Banana Republic Rewards Mastercard® review: Peak rewards for Gap Inc. customers, but no one else

The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express  earns boosted cash back at U.S. supermarkets, online retailers and gas stations. While you're paying for clothes at Gap Inc. brands, you could swipe this card for those other regular purchases.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash card earns a flat rate of 2 percent cash rewards, making it an excellent catch-all card for everyday spending outside of Gap Inc. brands.

The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card offers 5 percent cash back in two categories each quarter (up to $2,000 in combined spending), and department or retail clothing stores can be one of your choices – along with things like streaming services, electronics and fast food.

So it offers the same rewards rate for your clothing purchases as the Banana Republic Rewards card, but with more flexibility from quarter to quarter. For example, you could choose clothing stores as a rewards category during back-to-school or wedding guest season, but choose more relevant categories during other seasons.

Another option is the Prime Visa card, which lets you earn 5 percent cash back on eligible Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases. And both Gap and Banana Republic sell products on Amazon, while all the Gap Inc. brands sell gift cards on Amazon. You can either earn cash back on those purchases or use your existing cash back to cover them at checkout.

Since you also earn 2 percent back at restaurants, gas stations and on local transit and commuting, the Prime Visa card could be a more versatile addition to your wallet.

The Banana Republic Rewards Mastercard is a retail store credit card associated with the Gap Inc. family of brands. It features boosted rewards and benefits for purchases at these branded locations.

You can use the Banana Republic Mastercard anywhere that accepts Mastercard.

Although the cards are branded differently, the Banana Republic Rewards Mastercard and Gap Good Rewards card feature the same rewards rate at the same stores. There are a few differences between the two cards outside of their rewards rates, but they are issued by the same bank.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.