GAP (and associated brands like Banana Republic, Old Navy & Athleta) have introduced a new credit card called the “Gap Inc. Visa Signature Card”. The only way to get the card is to be invited, it seems like currently they are targeted existing cardholders with high spend on the card in the last one to two years.
Reader MontyFC received an invitation for this card and this is what we know:
- All the same benefits as the old card as well as the below:
- Card earns:
- 2x Rewards points on all purchases outside their brands
- 3x Rewards points on all purchases outside their brands during your birthday month
- No foreign transaction fees
- Dedicated customer service line (1866 657 8467)
- Free 3-5 shipping whenever you use your card
- Exclusive offer at their family of brands for your birthday (must have made at least one purchase in the last twelve months)
The Banana republic card in particular is known for sending out targeted spending bonuses that can be very lucrative. That’s why it’s ranked as the #1 store card by us. If anybody does get this upgrade, let us know if you continue to get the targeted offers as well or not. Thanks again to MontyFC for providing the following images:
I reached out…apparently they periodically check and will decide. Been an old navy card holder for years but now luck 🙁 . Here is the emailer for full details – https://mail.synchronyfinancial.com/q/Retail_Finance/21801_RF5054_17_GAP_Gap_Visa_Sig_Card
I called Gap today and they gave me more details than I was expecting, since Synchrony wouldn’t tell me anything. Gap’s CS said it’s based on spend at Gap Inc. branded stores on an annual basis. Apparently the system does not consider total spend, so me spending a couple thousand on these targeted 5x/10x grocery promotions hasn’t helped.
With all the Gap Rewards I have, I’m never going to be spending much at Gap Inc. nor do I really need more clothes. It looks like I’m out of luck if I haven’t already qualified from past years when I used to spend more.
Man I want one these so much. I wish I knew what I would have to do to qualify. I’ve put a significant amount of spending on the card because of all the awesome promotions, but nothing yet. Maybe I’m not spending enough consistently.
I think this card is great! I earn rewards so fast that I always have a large balance. I buy almost all of my son’s clothes at Old Navy and for me and my husband I get a lot from Gap/Banana. By using my card for pretty much every purchase I can practically clothe my family for free!
If anyone can post what the new card looks like I’ll appreciate it
Here you go – https://imgcc.syfwebservices.com/images/12892290/65099982/21801_RF5054_LP_cardhero.png
I love Gap’s clothing, but their card is crap.
First of all, it’s Synchrony.
Second, you’re only getting back a Gap gift card, which are already valued at 80% or less.
Third, I’ve had mixed experience with these Gap GC when doing a return; it seems like it just disappears, because as I remember, it wasn’t actually a GC, but just a coupon attached to a purchase (I can only shop online, as I am M Tall). Perhaps I was doing something wrong; it was pre-churning for me. How to make sure you don’t lose out on return?
In the end, I found it to be too much hassle, and switched to using my other cards.
Yeah it’s not normally worth it but with 5x or 10x it is to me, also sometimes you’ll get a few hundred points every day for making a single purchase.
so you look like a banana model. thats what youre saying right?
Nope, I don’t even have the card. 🙂
In case others stumble upon this old blog post like I have, just want to clarify how the rewards work.
You get points, and the points are converted to Rewards. The Rewards aren’t like a GC nor are they like a coupon. When you return an order that was purchased using Rewards, they’re refunded back as points. Then they’re converted to Rewards after a billing cycle. The whole process can take 2-3 cycles. You won’t lose your Rewards/points from returns or exchanges, which are processed as a return, then a re-purchase with a price match.
You could lose Rewards if you let them expire though. To prevent this, you could also use the points, return the purchase and that’ll extend the life of the Rewards.
How much are Gap points worth? “3x” means nothing to me without a value to convert into cash equivalent. For example, they could give me 100x but if each point is worth 0.00000001 cents, then it’s not that great of a deal.
If you don’t shop at Gap Brands its worth $0.00 — otherwise 1 point is worth about $0.008 (taking into account that you can buy Gap Brand Gift Cards for about 80% of face value).
Personally, I value 2x cash higher than 3x gap points. I don’t use the card if it’s less than 5x.
Points are worth 1¢ in GAP brand credit.
Wait aren’t these reward points only usable at gap or old navy? Or are they transferable to cash and airlines
No transfer and no cash value. Only usable at Gap Brands (http://www.gapinc.com/content/gapinc/html/aboutus/ourbrands.html).
I find it odd that apparently some Cardholders are upgraded silently and some receive an Invitation. Seems to be the weirdest A/B Test.
Maybe the ones thta have been upgraded silently just haven’t received their invite yet.
Yeah. Sorry, I realized later that it’s not an invite but a notice that you’ve been upgraded (as in no way to accept/decline).
I assume that my new card just got lost in the mail. I didn’t feel like contacting them yet because they’d probably freeze my account which cuts into spending bonus time. Given that the mail was lost for at least 6 weeks at the time I noticed the upgrade (originally, I thought they just got the picture wrong on the statement), I believe it’s actually lost and not stolen.
My wife got upgraded to this card last week, presumably bc she spent a lot last year during a “5x everywhere” promotion they had. But, given that 2% cash back > 2% in Gap rewards, it really doesn’t make sense to use the card outside of the birthday month.
I’d take 2% cash over 2% in points almost any day, unless I was looking for an excuse to not have to account for the points. Since we can buy gift cards for a merchant at either a discount or at face value but earn bonused rewards, gift cards aren’t always 1:1. The Gap brands also often run promotions where the discount requires the card to be used.
After seeing this post, I did go to the Banana Republic web site and received my CLI to $5k. 🙂
I am really entertained by the idea of an invite only Old Navy card being thrown around at high end business meetings as a status symbol.
Haha. But only when Old Navy sweat suits are the new dress code.