A reader on Twitter (follow us if you don’t already!) asked us to review the REI Mastercard, so here you go. If you’d like to see us review a credit card, let us know on social media or by contacting us.
Card Basics
- $100 REI gift card after your first purchase
- You can refer friends and they’ll receive $100 gift card after their first purchase, you get a $20 gift card
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 5% back on everything at REI
- 1% back on all other purchases
- No annual fee, but you must be a REI member to be eligible ($20 one time fee for this)
Rewards
You receive the 5%/1% rewards in addition to your annual member dividend (meaning you only get it once per year).
Referral Program
As mentioned above it’s possible to refer friends, they need to use your membership number to apply. If they do they’ll receive the standard $100 gift card after approval and first purchase and you’ll also receive a $20 gift card. There is no limit to the number of people you can refer, please feel free to share your REI details in the comments and also feel free to use others.
Our Verdict
It doesn’t make sense to use this card for everyday purchases (as you can get 2%+ cash back). 5% back at REI stores isn’t bad, but you might just be better off purchasing gift cards to REI at a discount (currently about 10% off). The sign up bonus is OK as well, but there are much better cash sign up bonuses out there.
The only thing that might sway me to sign up, is if they regularly offered cardholders targeted spending bonuses or other promotions. If you have the card, let us know if they do/don’t offer this and your other thoughts in the comments below.
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