Tons of Free Clothes From My Favorite Non-Travel Credit Card
Yes, you can get a lot of free clothes from a good credit-card. No, this isn’t a trick. I’m dedicated to only talking about things I believe in or use on my blog, and when I thought about my next Bite-Sized piece, it had to be on my all-time-favorite credit card. I actually used this card long because I had a universal travel card, and now that Covid-19 has us all at home, I’ve completely switched over usage to get all my points towards clothes.
The card is the Gap Inc credit card, which can be used for Gap, Old Navy, and my two favorites… Banana Republic and Athleta. I actually don’t own a single pair of lululemon pants, or anything for that matter… but I have easily over 40 items from Athleta. Most of the items that I’ve gotten from Athleta have been free, nearly free, or purchased on-sale during a high point promo period where I would accumulate a lot of points for free clothes the following month. Athleta will even let you wear the clothes to see if you like them before returning them. The other brands require tags for returns. Oh, and you’re given your points back when you return items purchased with points. So yeah, free clothes and free returns.
I’ve gone to lululemon and tried on their clothes, and I honestly like Athleta better. I’m a curvier gal, and Athleta carries sizes petites and tall too. It feels like lululemon is better fitting for women that are more slender, and Athleta is more broad in the all-shapes-and sizes way. The quality is the same. lululemon just had better marketing or made it to the game first or something. Not sure, but I’m sticking with my Athleta.
I’ve been a Gap Inc credit card holder since 2011, and because of their offerings of free shipping on all orders, and free-returns on all their brands, I think it’s safe to say that one-third of my wardrobe falls under their umbrella of brands. My favorite places to buy clothes are Banana Republic, Athleta, Anthropologie, Rothy’s, boutique and one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind… and Costco. Yes, you read right. I’ll be doing a blog piece on my Costco clothing and cosmetic shopping soon.
For returns, I just put them back in the bag they came in. The bags have another seal for returns. I print my own label and insert. Then, I schedule a free USPS return order pick-up for them to grab when they deliver my mail the next day. I never need to step foot in a store. When I lived in a more urban place where I couldn’t leave things on my front door/stoop, I just dropped the bad in a USPS blue bin. The bags always fit.
Gap Inc has two credit card tiers. The store only card, and the Visa card. I’ve only ever had the Visa card. They’ve had promo-periods where all purchases outside of their brands are 3x, 4x, or even sometimes 5x… So, what does that mean? Well, for every 500 points, you’ll receive $5 the following month and you have six months to spend it within any of the brands. When the 5x promo runs, you’ll get $5 for every $100 on your credit card. You can pay all your bills and get groceries for a month on that card, pay it off, then end up with enough rewards to buy a pair of pants at Athleta… for free! Free clothes… woop woop!
This card only works if you are prepared to pay it off every month. Like every card, the rewards are only worth it if you’re able to avoid accumulating debt.
This last month, they had a promo period with extra point earnings, and I received some points returned from returns from the prior two months. Along with that, and switching all of my household purchases to the Gap / Athleta credit card this month vs our travel credit cards, I accumulated $160 in rewards. Our travel cards are the American Express Platinum, Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Alaska Airlines credit card. I’ll be writing an article soon on how to take advantage of the new Covid-19 perks with those cards too.
My Dashboard
This shows some of my rewards this month that I can use for free clothes at Athleta, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Hill City.
Here’s what I purchased with my rewards this month…
First, at Athleta, I got a pair of the Cabo Linen Jogger in Toasted Ochre. I have the Cabo Linen Wide Leg Pants in every color, and I love them. The joggers seem to be a cinched ankle version of the wide-leg.
Next, at Athleta, I got the Studio Jogger in petite black. I have them in black heather already and I grab them every-time they come out of the wash as my first go-to cozy pants right now. They do pill in the thigh area a bit, but other than that, they’re perfect!
Lastly, at Banana Republic, I got the Cargo Jogger Knit Pants. I don’t have any point of reference and these are a completely new item to me, but they’re rated 4.4 out of 5.0 with 37 reviewers at the time of purchase, so they’re worth the try at only $55 before my rewards kick in, making them under $10.
Without any rewards, the total would have been $213 plus tax. My total came to $24.84, including tax and free 3-5 day shipping. Can’t beat that! I also have an Ann Taylor credit card. They charge for shipping, and charge for returns. I only shop at Ann Taylor or The Loft in-person, or maybe once a year online, and I always return in-person which has turned me away from shopping the next time.
The great rewards, the free expedited shipping on all orders, the many brands that I love, and the returns being free and easy… Well, there’s a reason that Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy have received loyalty from me. I do lean more towards the first two, but I shop at all four brands. I couldn’t recommend this card more, especially when travel points aren’t what you want to accumulate and buying cozy pants sounds like a better plan. How can you beat free clothes? I mean, the small things in life, right?
Although I know BR and Athleta will always have a great product line, this was posted in June, 2020 as an example of what I bought this month. These items won’t be available forever and you may land on this page at a later date. The examples are mostly to show how great the credit the credit card program is. I don’t benefit in any-way by people signing up for the credit card (not paid by Visa or Gap Inc etc for credit card applications) and I will only ever promote items I like, use and believe in.
Update on 2/10/21:
I received the following $50 Gift Card from Athleta, along with Wildflower Seeds and a lovely Thank You note for my loyalty in their brand. From the actual Credit Card, they sent me a gift box full of goodies like a nice metal camping mug, pends, laptop camera privacy screens and a notepad. This credit card really does provide a personal touch unlike any other. Picture below, and you can see my Instagram post on it here.
