5 Things to Know About the Mary Kay Credit Card

Issued by FNBO, the Mary Kay Rewards Visa card is a credit card offered only to independent beauty consultants of the multilevel marketing (MLM) skin care and cosmetics company.

The $0-annual-fee card earns rewards on Mary Kay products and comes with a decent bonus and a special financing offer that can help consultants who have already invested in the company and have a business with it. However, most Mary Kay consultants would be better off with a general and more flexible non-branded rewards credit card.

Here are five things to consider before getting the Mary Kay Rewards Visa credit card.

The card is available only to Mary Kay’s independent beauty consultants, which means you won’t be able to get it if you don’t have a business with the brand — even if you frequently buy Mary Kay products.

Consultants can apply for the card by logging into their consultant access site, Mary Kay InTouch. FNBO says it uses its standard set of criteria, like credit scores and a proprietary scoring method, to determine whether a consultant will get approved for the card.

Cardholders earn rewards (as points) for both Mary Kay and outside-brand spending. You’ll get:

• 3 points for every dollar spent with Mary Kay. 

• 2 points for every dollar spent on gas, groceries and cell phone bills.

• 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases.

Like most co-branded retail cards, this one rewards holders the most for in-brand spending. But the card’s 2x-back category covers a lot of everyday expenses, including cell phone bills — which isn’t a common rewards category, particularly for a retail card.

Plus, compared with similar cards, the redemption options are flexible and the process isn’t clunky:

Points can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards, merchandise and travel, but their value will depend on the redemption option you choose. For example, points are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for cash back, but for gift cards they might be worth slightly less.

You can redeem points online or by calling a redemption number. Cash back is redeemable in increments of $25, $50, $100, $250 and $1,000. There’s no limit to the number of points you can earn, but they do expire after five years in your account. Finally, if you don’t have enough points to redeem for a certain reward option, you must use at least 1,000 points toward that option, and then you can pay the remaining balance with a card.

The card offers the following introductory offer at the time of writing: 0% APR for 6 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers.

This 0% APR period can help you get started on purchasing inventory for your Mary Kay business, without having to pay any interest for half of a year. And unlike most co-branded credit cards, this is a true 0% intro APR offer, not a deferred interest offer. If you pay off your balance by the end of the promotional period, you won’t owe any interest; if you still owe a balance, you’ll be charged interest only on the remaining balance moving forward.

Still, six months is on the low end for such promotions. Some general-purpose credit cards offer 0% intro APR periods of up to 21 months.

Welcome offers often change, but at the time of writing new cardholders can earn a $100 statement credit when they spend $500 in the first three billing cycles. FNBO notes that statement credit will be posted within five days of being issued.

If you’re starting your business and are purchasing plenty of inventory, you’ll likely hit the bonus easily. And the statement credit can help you reduce the balance you owe on your card.

This bonus is comparable to what similar retail cards offer, but lackluster compared with what you can get with a general rewards card.

This card stands out for earning rewards on both Mary Kay inventory and everyday spending. That, in addition to its introductory interest-free offer, can make it a useful option for Mary Kay consultants who already work with the brand and want to earn rewards while building their business. If you’ve already committed to an MLM business model, then applying for the company’s co-branded credit card likely isn’t that much of a leap.

However, even those who have made a commitment to Mary Kay would still be better off with a general rewards credit card that earns richer rates on everyday spending and that features benefits not tied to one brand.

The $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, for instance, earns an unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases and also comes with an intro APR promotion, as well as the following sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

For higher cash back on a variety of spending, consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. It charges a $0 annual fee and earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase; 3% back at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services; 3% back on drugstore purchases; and 1.5% back on everything else. Plus, it comes with the following introductory offer: 0% intro APR on purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%-28.24% Variable APR.