TJX Rewards® Platinum Mastercard®: “Maxximize” Your Rewards

TJX Rewards® Platinum Mastercard® Review

One of two available retail and store credit cards from TJX, the TJX Rewards credit card is the open-loop card issued by major card issuer Synchrony Bank. Cardholders can earn 5% back at all TJX family stores, including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post, and Homesense. Earnings come in the form of points to be used with the TJX Rewards program and can only be redeemed for Reward Certificates for online or in-store use.

Welcome Offers

The signup bonus with the card is negligible at best, a basic one-time 10% off coupon that can be used in-store or online (but must be in conjunction with a purchase being made using your TJX Rewards credit card). While the 10% isn’t much, this is likely the only coupon that TJX Rewards account shoppers will ever see, as the discount retailer doesn’t have sales or offer coupons – this signup bonus itself is not a compelling reason to open this credit card. Still, the ongoing TJX rewards salvage the card’s potential.

Unfortunately, there is no intro APR or other type of special financing for TJX shoppers – meaning this card won’t be much help if you’re hoping to reduce overall credit card debt or ease the financial impact of a particularly large shopping trip. It also isn’t a suitable balance transfer card – but few retail cards are.

Earning TJX Rewards

The only function of the TJX Platinum Mastercard is its ability to earn an unlimited 5% back (in points) on purchases made at any of the five stores housed under the TJX parent company:

• J. Maxx
• Marshalls
• HomeGoods
• Sierra
• Homesense

All purchases made elsewhere will yield a measly 1% return – which means you’d be much better off putting grocery and gas purchases on general rewards cards with more flexible redemption options. Still, despite the lack of outside bonus categories, the card has multiple strengths that significantly boost its earning potential.

The card holds a significant practical value since TJX stores don’t fall within the department store category (T.J. Maxx is technically considered a General Clothing Store) and, thus, are rarely eligible for the 5% in rewards that other credit cards offer.

• Example: Spending $100 at T.J. Maxx would yield 500 points –equivalent to a $5 reward; spending the same with a generic cash back card would only yield a $2 return.

Even shoppers who only shop at TJX stores occasionally earn significantly more than they would earn using a general cash back rewards card.

Store Card Option

The TJX credit card program is actually three different card products. First, there are two Mastercard products: World Mastercard benefits and Platinum Mastercard benefits. There is also a closed-loop version of the card, the TJX Rewards® Credit Card (also from Synchrony.

The biggest difference between the two card types is the ability to earn additional rewards anywhere in the world Mastercard is accepted – currently over 200 countries. The store card version also features slightly lower credit requirements, as store cards offer reduced acceptability and generally lower credit limits.

Here’s how the TJX Mastercard and TJX Credit Card compare:

TJX Point Valuations

TJX points have an above-average value of 5¢ each (25 cents equals 5X points) – considerably higher than the valuations you would have from some of the most popular rewards cards on the market, which typically range from 1¢ to 2¢ each.

How to Redeem TJX Rewards

Only one type of reward is available through the TJX credit card: Reward Certificates. Great for frequent TJX shoppers, but not so much for anyone else. Reward Certificates function as vouchers and can be used both in-store and online to lower your total price at checkout. Vouchers start at $10 values and are automatically issued for every 1,000 accrued points. Because of this minimum for redemption, cardholders will have to spend $200 on the TJX Rewards® Platinum Mastercard to earn a $10 reward – a standard rewards rate.

Cardholders can find their Reward Certificates through the Synchrony Bank portal or enroll in electronic statements to receive their rewards via email. They can be redeemed at any store within the TJX family for any item except gift cards and cannot be applied toward your statement balance. If you do not use the entirety of the value on your Reward Certificate, the remaining amount will remain or may be issued to you in the form of store credit.

Be mindful that reward certificates expire two (2) years from their earned date, so check your account often to ensure you’re not losing free money. Points never expire. This is an ideal feature for someone who doesn’t shop at TJX stores regularly, allowing them to take their time accruing points.

Clothing Credit Card Comparison

	Lands' End® Visa®	Gap Good Rewards Mastercard®	TJX Rewards® Mastercard	AEO Connected® Visa®
Issuer	Comenity	Barclays	Synchrony	Synchrony
Annual fee	None	None	None	None
Rewards	5X on Land’s End purchases, 2X on gas, travel, and restaurants, and 1X on everything else	5X points for every dollar spent at Gap and Gap Inc. brands (Old Navy, Banana Republic, Hill City, and Athleta) and 1X on everything else	Earn 5% back at purchases at all TJX stores and 1% back on all other eligible purchases	Up to 20X points on American Eagle Outfitter purchases, 4X points on a;; other purchases, including jeans,

Shopping Perks for TJ Maxx Cardholders

TJX makes a vague claim that cardholders will receive invitations to “exclusive private shopping events,” but beyond that, it provides no additional benefits. The TJX Rewards program offers painfully little to its customers and owning the credit card does virtually nothing to enhance that.

There are no anniversary bonuses, discounted shopping days, or even opportunities to earn bonus points for particular items. And even though all of the TJX stores have strong websites, it’s disappointing that the TJX Reward credit card doesn’t at least offer free shipping on purchases.

In short, if you hope this card will enhance your shopping experience (or at least provide a few cost-saving freebies), you are out of luck.

Mastercard Benefits

As noted, the TJX Mastercard can be either a Mastercard or a World Mastercard depending on your creditworthiness. Both cards provide essential security benefits and protections from Mastercard:

The World Mastercard version takes this up a notch, providing additional benefits:

Synchrony Ratings

How does Synchrony stack up as a credit card issuer? Here is a selection of ratings for the bank:

Should You Apply for the TJX Rewards Platinum Mastercard?

The TJX Rewards® Platinum Mastercard® has the potential to be worthwhile for fans of the discount retailer but is ultimately a pretty barebone retail card. The lack of outside bonus categories, sign-up bonuses, introductory offers, or shopping benefits for cardholders is disappointing but still not a deal-breaker. Why? It’s actually due to the store’s operating model and not the card itself.

The TJX Rewards card offers the only opportunity for TJX shoppers to get discounts on merchandise since these stores do not run sales or issue coupons. TJX purchases don’t qualify for other card categories (even with revolving bonus categories), so this card is also the only opportunity to get 5% back on your shopping trips.

Regardless of how slim the card’s offerings may be, it’s still better than nothing if you’re a fan of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, or the like. As long as your card doesn’t get shut down due to Synchrony’s sudden whims, you could find your account earning a steady rotation of $10 or $20 vouchers – a solid return for a card that costs you nothing.