BJ’s Mastercard Review
BJ’s is a wholesale chain found on the East Coast and Ohio, rival to it’s more famous competitors Costco and Sam’s Club. They offer a credit card known as My BJ’s Perks Mastercard which is issued by Comenity Bank.
The card is a Mastercard which can be used anywhere, but of course the best rewards are earned when using at BJ’s itself.
There’s a personal version and a business version. The personal version can either be a standard Mastercard or a World Mastercard with some extra card benefits. It’s probably decided which one you get based on credit score and income.
- No annual fee.
- No signup bonus.
- You need to already be a BJ’s member in order to apply. You can buy BJ’s membership online. Membership costs $50 for standard or $100 for Elite membership.
- The application only asks for your DOB, income, and last 4 of your SSN, but apparently they DO hard pull your credit report (link).
A perk of having the credit card is that cardholders can save $10-$25 on each annual membership renewal by opting in for auto-renewal charged to their BJ’s card (Easy Renewal). Standard members save $10 bringing down the annual cost to $40 and Elite members save $25 bringing down the annual cost to $75. (Link)
[Related: Comenity Bank Credit Cards 2017: A List, Best Cards & Easiest Cards To Get Approved For]
Reward Details
BJ’s Perks Elite Cardmember Benefits:
- Earn 5% cash back on most in-Club and BJs.com purchases
- Save 10¢ off/gal. at BJ’s gas stations
- Earn 2% cash back on dining out and non-BJ’s gas purchases
- Earn 1% cash back everywhere else Mastercard is accepted
BJ’s Perks Plus Cardmember Benefits:
- Earn 3% cash back on most in-Club and BJs.com purchases
- Save 10¢ off/gal. at BJ’s gas stations every day
- Earn 2% cash back on dining out and non-BJ’s gas purchases
- Earn 1% cash back everywhere else Mastercard is accepted
Cash back is in the form of electronic awards issued in $20 increments that are used in-Club at the register and expire 6 months from the date issued. Cash back can be requested in the form of a check prior to awards expiring by contacting Member Care at 800-BJs-CLUB. Award expire after 6 months.
The 10¢/gallon gas savings comes off instantly at the pump and replaces the standard 2% rewards on gas purchases (you won’t get both).
Our Verdict
On the surface, 5% back at BJ’s sounds great, but – as I understand it – ALL BJ’s Elite members get 2% back with the BJ’s Perks program, even those who don’t have the credit card.
So the credit card is really just getting you 3% rewards, not 5%. 3% is not a whole lot more than the 2-3% most of us get on all everyday purchases. Honestly, it almost seems misleading to me the way they advertise it since the extra 2% rewards has nothing to do with credit card earnings.
In the end, it could still make sense for someone who does a lot of shopping at BJ’s as an easy way to earn a flat 3% cash back on all purchases, as well as gas savings and the $25 annual auto-renewal savings.
BJ’s Perks Rewards
There are a few important things found in the terms for Perks Rewards:
- Max $500 per 12-month period can be earned
- Gift cards, gas, and some other purchases do not earn rewards
I’m not positive that these terms affect BJ’c cardholders the same as Elites who are non-cardholders, but I’d guess they do.
BJ’s Perks Rewards Memberships. BJ’s Perks Rewards Memberships allow you to earn awards of 2% of Eligible Purchases. You may only enroll in one BJ’s Perks Rewards Membership. “Eligible Purchases” means purchases at BJ’s Club front-end registers and on BJs.com. Eligible Purchases do not include BJ’s in-Club purchases of exempted items restricted by law or regulation, sales taxes, bottle deposits, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes or tobacco-related products, lottery tickets, gift cards, propane, gasoline, BJ’s Member Services (such as BJ’s Auto Buying Program,® cellular phone services, BJ’s Optical Department,® BJ’s Travel®), other purchases not recorded through BJs.com or in-Club front-end registers, or as posted at the Member Services Desk. Awards are digital certificates issued in $20 increments available at, and to be used for pre-tax merchandise amounts and Membership fees at, the front-end registers of BJ’s Club locations. Cash back can be requested in the form of a check prior to awards expiring by contacting Member Care at 800-BJS-CLUB. Awards are issued when your Program balance reaches $20. You, or your Household Cardholder or Free Business Cardholder, may choose to use awards or save them. Supplemental Members may not redeem awards. If you choose to use awards, you must use all the awards that are presented to you. However, you may not use awards to create a negative cash register balance. Awards will be redeemed on a “first in, first out” basis, such that the first award earned will be the first redeemed. Your BJ’s Perks Rewards balance will be shown on your register receipts, and on your “My Account” page on BJs.com. Awards will not exceed $500 for a 12-month period. Only one Membership Card may earn awards in each transaction. We reserve the right to verify and adjust your BJ’s Perks Rewards balance. Awards will expire six (6) months from the date they are issued. Once awards expire, they may not be redeemed. Your BJ’s Perks Rewards balance will be reduced by the number of awards issued. Purchases that are returned or refunded or otherwise adjusted will be deducted from your BJ’s Perks Rewards balance. Such deductions may result in a negative BJ’s Perks Rewards balance, in which case, any future earnings will be applied to reduce that negative balance. Awards cannot be purchased or sold. Awards are not transferable. If you cancel your BJ’s Perks Rewards Membership and enroll in a BJ’s Inner Circle Membership, you will forfeit any partial BJ’s Perks Rewards balance and will no longer accumulate earnings to your BJ’s Perks Rewards balance. BJ’s Inner Circle Members may use unexpired awards at Member pricing. If you cancel your BJ’s Membership, you can use your awards at non-member pricing. We may, from time to time, make special offers for you to accumulate bonus earnings on specific purchases. Availability of any special offer is subject to change without notice. If you are a BJ’s Perks Plus,® or a BJ’s Perks Elite® Member, other My BJ’s Perks® Program benefits and terms apply to you and can be found at BJs.com/perksterms. To find out more about BJ’s Perks Plus and BJ’s Perks Elite Memberships, and to apply, visit BJs.com/mybjsperks.
