Sephora credit card updates

[KNC24]

You guys have been warned. Lol. Please use responsibly if you get one.

[yuline]

Ok after my rant about taking an unanticipated hit to my credit score and being assured strongly and repeatedly by 2 different commenity agents in separate phone calls that my account/application was immediately closed/cancelled as I had requested because I realized too late that I really didn’t understand or was confused about what exactly is the benefit of signing up was...here’s part 2 of my story LOL...they still mailed my credit card to me less than 2 weeks later despite assuring me otherwise after I called them up within a minute of signing up online to cancel. I dunno. Here’s an update based in THEORY (I have not tried using the card yet so there’s a lot I don’t know) of what I think are the PROS: you need to be a big shopper of Sephora to really see a benefit. You do save more money shopping at Sephora as long as the reward does not expire too soon. Here’s what I think are the CONS: rewards have an expiry (?) is what I’m hearing from other folks on BIC (unlike the TJmaxx cc) but I don’t know how long rewards are good for (if it’s a long expiry, then maybe it’s not sobad). Max benefit is to use it only at Sephora and for those who spend a lot at Sephora. They should consider changing it to 5% rewards instead of 4%. 5% just sounds so much better. Lastly it is yet another cc to track and pay off/another additional bill considering most of us I’msure already have plenty of bills to pay. If the reward expires too soon before you have something to buy at Sephora, then it’s kind of a futileexercise. Would be nice if the first purchase on cc was at least 20% off instead of 15% and doesn’t expire so quickly

[faeriegirl]

FYI the credit card rewards are like the rouge rewards. You can’t return or exchange your items without losing the value of the reward.

[Brutalitops]

@faeriegirl Oof, that is laaaame

[Marrrryyyyy]

@KNC24 I saw the credit card and was excited. But I am glad I didn't sign up for it! I use my DISCOVER card for everything and then immediately pay it off after purchasing something! So I won't go into debt! 🙂 I receive cashback with DISCOVER and I also use ibotta and receive 2.5% back when shopping online at Sephora. So to me, the sephora CC/visa isn't worth it! My credit score is awesome just from buying stuff and paying it off immediately. I hope people use their brain before falling down the rabbit hole!

[KNC24]

@Marrrryyyyy I’m glad you were able to use your discover card. I’m not against people getting the card. I just want people to use their credit responsibly. I don’t any of our beauty lovers messed up from overspending.

[flamingolegs]

I got really excited when I first saw this offered. Then I did the math.

There are a lot of no annual fee cards out there that you'll earn much more back in actual cash that can be spent anywhere.

[Brutalitops]

@flamingolegs Agreed, I mean I got it anyway but especially when you consider that the rewards expire.... it's not all that great. It is just better than the 1% I currently earn back on my main rewards card

[yuline]

For anyone considering signing up for the Sephora  credit card, here’s a PSA:

1) It appears you do not have a choice of which card you’d like, store vs visa

2) The minute you’re approved (mine took 2 seconds of hitting the submit button which was dumbest move I’ve made in a while despite being an educated person 🤣. I immediately cancelled the card and took a ding to my credit score because I wanted the store card not visa. I wanted to do a trial run with the less complicated card before upgrading to visa. I suppose I’m to blame that I didn’t do my homework and ask more questions - I got complacent because all other cc company promos have always been a win-win to sign up), your vib account gets immediatedly autopopulated with a temp Sephora cc and GET THIS it CANNOT be deleted by you.

3) now for rouge shopping the 20% sale in store GET THIS, you better pick a smart careful cashier who catches the error in case you don’t OR is willing to listen to you and smart enough to find a manager to help immediately.

    a) first store closest to me I went to lucky I only bought 1 item so easy for ME to catch I wasn’t getting the 20% off. I would’ve gotten 15% FOR SURE due to this cashier.  I had to TAKE CHARGE because the cashier lacked the competency to understand something was REALLY WRONG and BAD about to happen.  I had to STOP her REPEATEDLY (my goodness) to not allow the system to proceed (the computer was like a runaway train that couldn’t be stopped and intent on getting 15%). The assistant manager finally got involved and made sure I didn’t get scrooged but both employees acted awkward/scared/tense / uncomfortable about what was happening and I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me that I’m a troublemaker or a situation which they had NO PREPARATION or training for

   b) I got smarter where I chose to shop for my 2nd store day 2.  I picked a store a bit FARTHER that I knew historically had AMAZING customer service skills not to mention larger inventory and more variety.  OMG they IMPRESSED me with how they handled my situation because this time I bought more items and when you’ve got a long line behind you that needs to move quickly and music playing with all the distractions, it could be easy to miss you didn’t get 20%off. I had an ANGEL of a cashier who was SUPER SMART and was ALL OVER IT the minute I began to talk about my situation. He rushed to the main manager immediately and soon a whole bunch of assistant managers came over to monitor my situation. I have to APPLAUD their professionalism and ability to react QUICKLY under pressure in uncharted territory instead of making me feel uncomfortable, they made the whole experience a positive one where all the employees took notes of what was happening so that they’d be prepared for the next customer with the same issue and hit the ground running because they were SMART enough to realize quickly how it could cause customers to be angry to be shortchanged, needing to waste time to go back to the store to get it fixed (what if they didn’t realize until after the sale was over or even longer??? Yikes) and if that customer is savvy and aware Sephora contracts with retail equation, they will be upset that their record shows returns when it wasn’t their mistake (IMAGINE if the mistake happened on a LARGE purchase of many items OMG you definitely could possibly make it onto retail equation’s radar - HORROR).  Anyway the store was so gracious and gave me a wonderful La Mer sample (I ADORE this store. So observant noting I’m a skincare junkie. I was making a sizable purchase but most importantly they sympathized with my woes ) and could recognize this rouge sale and who knows how many rouge sales to come because it could take Sephora FOREVER or NEVER to correct my account was going to be a horror show for me from now on with lots of explaining and time wasted every time I make a purchase to make sure I got charged right.

4) here’s what I learned from the 2nd store. The system automatically does the 15% the minute you scan your rouge id. You need to then make sure the cashier scans the 20% off rouge sale coupon to override the 15% (CRITICAL FLAW in Sephora cc strategy - CANT combine promos AND they should have made the cc offer a 20% off 1st purchase).  NOW HERES THE KICKER even after overriding to the 20% off, OMG HORROR the system makes one last ditch last min effort to undermine you with a pop up to the cashier saying are you SURE you don’t want 15% off?  If the cashier doesn’t pay attention (happens a lot in my experience) as we’re all in a hurry to finalize everything and go (your cc card is already inserted) and has to do YET another extra step this time last minute near end and accidentally hits NO, the system defaults back to the 15% and kicks out the rouge 20% that overrode it!!!!

5) Sephora please rethink the terms of this new cc card. Either allow promos to be combined or up the discount to 20% off

[yuline]

I want to WARN everyone!!!!  Beware what happened to me. I really did not want to sign up yet for another credit card at this time. However I thought it would be simpler to just get the Sephora store card (NOT visa). The app was so confusing and I thought I’d have a choice of which card I wanted and instead it signed me up for visa which was NOT what I wanted. I had to call Comenity immediately and close the account within a minute of supposedly opening it.  Now my credit score is going to take a hit because of this so I’m super mad.  Why is there always something going wrong for me with Sephora? It’s been smooth sailing with Ulta every step for me. Never once been mad at Ulta for the 10+ years been shopping there. No joke.

[Brutalitops]

@yuline The exact same thing happened to me, I'm fine with the Visa but I was annoyed I didn't get a choice

[mermaid805]

Credit Gurus:

Has anyone checked their credit score since applying? I was surprised to see that applying made a hard inquiry on my Equinox credit report but not my TransUnion- is this normal?

Also, I'm attempting to fix my credit after several years of paying off silly debts, ruining my credit with cards in college, and finally getting to a semi-acceptable range. My credit seems to be affected by a low number of accounts and not much"credit" in general. My plan has been to apply for cards/accounts I'm guaranteed to be accepted (within moderation) and then pay off minimal usage each month. I got the Ulta card a couple of years ago and I'm shocked at how much it's helped pull my credit score from the gutter with responsible use, hence why the Sephora card seemed like a good option through the same bank. Anyone have any tips to further help pull my credit score back to a good range?

Also, I recently applied for another card for card I was "pre-approved" for and I was surprised that I received a hard inquiry ding on all my credit reports. Can someone explain to me the difference between a soft inquiry (which was what I thought it was when it was pre-approved) and a hard inquiry? 

Thanks in advance!

[TrysBeautyItems]

@mermaid805 Don't apply for every card you'll be approved for. Having a few accounts to look after is much better than a dozen just to have open. 'Too few accounts' - the wording credit scores use - doesn't mean it's keeping you from being in the excellent score range. Besides credit cards, what determines it: paying bills/loans on time, how long accounts have been opened, mortgages, amount of credit used etc.

Soft checks aren't reported as credit inquiries, like utility companies to see if one should pay deposit fees. Hard inquiry is more in depth and does show up in your credit history.

Also the free score checks use a different formula than checking the big 3. You can check your credit *report* once every year, for free, for the big 3.

[curlychiquita]

@mermaid805, I wouldn't worry too much about the hard inquiry on your credit report. As long as you pay off the card every month, your score bounces back in a few months.  In the long run it will help.

The main thing for improving your credit score is time.  If you haven't had charge offs, one year of paying at least your minimum payments on each card will help.  Paying your balances off every month will raise it rather quickly.  If you had charge offs in college, it will take longer (a few years).

[WinglessOne]

@mermaid805  A few tips that helped me rebuild my credit years ago: 

 - Treat your credit cards like checking account debit cards: don’t charge amounts you can’t actually pay with your checking account within 3 days. I sometimes buy online with a card, then immediately go to my card account and pay it off. 

 - Keep your oldest credit account open to establish a longer credit history. 

 - Don’t apply for lots of new cards too fast. Too many hard inquiries within a certain time period (a year, I think) hurts your scores. 

 - Each month, make sure your total debt (across all your credit accounts) is lower than 30% of your total credit. Keep that % as low as possible. 

 - Each bureau has its own scoring formula (even for FICO), so check your scores at all 3 bureaus. Sounds like you already do this (hooray!) but since different creditors pull reports from different bureaus, it’s good to remember to stay on top of all 3. My Experian And Equifax scores are slightly higher than Transunion. 

 - Don’t miss payment deadlines. Sounds like you’re already all over this one. 🙂 Credit bureaus LOVE on time payments. 

 - But they especially love full balance payments made before due dates. This ties back to the 30% total debt tip. 

 - Once your scores reach “very good” status, consider locking your reports with each bureau. This helps protect you from thieves trying to open new accounts with your info. (2 people recently tried it with mine. Both times, Transunion called me to verify and investigate. They removed the brand new accounts from my report and had the creditors close the accounts.) I did this for free at Equifax and Transunion, and I think it’s also a free service at Experian. This is different from flagging your account for fraud. You can quickly unlock your account before applying for anything that requires a credit report, then put it back on lockdown. 

Good luck with your credit rebuild! 

[TIAinspiration]

This is very helpful. Thank you for posting it. I too will be taking heed to your steps! 😉

[Indy701]

@mermaid805 I just  sent you a link to an article that explains it. My citi card has a great credit score tracker and shows what would positively or negatively impact it. See if one of your existing cards have this feature. 

[demitriam]

Has anyone received their physical card in the mail yet? I was approved on the 7th but still haven't received mine yet 😕

[jessicaprieto]

I was approved on on June 6th, and I got an email on Sunday that said that my card is here but I still have not received the physical card. Then I call the number to see if I can get an agent to talk to me, but my dumbo self activates it while I'm on the phone. Ugh. Have you received your physical card?

[faeriegirl]

@demitriam I got mine on Monday.

[lmaster]

@faeriegirl where do you apply for the credit card?