Skip to content
CardSwipe
Join the beta

Guide

Which credit card earns the most at home improvement stores?

Home Depot and Lowe's code as home supply stores. Few cards pay a standing bonus there, so a flat-rate card is often best, except when a rotating card features them.

How these stores code

Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards usually code as home supply warehouse stores.

Smaller hardware stores often code as hardware stores, a different code.

Garden centers and lumber yards vary.

Who pays a bonus

Some cards pay a bonus on home improvement as a choice category, which you select.

Rotating 5% cards feature home improvement stores in some quarters.

Store cards usually offer financing or discounts rather than rewards. Compare them on cost, not points.

Large projects

Large purchases can help meet a sign-up bonus requirement.

If you carry a balance, interest outweighs any reward. A 0% intro APR card can be worth more than rewards for a big project.

Large purchases can use a rotating card's whole quarterly cap at once.

Common follow-ups

Does Home Depot count as a grocery store or department store?
Neither. It codes as a home supply warehouse store.
Do Home Depot gift cards bought at a supermarket earn grocery rewards?
Usually yes, because the supermarket's code applies. Some issuers exclude gift card purchases.
Is a store card worth it?
Only if you use its discount or financing, and pay on time. Deferred interest offers charge all the interest if the balance is not paid in full.

Figures come from issuer terms published at the time of writing and are estimates, not guarantees. Your own card agreement governs what you earn. Updated October 2026.

Read next

Know the card before you reach the register

CardSwipe is on the App Store Thursday, November 5. Until then the beta is open on TestFlight: install it, add the cards you carry, and check the answer at the next counter you stand at.

Join the beta

No bank login. No card numbers. Ever.

iOS 18 and watchOS 11, US cards. On the App Store Thursday, November 5, 1:00 AM Pacific. Built by Shaurya Dattani and Aarav Patel.

CardSwipe support will never ask for account numbers, passwords, card numbers, or any other credential, for any reason. Reward rates are estimates based on published issuer terms, not guarantees. CardSwipe is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any card issuer named on this site, and carries no paid placement: rankings are computed from published issuer terms alone.