"Thanks!" to Audrey & Marietta who shared with us J.Crew's latest email.The email announces their latest offer to get 20% off your first purchase when you open a J.Crew credit card. This offer expires 10/25/09. To apply online, click here.
There are several stated benefits associated with the card:
- $25 Rewards Card for every $500 you spend
- Lookbooks featuring their favorite pieces
(and how to wear them) - Prioritized status when receiving monthly catalogs
- Cardmember-only invitations to private sales
- Advanced notification of the biggest sale each season
- Early access to select items
- Complimentary standard alterations
(does not apply to Factory stores) - Personal shopping (they'll even open early or stay late to suit your schedule)
- Access to the Cardmember-only priority number, so you'll never have to wait in line
Boo to the J Crew card! I've had mine for ages and it's not worth it. $25 back for every $500 spent? Puh-lease! The other benefits are pretty minimal and don't do much for me since I live an hour and a half from the nearest store (how about free shipping?).
ReplyDeleteIf you're really getting ready to splurge the one-time 20% off might be worth it - but if you then cancel it I think it does something bad to your credit rating.
TEAGAN!! That's the name I couldn't think of! Selling both colors Ivory and Black size 6. NWT - $40 each.
ReplyDeletechadwick_kelly@yahoo.com
I'm tempted for the 20% off, but I know it would only get me into trouble, and not enough benefits to make it worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteI have the card and I do (mostly) pay off my balance each month, so I'm relatively happy with it. But I do wish the reward system was better--people should get rewards whenever they reach a certain benchmark (rather than the whole quarter system) and the benchmark should be $250, not $500. As I've said before, I think JCrew would actually profit from being a little more generous with the rewards as most consumers end up spending over the award amount.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had no idea I'm supposed to get Lookbooks. Wish that actually happened.
I got a pair of the "gift" heirloom earrings the other week. I went to wear them for the first time today, and they're just more heavy than I'm used to. Is there anything, some kind of support, or backer, I can use to take the weight off my earring holes?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty happy with my card. Most store credit cards have about the same interest rate, so that's par for the course. I think that adding free shipping, out of all other possible perks, would help them have more CC customers, and current cardholders would spend way more online. The 5% rewards aren't rolling, but I look forward to them anyway!
ReplyDeleteA big no way to opening the card, unless they throw in automatic free shipping.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I think you can get disc like things to wear on the back of the ear for support, I think I've seen them at Joanne Fabrics or Michael's, and at Target too.
If they offered free shipping for Cardholders, no minimum, I'd be all over it, but until then no thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the answer if probably no, but do you think they will allow you to combine the student discount with the 20% off?
ReplyDeletei have a card. no idea what they're talking about re lookbook, private sales, early access, or priority number. also, alterations are only for full price pieces.
ReplyDeletethat being said, i like it b/c i can prolong paying for at least a couple of weeks...
Oh, J.Crew card. I'd love you so much more if you offered more for me than the occasional rewards card. I mean, at least have those rewards points roll over if possible!
ReplyDeleteI have a BR luxe card and its free shipping no minimum, free alterations on sale and full priced and I can use my card anywhere visa is accepted and I get points for that as well.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I have a jcrew silver card and the only benefit is rewards.
oh...almost forgot.. BR sends the rewards cards with monthly statement unlike jcrew
ReplyDeleteThe BR card has way better perks than the Jcrew card. I've had teh Jcrew card for several years and I don't even receive a catalog anymore. As for lookbooks, etc., I don't get those either even though I use my Jcrew CC extremely often.
ReplyDeleteLaura --> You can get little plastic "supports" for heavy earrings. Try the jeweley section of a department store.
ReplyDeleteThe 20% off is totally worth it to open the card, use it once in-store and then cancel. If you have a major CC I think you'd be better off using your rewards points to get a J.Crew gift card then the 5% rewards rate the official J.Crew Credit Card yields.
ReplyDeleteSome may not be aware that opening a new credit card dings your credit score (affects length of credit history) and then closing the account would be another ding on your credit score (affects the ratio of current debt to available credit). Not wise in my opinion for a one time discount. HTH!
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS ONE CARD THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO CANCEL.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I had to yell. I closed the account about 10 years ago. This year I started buyng from J Crew a lot so I applied for a card. I hadn't heard from anybody for a while so I went to a store 100 miles away from where I live. The SA called some places and she said I still had the same old account. My account was reactivated and the credit limit was stinking $800( I have high credit score). after 6 months it went up to several thousand dollars. I pay off my balance every month but I don't recommend my friends to open one
Well, with most store credit cards, even if you 'close the account,' I think your account still technically exists - you're just no longer using the card. I used to have a JC card but saw no point to it and cancelled it years ago without it affecting my credit score at all.
ReplyDeleteNot what I came here today to post, though - I don't understand what the heck is going on with customer service these days, but I have had a string of unsavory interactions lately. The latest: I placed a huge order a few weeks ago toward which I used a gift card for about $100, and though I ended up returning a number of items from the order, I kept well more than $100 of merchandise - but when J. Crew processed the refund, they minimized the credit they put back on my card, and instead reissued the gift card! And when I emailed them asking them to correct it, they quoted me this:
"At any time a gift card is used to purchase a partial amount of the order, no matter, what items it is used for, we have to refund any amount to a gift card first is something is returned. For this
reason, we are unable to transfer the funds. We regret any further disappointment."
Either they have some newbies working their CS email, or they're making outrageous changes to what should be common sense returns policies. If a customer uses a gift card on an order, you keep the gift card applied to the merchandise they keep, yes? You don't reissue the gift card first.
Headache! Nonsense! I want back my J. Crew of olde!
I have to agree with previous posts about the lack of enough good benefits to get the card.
ReplyDeleteI do get catalogues, but I have never received a lookbook or been invited to any private sales.
I have never been sent special free shipping codes or gifts or discount offers.
Not worth it.
OT-I am going to a day wedding. I was thinking of wearing the fresh plum pencil, ivory Frances cami, and a charcoal grey cardigan. Would that work or would it be not be appropriate? Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteTIA
Not going to get the card since the 'rewards' are so piddly. My husband has one and he NEVER receives any incentives (cuff links or $25 off red card, etc). NO thanks!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever had their points "disappear?" I just checked online and my point balance from the fall rewards window (ending Sept 30) went from about 950 to 450. :( Could that just be them deducting for the rewards card? But then - why would they reduce the rewards I earned for that period instead of posting them?
ReplyDeleteI'm a cardmember and I don't receive a catalog anymore!
ReplyDeleteI just got around to browsing the new arrivals so this is OT but I wish they'd done the Eden in a christmasy red. I was browsing an old issue of Teen Vogue (which I am far too old to read)while getting my hair done there was a beautiful red velvet blazer on Hermione (or at least the actress that plays her). I might be tempted to overlook the Eden fit issues if it came in better colors.
Happy weekend!
Wendy, having been to a few day weddings myself, I think you've made a perfectly appropriate choice. The outfit sounds lovely! If you tie it all together with some classic pumps, it should be perfect :) Have fun!
ReplyDeleteLauren S.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice! Now I need to get some pumps! ;-)cy
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ReplyDeleteOh wow, they are offering a "special" 20% off (again) if you open this fabulous card? Don't they offer 15% off on $175 purchase min every once in a while too (you don't have to be a cardholder for that special offer)?
ReplyDeleteI NEVER get any sale notifications, I NEVER received a lookbook even though I called to ask (beg) for one (my JCrew card pamphlet states I'd receive them)
Pardon my cynicism, this card is NOT WORTH IT. Save yourselves and if you need a card with REAL benefits, go to the Amex website.
OT: I just received the pumpkin paisley perfect shirt and it is going back. Not a lovely autumnal print so much as a Brady Bunch flashback. Also, the collar is really floppy--not enough interfacing IMO.
ReplyDeleteDiana, yes, in my experience, the points "disappear" from the rewards section of the CC site and then reappear with a "points redeemed" notation. There should be more info in your CC statement.
I agree that the card benefits aren't great. FWIW, the phone number on the back of the cr card is different than the general contact number and it was my understanding that when orders are processed, cardholders get priority. Since having the card for a year I've only had one "oops, we didn't make enough" emails. Compared to last summer when I didn't get the card & got said emails all the time. Of course last summer they were having website issues. I imagine that largely contributed to ordering problems. I still like to think there are some less obviously stated perks.
ReplyDeleteAlso -- be sure to ask for 20% on your first online order also. I was able to do one in-store purchase & one online purchase with the 20%. Be sure to follow up on the discounted online order...making sure they adjust it.
Update to my post last night:
ReplyDeleteI just got another CS email, and it states again that J. Crew will not retain gift card value originally applied to orders that you've returned some part of (even if the part you've kept has a value greater than the gift card). This is most definitely a policy change - I have never had them argue that this was their procedure in the past. What it means is that returns may have just gotten more complicated - if you return any part of your order, they automatically refund the gift card (not the balance on your credit card) first - so you forfeit the use of the gift card for that order and have to 'try again' next time.
It's now perfectly clear to me that J. Crew sees no point to treating their customers well. Refusing to honor a gift card, when my original order was over $1,000? What happened to wanting to retain their customers?
On an unrelated (mostly) note - I just got a package the other day from a relative who was passing along to my my favorite shirt of my grandfather's (as he's recently moved into hospice) - a button-down oxford in a shade of blue he looked great in, J. Crew circa maybe 1988 or 1990. It's been worn and washed probably 200 times (I borrowed it from him all the time as a teenager), and is in excellent shape in every respect. When I opened the package I had a pang of remembrance for how much I really used to love the things they made.
Hi! Not really a comment in reference to the 20% offer, but I thought I'd share that the Lombard sweater is back in stock on-line. I noticed it was sold out for a while, and only available for an arm and a leg on ebay, so glad to see it's back on the J Crew web site. I bought one to give it a look!
ReplyDeleteChic Chauffeur, I had no idea they were selling Lombard for almost $200. on eBay. Then I started looking at other J. Crew items. Some of them look completely fake.
ReplyDelete"Prioritized status when receiving monthly catalogs" - ha! No matter what I do I can't get them to send me a catalog. I also only receive the lookbooks occasionally, and don't get advance notice for sales or cardmember-only private sales. Still, I keep it for the rewards and pay it off each month. But it really does not provide all the benefits it advertises.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if any of you know this, but if you find something online that is on sale - they MUST honor that price at a B&M. This also works the other way - on sale at your B&M, online has to honor the price. The silk tiered cami is on sale at my B&M for $19.99. They didn't have my size, so I ordered it online for $19.99! It's still listed as $88.00 on line. You just have to get a manager's approval, but they have to approve it, since the markdowns come from Corporate.
ReplyDeleteJust thought I'd share.
On another note - I agree about the card - not much in the way of benefits. LLBean offers free shipping and monogramming for cardholders, in addition to rewards for using the card. JCrew really need to offer their CC holders free shipping - all the time! Not just once a quarter, or whatever it is. It's getting to the point where I will order pretty much everything from the red phone at my B&M - free shipping there for full priced items.
ReplyDeleteI actually use my JC card for all my purchases - I like to have them separated from the others for monitoring. <-- yes a bit sad that's one of the major benefits!
ReplyDeleteI've had suit pants altered, received the red cards/earrings ( but not sure if being a cardholder is the reason- if it was factored in, this is a great perk!), and I like the 5% back more than hotel points or whatnot.
I agree that it's a bit annoying tho that they claim a perk is getting lookbooks when I've had to go in store to ask for them, and my catalogs come very late.
ITA if they had free shipping for cardholders I'd be ordering a whole lot more if that's possible!!
I was wondering if anyone tried the vintage tall roadster boots and how they fit/looked in person....thanks :)
ReplyDeleteIn reply to the gift card issues someone was having....
ReplyDeleteJ. Crew has sent me several incorrect items lately. Wrong color sweaters, bathing suits instead of items I ordered, etc.
Every time - EVERY FRIGGIN TIME - they refund my order by sending me a gift card. Their mistake, and I can't even get my money back! I always get a gift card instead. Granted, my amount of spending is insane, and I always use the gift card, But still... come on, J. Crew!
so_much_cookies, i ordered the vintage tall roadsters in black and i love them. i am normally a 9.5-10, and i ordered a 10 in these to err on the side of caution. i should definitely have gotten the 9.5, but i had already worn them by the time i realized this and was unable to return. with thick socks though (as i wear in the chicago winters) the larger size still works.
ReplyDeletethe leather is very very soft and seems to be holding up well (i've worn them about 5-6 times now?). i recommend them.
another similar style is the Frye slouch veronica, if you're interested. these are a little more expensive than the Crew version but are pretty much guaranteed to last for years.
Does anyone know when we should receive the reward cards for the fall? I'm expecting 2 and dont want to order anything until I get them.
ReplyDelete