Pros and Cons: America’s Tire Credit Card (aka Discount Tire Credit Card)

Cons

America’s Tire Credit Card Executive Summary: Only use in a car repair emergency 

America’s Tire, also known as Discount Tire in some regions, is a chain of automotive shops that offers tires, wheels, and “famous customer service.” Since tires can be a large expense for many people, they offer a credit card that you can apply for in-store. Once approved, you’ll be able to use it immediately for your purchase.

America’s Tire store credit card is issued by Synchrony Bank. Here are some of the important features of this card:

• Very high Variable APR: 29.99%
• Likely credit score range needed for approval: 520 – 850
• Annual Fee: $0

If you’re thinking about applying for this store credit card to purchase your tires, check out this review to see if it’s the right card for you.

Let’s get into all the details ⏩ 

Key Points

Here are the main takeaways about America’s Tire store credit card:

Details About America’s Tire Store Credit Card

You’ve seen the breakdown of the pros and cons, but what about the fine print? Here’s an in-depth guide about the key features of this card.

High APR

If you tend to carry a balance on your credit cards then steer well clear of this card. The 29.99% APR means that you’ll end up paying much more for the balance you carry month to month, making your purchase significantly more expensive in the long run.

Interest-Free Promotional Period

That being said, America’s Tire offers promotional financing on qualifying purchases. You won’t have to pay any interest if the balance is paid in full within six, nine, or twelve months. The interest-free promotional period depends on how much you spend on qualifying purchases with your new card:

• 6 Months: purchases of $199 – $999.99
• 9 Months: $1,000 – $1,499.99
• 12 Months: $1,500 or greater

The fine print states that qualifying purchases must be made in one transaction. Note that that means any additional purchases are still subject to interest payments. Another point is that minimum monthly payments are still required during the promotional period. The specific amount of the minimum monthly payment will vary depending on how large of a purchase you make and how big your total balance is.

The one thing to keep in mind is that you will be charged for all of the interest owed if your balance is not paid in full by the end of the promotional period. Staying on top of your payments will ensure that you won’t have to pay more than you have to. Remember that if this happens, interest will be charged from the date of purchase, not from the end of the promotional period, making it potentially very high.

America’s Tire has calculated the monthly payments you’ll need to make to have your balance paid off by the end of the promotional period (note that the figures below are taken directly from their site, we are unable to independently verify since they do not share their exactly monthly minimum payment formula):

These are only estimates, though, so you’ll want to sit down and make sure that your numbers match up. If you think you’ll have trouble making payments and paying off the balance in full, you’ll probably want to skip this card. A purchase of $1,000 that isn’t paid within the 9-month promotional period will accrue $113 of interest that you’ll have to pay.

America’s Tire Store Credit Card Rewards and Cashback Offers

The America’s Tire credit card doesn’t offer much in terms of rewards and cashback offers. They advertise 5% of instant savings when you use the card in-store, but only on total purchases of $399 and above. The additional promotional offers tend to come and go, make sure you double check that it’s currently being offered before applying if you’re counting on it. 

Other than that, there are no rewards or cash back offered, even for gas. For a credit card offered by an automotive parts store, that’s pretty unfortunate.