Home Depot Revolving Charge Card Review

Any professional contractor knows that projecting revenue can be a crapshoot, so any wiggle room they can get to manage vendor payments, salaries and other recurring expenses is a big plus. With that in mind, the Home Depot Revolving Commercial Charge Card could help home builders and other tradespeople with managing cash flow. The card offers flexible payment terms for those businesses that need some extra time to pay off balances on building materials. If you manage a fleet of vehicles, gas rewards can save you money over the year, and supplies that you don’t use can be returned far beyond time frames that normally apply to retailers and wholesalers.

Since you can’t use the card outside the retailer and its affiliates, you’ll obviously need to be a devoted Home Depot shopper to get the most out of its benefits.

Down to business with the Home Depot Revolving Commercial Charge Card 

• APR:  This card charges a standard variable APR of 21.99% but that rate reverts to 15.00% if your billing address is in Georgia or North Carolina at the time the account is opened. No introductory offers on purchases or balance transfers apply.
• Annual Fee:  None
• Reward Rates:  You’ll earn fuel savings bonuses that amount to a 10 cent per gallon discount for every $100 in purchases you make with the retailer.
• Intro Offer: No welcome bonuses or other introductory offers exist.

Perks and features of Home Depot Revolving Commercial Charge Card

• Extended return time frame: Non-Home Depot cardholders who must return items get 90 days to bring them back to the store. Commercial cardholders are afforded a 360-day window to process returns.
• Purchase tracking: It’s frustrating to dig up a receipt on an item you need to return, especially when both you and your employees make purchases throughout the year. The Home Depot Commercial card lets you categorize buys by purchase order number and job name, reducing the time wasted on chasing receipts.
• 60 days to pay: You can take up to 60 days to pay off your balance in full, giving you some added leverage to manage cash flow. Within that period, minimum monthly payments must be made to avoid interest charges on the entire balance.
• Pro Xtra Loyalty Program: By holding the card, you’ll be automatically enrolled in Home Depot’s loyalty program, which entitles you to special member benefits. You can take advantage of volume pricing on aggregate purchases over $1,500 and everyday savings on paint, and notification of other periodic special buys get delivered right to your inbox.

Is the Home Depot Revolving Charge Card right for my business?

The first criteria for owning this card absolutely has to involve whether your business spends enough at the retailer to reap some economic or loyalty benefits. The card has no annual fee so no harm, no foul for the occasional contractor who doesn’t use the big-box supplier for all its business needs. You could hold the card and keep an eye out for promotional deals and competitive pricing. 

Better yet, if you’re a startup tradesperson who might have trouble getting access to capital, the card may be a good way to manage building supply purchases until better financing options come along. Carrying a balance could get pricey, but those circumstances don’t need to last forever.

There are no point or cash-back bonus programs, but if you’re running heavy trucks and utility vehicles from job to job, the card’s Fuel Rewards solution might help defray costs. Were you to spend $50,000 annually on gasoline, you could receive a discount of up to $5,000. But you’ll need to manage this benefit judiciously. Discounts don’t apply to fuel purchases that exceed 20 gallons per fill. Thus, maximizing the discount takes a little massaging on your part.

The big sticking point for this card is that it has very little value to business outside the contracting arena. Do-it-yourself businesses that do a lot of in-house repairs may find some utility with the card, but they may also benefit more from a program that grants cash back or bonus points on all purchases. So, this makes a nice complementary card for any business, but using it to meet all your needs while earning paltry rewards in the process won’t cut it. 

Another big miss is no zero-interest financing offer on new purchases after acquiring the card. A new business or a new Home Depot customer might be looking to finance big purchases, and outside that 60-day window, you won’t be able to spread payments out over time for tools or other big-ticket equipment.

If you’re looking to stay in the same relative family of credit cards, the Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express offers a lot more flexibility. Primarily, you’ll get a $100 statement credit after approval along with a 0% introductory offer for six months on new purchases. The bigger advantage springs from being able to use the card anywhere that accepts Amex. Naturally, you’ll receive attractive point rewards at Lowe’s, but you’ll also earn even higher points per dollar in other categories like restaurants and office supply stores.

The bottom line

The Home Depot Revolving Commercial Charge Card gives some distinct advantages to contractors that spend heavily with the issuer. Plumbers, electricians and homebuilders who manage a fleet could amass some significant fuel savings and receive special pricing on materials needed to ply their trades. If you need a little extra time to pay off balances in full, this card will meet that need as well.

The overall limited nature of the card makes it an ancillary option at best. There’s just not much to love, especially since you can’t use it anywhere else but Home Depot. The lack of rewards outside gas purchases makes it a one-trick pony, and you might even find higher bonus equivalents with cards that shell out five points per dollar on fuel. So, if you’re looking for one card to serve multiple purposes, plenty of alternatives exist.