The Home Depot Credit Cards — Everything You Need to Know

Gifted with that fixer-upper attitude? Love remodeling? Have a penchant for DIY projects? Then you’ve undoubtedly spent a decent amount of time (and money) at home improvement stores like The Home Depot and have probably wondered if its store-branded credit cards are worth it.

This review breaks down both personal and commercial options that The Home Depot has to offer, from the benefits to the drawbacks and everything in between. Read on to find out if any of these cards are right for your wallet!

The Home Depot Personal Cards at a Glance

At first glance, these cards both look like typical credit cards, but you should be aware of some major differences. Let’s dig into the specifics.

The Home Depot Card

The Home Depot card is a store-branded card issued by Citibank. Of the 2 personal cards offered, this one is more like a traditional credit card. However, you can only use it for purchases at The Home Depot.

This card is geared toward individuals who make fairly regular medium-sized purchases and can benefit from special financing.

Hot Tip: You don’t earn any rewards with this card. It does not earn cash-back, points, or miles. So if you’re not looking for to use special financing, you’re likely better off with a card that will earn rewards on these purchases. Find more tips below in the Alternative Rewards-Based Credit Cards section. 

Advertised benefits of this card are:

• 6 months financing on purchases of $299+
• Up to 24 months financing during special promotions
• Special discount offers
• 1-year no-hassle returns (4x longer than a non-cardmember)
• $0 liability on unauthorized charges

Citibank also gives you the ability to see if you pre-qualify for this card without impacting your credit score.

New accounts may also be eligible for a sign-up discount when making a qualified purchase.

Bottom Line: While many of these benefits could certainly come in handy, they aren’t extraordinary perks by any means.

The Home Depot Card Special Financing Offers 

Not everyone has the funds to make large purchases outright. A lack of upfront funding is where special financing can come in handy. With The Home Depot card, you have plenty of special financing options.

The Home Depot’s primary special financing offer is:

• 6-month everyday financing on purchases of $299+

Additionally, The Home Depot gives cardholders the opportunity to secure limited-time-only special financing offers. Examples of options that The Home Depot has offered or currently offers include:

• 12 months financing on any installed heating and air conditioning purchase of $299+
• Up to 18 months financing on installed bath purchases
• 24 months financing on a RainSoft Installed Water Treatment
• 24 months financing on an installed cabinet makeover, installed countertops, and backsplash purchases

These financing offers allow cardholders to pay off their balance with no interest if paid in full within the allotted period. This type of financing offer is called deferred interest.

But what happens if you don’t pay off your balance on time?

Know Your Terms and Conditions: What is Deferred Interest?

Any time you take advantage of a special financing offer, you should be explicitly aware of the terms and conditions. There is a BIG difference between “no interest for 6 months” and “no interest if paid in full within 6 months.” The latter indicates you’ll be subject to deferred interest. In The Home Depot’s case, almost all of their special financing offers have deferred interest.

With deferred interest, if you pay off your purchase in full within the promotional period, no interest will be applied. However (and it’s a big however), if you do not pay off your balance in full, interest charges will be imposed on the starting balance at the APR for regular purchases retroactively from the date of purchase. 

The regular purchase APR is the rate assigned to your account based on your creditworthiness; you can find it in your card agreement terms.

Bottom Line: Charges can easily add up if you don’t pay off your balances on time, especially if you have many purchases that are being paid off under a deferred interest special financing promotion. Your balance can grow even faster if your assigned APR is on the high side.

The Home Depot Project Loan

The Home Depot Project Loan is meant for individuals who are tackling a hefty project, like kitchen and bath remodels, room additions, or roof replacements. While it is technically a Mastercard, it is not a traditional credit card. Instead, this is a card you use to access funds from a consumer loan that has been extended to you by Home Depot Loan Services via GreenSky, LLC.

You can only use the card at The Home Depot and homedepot.com, including Home Services.

Why Is This Card So Popular? What Does It Give Me?

The Home Depot Project Loan gives cardholders an extremely large line of credit (up to $55,000), 6 months to make purchases, and up to 9.5 years to pay it all off.

If you’re spending a sizeable amount of money on a large renovation, add-on, or new build, this offer can sound very enticing and has benefits for the right user. Just make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before choosing this card option.

Credit Line up to $55,000

Cardholders use this little piece of plastic to access a line of credit or funds from a previously-approved consumer loan.

Your first step on the application is to request your loan amount, typically the amount you have estimated it will cost to complete your home project. The Home Depot Project Loan allows for loans from $2,500 to $55,000.

In general, it’s good practice to request only what you think you need. However, a budget for renovations can be difficult to determine at times. If you end up spending less than the credit limit assigned at loan approval, you’re only responsible for the amount spent during the 6-month purchasing window.

The Home Depot Project Loan is an unsecured loan, meaning no collateral is required. Unsecured status is critical to consider because it means approval for the loan is based mainly on your credit score, your debt ratio, whether or not you own your home, why you need the loan, and potentially a few additional factors.

If you request a massive credit line but don’t have the financial profile to back up the loan, it’s unlikely you’ll be approved.

6-Month Purchasing Window

Once approved for the loan, you will have a 6-month purchasing window to buy items and supplies.

Fixed Low Monthly Payments

APR is where prospective cardholders should do some quick math before blindly hopping on board.

The loan has 4 tiers with term and APR subject to qualifying credit approval:

• 66 monthly payments at 7.42%
• 78 monthly payments at 12.86%
• 90 monthly payments at 16.24%
• 114 monthly payments at 19.96%

The Home Depot states that “monthly payments will not exceed $20 per $1000 spent (e.g., $160 per month for an $8000 purchase).”

They offer an example of what your fixed monthly payments would equate to for some popular loan amounts:

What they don’t show in the table above is how much you’ll pay in interest across those monthly payments. We’ve calculated a few of them for you in the table below using the lowest tier of 66 monthly payments at 7.42%.

An important distinction: this total is the entire amount you would end up paying if you let the payments stretch out over the full 66 months (5.5 years).

However, The Home Depot does not apply a penalty for paying off your loan early. 

You see where we’re going with this.

Bottom Line: If you’re fairly confident you can make more than the minimum payments each month or chip away at your balance with some extra payments over time to pay off your loan in full faster than the full repayment period, The Home Depot Project Loan could be a useful card.

If you consider paying more than the original balance an unfortunate, yet unavoidable, premium necessary to get your project done, then The Home Depot Project Loan could be worth it for you.

The Home Depot Business Cards at a Glance

For professionals, the commercial card and account offer similar benefits — deciding which product is right for you depends on your payment flexibility. Let’s first review the shared benefits.

Pro Xtra: Pro Loyalty Program

Pro Xtra is The Home Depot’s loyalty program for professionals. Members receive exclusive benefits, like volume pricing, purchase tracking, paint rewards, and exclusive discounts and offers. Business tools are also available, such as Text2Confirm purchase authorization, reloadable gift cards, and a virtual ID.

Fuel Savings

Enroll your commercial card in Fuel Rewards and earn 10¢ per gallon for every $100 of qualifying purchases at The Home Depot.

At participating Shell and other select gas stations, your fuel price will drop when you swipe your card at the pump (limited to 20 gallons of fuel per purchase per vehicle).

Purchase Itemization

Your monthly billing statement contains an itemization of all purchases made on your commercial account or card. Purchases can be tracked by the buyer or job name, job number, or purchase order.

60 Days With No Interest on Every Purchase

Lastly, both the commercial card and account offer the option of 30- or 60-day payment terms. If your business does not have enough credit history to establish a commercial account, particularly with young or small companies, you may give a personal guarantee. In the event that the company defaults on payment, you will be held personally liable for all obligations and amounts due.

The Home Depot Commercial Account functions more like a charge card than a credit card. There is no set APR or minimum monthly payment as you are expected to pay your balance in full each billing cycle.

The Home Depot Commercial Revolving Charge Card actually functions more like a credit card. Minimum monthly payments are required and you will incur interest on the unpaid balance after the 60-day period.

Fees and Drawbacks of The Home Depot Credit Cards

We’ve discussed many of the fees and drawbacks associated with each card, but we’ll compare them here.

Fees

Generally, you can easily access the terms and conditions for all credit cards, but since The Home Depot Project Loan isn’t a traditional credit card, the terms and conditions for the card are not easily accessible online and may not be available over the phone, either.

When calling the customer service number dedicated to The Home Depot Project Loan customers, the representative was able to share information for the late fee, but was less clear about the returned payment fee, stating, “We don’t charge a returned payment fee, but some banks do.”

Unfortunately, that means you can’t review all of the terms and conditions until you’re approved and review your loan approval paperwork.

Hot Tip: The best way to avoid charges and fees is to be a responsible cardholder by paying off your balance in full each month. If you can’t pay it off in full (which is why you probably got a special financing card), pay as much as you can. At the very least, always pay the minimum amount on time.

Drawbacks

These are the main drawbacks for The Home Depot cards:

• You can only use these cards at The Home Depot and homedepot.com
• You won’t earn any rewards (cash-back or rewards points)
• Hefty APRs on The Home Depot card can become troublesome if you carry a balance
• The Home Depot Commercial Account requires payment in full each month

We won’t even get into what happens if you default on The Home Depot Project Loan.

Applying for The Home Depot Personal and Business Cards

Customers can apply for either of The Home Depot cards in person at a Home Depot store or online.

The Home Depot Card

If applying online, you’ll be redirected to a Citibank application page.

The Home Depot Project Loan

If you’re applying online, you’ll be redirected to a THD Loan/GreenSky application page.

Simply fill out the appropriate forms and submit your application.

If you decide to apply in person, a Home Depot employee will assist you in submitting your application and walk you through any questions you may have.

The Home Depot Business Cards

When applying online for either commercial option, you’ll be directed to a Citibank page that asks for information about your company as well as personal details. You may apply with a personal guarantor for The Home Depot Commercial Account.

There is the option to select 30- or 60-day payment terms, and you can also enroll in the Fuel Rewards program and select your number of program cards (up to 4).

Credit Scores

The Home Depot Card

Most credit card review sites report a fair credit score is needed to qualify for the card.

The Home Depot Project Loan

Things are a bit more complicated with this card. While your credit score is a significant factor in this decision, it’s also possible the decision depends on other factors such as whether or not you own your home, your debt-to-income ratio, and the reason you need the loan (among other factors).

However, the consensus from other card review sites is that you should have at least a fair credit score to consider applying.

Remember that each application is unique. There are reports of denials for high credit scores and approvals for bottom-range fair scores.

The Home Depot Business Cards

The Home Depot Commercial Account is best for those with fair credit. The Home Depot Commercial Revolving Charge Card is slightly harder to qualify for and would require a good credit score.

Log-In and Online Account Management

The Home Depot Card and Commercial Accounts 

Cardholders of The Home Depot card can manage their account online through an online portal. Similarly, users of The Home Depot Commercial Account and The Home Depot Commercial Revolving Charge card have similar portals.

This account management portal allows cardholders to perform the following actions:

• View account activity
• View billing statements
• Set up paperless statements and e-communications
• Make a payment
• Get exclusive offers
• Activate account alerts

The Home Depot Project Loan

Cardholders can manage their Home Depot Project Loan online through a different portal.

This account management portal allows cardholders to perform the following actions:

• Check account status
• Make payments
• Enroll in automatic payments
• Request a payoff
• Request copies of loan documents

Alternative Rewards-Based Credit Cards (Our Recommendations)

The average purchase price at a retailer like The Home Depot is larger than at most other stores. Higher checkout amounts are 1 reason The Home Depot offers solutions with affordable APRs.

However, many rewards cards have 0% APR for up to 18 months which could be an attractive alternative, especially if you don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars (as that amount might require a higher credit limit).

If you’d like the ability to earn on purchases other than just home improvement, consider rewards-earning credit cards that offer flexible redemption options.

These are some of our favorite rewards credit card alternatives that come with generous cash welcome bonuses:

Chase Freedom Flex^®

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Freedom Flex card is an excellent no-annual-fee card that still earns big with 5% cash-back on travel and other bonus categories.

Learn More(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Freedom Flex^®

The Freedom Flex card is an excellent no-annual-fee card that still earns big with 5% cash-back on travel and other bonus categories.

Welcome Offer

Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

$200

Annual Fee

$0

APR

0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ sure does pack quite a punch — especially for a no-annual-fee card.

The Freedom Flex card is an incredible option for those looking for a well-rounded cash-back card, or a powerful point-earner when paired with a premium card in the Ultimate Rewards family.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%.
• Powerful cash-back earner: 5% back on quarterly categories and travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1% back on all other purchases
• No annual fee

Cons

• 3% foreign transaction fees in U.S. dollars

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
• 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter!
• 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more
• 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
• 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99%-28.74%.
• No annual fee – You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Flex^® card
• Keep tabs on your credit health - Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, real-time alerts, and more.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

INTRO OFFER

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This all-purpose cash-back card offers great bonus categories, including bonus points for every purchase you make!

Learn More(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

This all-purpose cash-back card offers great bonus categories, including bonus points for every purchase you make!

Welcome Offer

Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

Up to $300 cash-back

Annual Fee

$0

APR

0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%.

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Freedom Unlimited^® is easily one of the best cash-back credit cards on the market. There aren’t many no-annual-fee credit cards that offer multiple great bonus categories like 5% back on travel purchased through Chase, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.

When paired with other Chase cards in the Ultimate Rewards family, you can transfer that cash back into points if you wish – making it one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%.
• 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases

Cons

• 3% foreign transaction fee

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• INTRO OFFER: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
• Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
• After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
• No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
• Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%.
• No annual fee – You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited^® card
• Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, alerts, and more.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.74%.
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

As you can imagine, there are more options — especially for those that can qualify for a credit card for good and excellent credit.

If you’re considering an alternative to the commercial options from The Home Depot, we’ve assembled a collection of the best small business credit cards available. When developing your strategy to maximize rewards from your business purchases, our helpful guide may come in handy.

Final Thoughts

These cards each have their benefits and drawbacks.

The Home Depot card might be a good card for you if you need special financing options for everyday home purchases. However, there are many other (more popular) cards out there that provide similar special financing and can give you rewards benefits at the same time. Remember, you can only use The Home Depot card at The Home Depot, and you won’t earn any rewards for doing so.

The Home Depot Project Loan could be helpful if you’re completing a big project and don’t have the cash on hand to pay for everything upfront. This card could potentially give you a credit line of up to $55,000 and you’ll also get a 6-month purchasing window with low payments stretched out over 66 to 114 months at an APR of 7.42% to 19.96%.

That’s a pretty good interest rate if you’re extending payments for a little while, but if you’re planning to let them drag out over 114 months, you’ll end up paying much more than the original loan amount. Still, some may see this as a necessary hurdle to get the project accomplished. If you do choose this card, we recommend that you pay off the loan as soon as possible to avoid hefty cumulative charges.

Lastly, if you’re looking for a cash-back card or a travel rewards credit card to help you earn points or miles, this card isn’t for you.

For commercial construction or home improvement professionals, the business card and account can be useful to those with heavy spending at The Home Depot. Cardmembers receive discounts, special pricing, and exclusive member-only benefits. If your business spending is spread out across multiple categories and merchants, you may want a business card that rewards more of those purchases.