annual-fee card with extended warranty: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Quick take: The best option with no annual fee that offers an extended warranty. Also the best card if you want to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® at Target.
Pros. 1.5% cash back or more on purchases everywhere. Purchase security. Extended warranty protection. No annual fee.
Cons. Lower rewards earnings than other cards.
Best for BofA customers: Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Quick take: The most rewards if you have $100,000 or more on deposit with Bank of America
Pros. Up to 5.25% cash back at Target.com*. Extended warranty protection. No annual fee.
Cons. Maximum rewards requires earning Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. Capped rewards.
* You’ll earn up to 5.25% cash back (3% base cash back, plus a 1.75x rewards multiplier) on online shopping if you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards with Platinum Honors. The 3% and 2% rewards on this card are capped at a combined $2,500 of spending each quarter.
Best for U.S. online retail: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
Pros. Up to 3% cash back at Target.com*. Purchase protection. No annual fee.
Cons. No extended warranty protection. Capped rewards.
* 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases, on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%.
Picking a credit card for Target: What to look for
While the Target Circle™ Mastercard is an excellent choice to use for most of your Target purchases, there are a few cases when you might want to consider using a different card:
- If you’re purchasing expensive items like household appliances or electronics, you probably want credit card extended warranty coverage. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® and U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card are two great options to use in-store to get this coverage.
- If you want greater than 5% cash back at Target, two cards offer this possibility. The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card can get you 6% at Target. If you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards with Platinum Honors or higher status, you can get 5.25% cash back at Target.com with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards card when you select online shopping as your category.
- You’re purchase Target Gift cards at 10% off. The Target Circle™ Mastercard won’t get you a 5% discount. Our favorite card to use when Target runs its 10% off Target gift cards promotion is the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card for its 6% rewards. As a second choice, we’d use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or a 2% cash back card.
More on the best cards to use at Target
Here’s a bit more on each of our picks for the best cards to use at Target so that you can find the best card for you.
Target Circle™ Mastercard: A 5% discount on almost everything you buy at Target and Target.com
If you’re a Target shopper, the Target Circle™ Mastercard should be your first choice for a credit card to use at Target. The card offers an instant 5% discount on most items you will buy. That makes it ideal for groceries, clothing, and household consumables.
Unfortunately the card doesn’t offer an extended warranty benefit, which is likely more valuable than the 5% discount if you’re purchasing electronics or other expensive items. Also, when Target runs its periodic 10% off Target gift cards promotion, you’ll want to use another card—the Target Circle™ Mastercard‘s 5% discount doesn’t apply to Target gift cards.
Learn more about the card in our overview of the Target Circle™ Mastercard.
Target RedCard Mastercard welcome bonus:
Save $50 on a future qualifying purchases of over $50 when approved for a credit or debit RedCard.
Our take on the welcome bonus: The Target RedCard frequently offers a similar bonus for new cardmembers. If Target isn’t currently offering a welcome bonus, just wait a few weeks and they’ll launch a new offer. $50 off of $50 matches the largest offer we’ve seen on this card.
The link above is a direct link. We don’t make any money when you use the link above, but we’ll always show you the best offer.
Target RedCard™ Mastercard at a glance:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% discount at Target and Target.com. 2% on dining and gas. 1% everywhere else.
Benefits: Free 2-day shipping at Target.com. Additional 30 days to return at Target.
U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card: Up to 6% at Target
The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards® Visa Signature® Card lets you earn 6% cash back rewards on two retailers you choose, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter. The list of eligible merchants you can select from includes Target, making the card an even better choice to use for Target purchases than the Target RedCard.
The card’s extended warranty benefit makes it a great choice to use for expensive purchases of electronics and small household appliances. When you use the card, you’ll get up to an extra year of extended warranty protection on qualifying items automatically, for free. (The Target RedCard offers no extended warranty benefit.)
Also, when Target runs its 10% off Target gift cards promotion, you should be able to earn 6% on Target gift card purchases, giving you an effective discount of 15.4% on the promotional Target gift cards when you consider the value of the cash back you’ll earn.
Learn more about the Shopper Cash Rewards card from our review of the card.
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.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card: 3x points and an extended warranty when you use your mobile wallet
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card can earn you up to 3% cash back or 4.5% toward travel on your Target purchases.
Here’s how the Altitude Reserve’s rewards work at Target: Target accepts Apple Pay® and other mobile wallet payments in-store, which means you can get 3x points when you use your Altitude Reserve to pay in-store using a mobile wallet. The points you earn can be redeemed for either cash back at 1 cent per point or for travel rewards through the Altitude Rewards Center for 1.5 cents each.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to get increased rewards at Target.com. There’s not currently a way to use the tap-to-pay feature of mobile wallets online.
There’s one purchase at Target that you should never use the Altitude Reserve for: Gift cards. U.S. Bank’s terms say that you won’t earn 3x rewards on mobile wallet purchases if you buy gift cards and the bank has a history of shutting down accounts for even one gift card purchase made using a mobile wallet.
Learn more about the card in our review of the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card.
Annual fee: $400
This is a direct bank link. All information about the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
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 the first 90 days of account opening.
You can get a bigger welcome bonus with several other competing cards with similar annual fees.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
$325 in annual statement credits for travel and dining purchases.
Primary auto rental collision damage waiver.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
Trip delay reimbursement.
Lost luggage reimbursement.
Extended warranty.
Purchase security.
Return protection.
Rewards:
5x on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked with the Altitude Rewards Center.
3x on eligible travel purchases.
3x on mobile wallet purchases made with Apple Pay®, Google Pay™, and Samsung Pay.
1x on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as points which can be redeemed for cash back at 1 cent apiece, or toward travel at 1.5 cents each.
Learn more:
Learn more about in our review of the Altitude Reserve.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®: 1.5% rewards plus extended warranty with no annual fee
The strongest argument against using the Target Circle™ Mastercard for every purchase at Target is that the card doesn’t have a credit card extended warranty benefit.
If you buy an expensive item like a television, iPad, or cell phone at Target, it’s probably a good idea to give up a small amount of rewards to get extended warranty coverage for an additional year with another card.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is our pick for a card with no annual fee if you want to get extended warranty coverage on items you purchase at Target. Chase’s extended warranty benefit gives you an extra year of warranty protection on items that have a manufacturer’s warranty of 3 years or less. Don’t use it to buy your groceries and household consumables at Target—other cards earn better rewards—but if you’re buying electronics, it’s a great choice.
Learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited® in our card review or read our comparison of the Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Freedom Flex℠.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® offer: Extra 1.5% cash back on $20,000 spent in the first year. (Annual fee: $0)
bonus_miles_full (Get this welcome bonus.)
Better than the $200 after $500 bonus once you spend $13,334 in your first year. Rewards are earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points
5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠. 3% at drugstores and on dining. 1.5% on other purchases. (More in our card review.)
This is an affiliate link.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: 3% cash back (up to 5.25% cash back) at Target.com
If you’re looking to eke out better than 5% rewards at Target.com, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card can get you there if you hold significant assets with Bank of America.
The card offers up to 3% cash back on your choice of categories, including online shopping. This means you can get 3% with the card when you shop at Target.com.
The card’s rewards come with some caveats—you’ll only earn increased rewards on the first $2,500 of combined purchases each quarter across all of its bonus categories. Other purchases earn 1%. But there’s also some upside potential. If you qualify for Platinum Honors or higher status in Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program, the 3% online shopping category becomes a 5.25% cash back category, thanks to the program’s rewards multiplier.
Learn more about Bank of America Preferred Rewards with Platinum Honors and check out our review of the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for more.
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.
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: Up to 3% on Target.com U.S. online retail purchases.
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card gives you 3% cash back on up to $6,000 of purchases at U.S. online retailers, with no annual fee. This means you can earn 3% cash back at Target.com.
Yes, you can earn more rewards at Target.com with the Target Circle™ Mastercard and the card Blue Cash Everyday doesn’t have an extended warranty benefit, but if you want one card that can give you decent rewards on your online shopping, including at Target.com, the Blue Cash Everyday can add some simplicity to your wallet.
As a bonus, if you subscribe to Disney+, you might be interested in the card’s $84 in annual credits for The Disney Bundle. (Enrollment required.) Simply enrolling and charging an eligible monthly Disney Bundle subscription to the card will get you a series of statement credits on this purchase you make anyway.
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers a welcome bonus to new cardmembers. Go to our card overview of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card for more on this card.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best credit card to use for Target?
For most purchases, you should probably use the Target RedCard, which gives a 5% discount on most items you purchase at Target and Target.com. But it can be a good idea to use a card with an extended warranty benefit for durable goods. It’s probably worth sacrificing part of your discount in order to get an extra year of warranty protection on electronics, appliances, and furniture.
How to get 5% back at Target?
Technically, the RedCard gives you a 5% discount, rather than 5% rewards at Target. You can earn 5% rewards occasionally when you use a rotating category card like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ when Target is included in the card’s quarterly categories.
Is the RedCard only good at Target?
The Target RedCard is issued in several variants. The prepaid card, in-store credit card, and debit card can be used only at Target. The RedCard Mastercard can be used elsewhere, though its rewards outside of Target are mediocre.
Is Target Circle worth it?
Target Circle is a no-cost rewards program that you can sign up for as a Target shopper. You can earn 1% rewards on most purchases through the program and get targeted discounts and promotions. If you shop at Target, you should sign up for Target Circle. You’ll also need to be a Target Circle member to get Target’s periodic 10% discount on Target gift cards.
Does Target have a credit card?
The Target RedCard Mastercard is Target’s store-branded credit card. The card offers a 5% discount on most items you purchase from Target and is a credit card that can be used at other retailers.
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.
