Williams Sonoma Visa Credit Card and Williams Sonoma Credit Card Review
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Cooking was once considered to be much like other household chores, such as doing laundry or mopping the floor. But companies like Williams Sonoma have helped to open our eyes to see cooking, dining, and entertaining as an art form, not just a household task. Today, Williams Sonoma is a leader in high-end cookware, house wares, and even outdoor accessories. And for fans of the brand, the Williams Sonoma Visa Credit Card and Williams Sonoma Credit Card offer exclusive rewards, discounts, and benefits.
How These Cards Work
When you are approved for either the Williams Sonoma Visa or store card, you will receive a one-time 20% discount on your purchases that day. Just note that the discount is not valid for gift cards, monogramming, gift wrap, taxes, shipping & processing, delivery surcharge, sale items, grills or stoves. You'll also receive a $20 welcome certificate in the mail after your new card arrives.
These cards also offer you 5% back in rewards for purchases from Williams Sonoma, 2% back on dining, and 1% back on all other purchases. Every time you earn $25 in rewards, you will receive a $25 certificate to spend at Williams Sonoma stores or online. These certificates expire 90 days after they are issued. Other benefits include free standard shipping on eligible purchases, and a $25 certificate during the month of your birthday.
The Williams Sonoma Visa Credit Card is part of the Visa payment network, so you can use your card anywhere that Visa is accepted. On the other hand, the store credit card can only be used at Williams Sonoma stores and for online purchases from Williams Sonoma.
With the Williams Sonoma Visa, there is no annual fee, but there is a 3% foreign transaction fee imposed on all charges processed outside of the United States. The Williams Sonoma store credit card has a high standard interest rate and no annual fee.
There is one application for both cards, and those who are unable to qualify for the Williams Sonoma Visa card may still be approved for the standard credit card.
Click here for the best cash back credit cards.
Advantages
This card's initial 20% discount on purchases can be very valuable, and is more than the 10-15% discounts typically offered by retail credit cards. Free standard shipping can also be a tremendous benefit for cardholders who prefer to shop online. Other benefits such as the $20 welcome certificate and the $25 annual birthday benefit are nice to have as well.
As a rewards card, it offers a strong 5% back on Williams Sonoma purchases and a decent 2% back on dining. It's also nice that this card has no annual fee, which is what you would expect from a store credit card.
Disadvantages
One problem with this rewards program is that it automatically issues you $25 certificates that expire within 90 days. This is great for getting you into their stores frequently, but it won't work well if you want to save up your rewards for a big-ticket item. The 20% discount, $20 welcome certificate, and the $25 annual birthday certificate sound great, but really might not be competitive with the sign-up bonuses offered by premium travel rewards cards, which can be worth hundreds of dollars.
Likewise, 2% cash back on dining and 1% cash back elsewhere isn't as strong as many cash back and travel reward cards that can offer rewards worth as much as 2% on all purchases.
Click here for more rewards credit cards.
Bottom Line
The Williams Sonoma credit cards can certainly be nice to have for foodies and others who love their stores. And the store credit card can be a good way to build credit if you are unable to qualify for the Visa version. But, if you are looking for a competitive rewards card for use outside of their stores, there are plenty of other options that you should consider.
First published , last updated
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Know Stewart is one of the leading journalists covering the credit card industry and travel rewards. His work appears at many of the top personal finance websites and is regularly syndicated by mainstream sites such as MSN Money and Yahoo! Finance.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
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