5 Things to Know About the Ikea Credit Card

If you know that “hexagonal spanner” is Ikea-speak for an Allen wrench, then you may be the right customer for the IKEA® Visa® Credit Card. The $0-annual-fee card, issued by Comenity, was launched in May 2018 and was designed for diehard do-it-yourselfers who plan to buy a lot at the blue behemoth.

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You won’t get free Swedish meatballs with card ownership, but you will get a robust rewards structure for shopping at Ikea, along with elevated earnings in several other everyday categories and a nice sign-up bonus.

The downside? It’s got a complicated and limited redemption system that may leave you less than satisfied. Read on to learn five things about the IKEA® Visa® Credit Card.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best store credit cards

1. It’s easy to rack up rewards …

If you’ve got big plans to furnish your abode, and they almost all involve Ikea, you can stockpile rewards faster than you can pronounce “FJÄLLA“.

Cardholders will earn:

• 5% back in rewards per dollar spent on all Ikea purchases, as well as Traemand kitchen installation and at-home assembly services from TaskRabbit, which Ikea bought in September 2017.
• 3% back in rewards per dollar spent on dining, grocery and utility purchases.
• 1% back in rewards per dollar spent on all other purchases made with the card.

The IKEA® Visa® Credit Card also comes with a sign-up offer: Get a Bonus $25 IKEA Reward Certificate when you make $500 in qualifying purchases outside of IKEA, Traemand and TaskRabbit within the first 90 days of account opening with your IKEA Visa credit card.

» MORE: Before you get a retail credit card, consider your options

2. … But they can be redeemed only at Ikea

Ikea “Reward Dollars” are automatically redeemed for Ikea Reward Certificates in $15 increments. So for every 15 Reward Dollars you earn, you’ll get a $15 Ikea Reward Certificate. You can choose to have these certificates mailed to you — or if you’ve chosen paperless billing, you can access them online with your monthly billing statement.

The automation factor sounds simple, but it’s also inflexible. If you have, say, $28 worth of rewards, you’ll get only $15 of that sent to you, and you’ll have to wait to get the rest until you hit the $15 threshold again.

There are more potential speedbumps. Reward certificates can be used only at U.S. Ikea stores or the U.S. version of the company website. Moreover, these certificates expire 45 days from the date they are issued, and the Reward Dollars you accumulate to earn those certificates expire 36 months after the date that they are posted to your balance.

Choose another rewards card if you want greater flexibility with your earnings.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best rewards credit cards

3. It comes with auto protections

Since the IKEA® Visa® Credit Card is a Visa card, it comes with some perks that you may find handy when you’re driving home laden with Ikea boxes and can’t see out the back window. You’ll get auto damage collision waiver coverage for car rentals if you use the IKEA® Visa® Credit Card to complete the rental transaction (and decline the rental company’s coverage). You’ll also have access to Visa’s Roadside Dispatch, which is a pay-per-use service that can get you out of a jam.

» MORE: Rental car insurance: How your credit card may have you covered

4. There’s no 0% intro APR period

If you’re considering the IKEA® Visa® Credit Card, don’t forget to look at the big picture. Although the card offers rich rewards to those who plan to spend a lot on Ikea merch, that may not be as beneficial to you as getting a card that offers a chunk of interest-free time to pay off that new kitchen, living room or other big project.

And remember that Ikea rewards are redeemable only in $15 chunks and have to be used up fairly quickly. It may be easier and more useful to get an all-purpose cash-back card that lets you redeem your rewards anyway you like.

» MORE: Looking at store cards? You’ll likely get more value of out of these cards

5. It’s not the only co-branded Ikea card available

If you are indeed seeking some breathing room on your Ikea haul, there is another in-house option to consider. The IKEA® Projekt Credit Card comes with the following offers:

• 0% APR for 6 months on a purchase of $500 or more; or
• 0% APR for 12 months on a purchase of $1,500 or more; or
• 0% APR for 24 months on a purchase of $5,000 or more.

Be aware that if you haven’t paid that purchase off in full within the promotional period, you’ll be charged the standard ongoing interest rate on the remaining balance.

Also, the IKEA® Projekt Credit Card is a store card, which means you can’t use it outside of Ikea purchases. And unlike the IKEA® Visa® Credit Card, it doesn’t earn rewards.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best low-interest and 0% APR cards