Cabela’s CLUB Credit Card Review 2024

It may seem tempting to own the Capital One Cabela’s CLUB® Credit Card* if you’ve spent a decent amount of your disposable income at the outdoor specialty retailer. Purchases made at participating Cenex convenience stores and gas pumps and Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops will net you 2% back at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's & participating Cenex® locations and 1% back on all other purchases. If you tend to carry a balance, know that Cabela and/or Cenex spending will be subject to a lower APR than purchases made elsewhere with the card.

These Cabela-centric terms mean it’s more like owning a store card, even though you could use it anywhere Mastercard is accepted. That’s because, in addition to the rewards and APR structure, earnings on this card are only redeemable towards more merchandise from Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops. There’s no cash back and no applying your earnings towards a statement credit. This leaves you trapped in an endless cycle of earning rewards that can only be spent on more stuff within Cabela’s ecosystem.

If you plan to shop there for your entire life, that may not be an issue. But most people eventually find they’ve acquired enough gear to fulfill the needs of their favorite pastime. For flexible rewards you can use any way you’d like, a general-purpose rewards card would be a more bountiful choice.

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome bonus: Earn $20 in CLUB Points upon approval, an extra $10 in points after 2 Bass Pro Shops or Cabela's purchases within 30 days of account approval and $20 in points after 5 purchases everywhere else within 30 days of account approval.
• Purchase APR on Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops and Cenex spending: 9.99% APR
• Purchase APR on all other purchases: 9.99% APR on Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s purchases, 20.49% - 32.24% variable APR
• Earn 2% back at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's & participating Cenex® locations and 1% back on all other purchases
• Comes with Mastercard perks and benefits
• Rewards can only be redeemed towards purchases at Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops

Earning Rewards

Cardholders are automatically considered to be Cabela’s Club Classic Members. At the Classic level, you’ll earn 2% back at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's & participating Cenex® locations and 1% back on all other purchases.

If you spend at least $10,000 on your Cabela’s credit card (on any purchases, not just at Cabela’s/Bass Pro Shops) in a calendar year, you’ll get boosted from Classic to Silver status which means you’ll earn a total of 3% back on your Cabela’s family spending.

Spend at least $25,000 on the card in a year and you’ll get the highest level status, Black, which will net you an oversized 5% back on your Cabela’s family spending.

Redeeming Rewards

Points are worth 1 cent each and there is no minimum redemption amount. Points can only be redeemed towards purchases with Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops and its merchandising subsidiaries, including in-store restaurants, located in the U.S.

Rewards Potential

Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $116,000 annually and has $36,177 in expenses that can be charged to a credit card.

We estimate the average household would spend a combined $5,613 on leisure pursuits, clothing and gas spending. Assuming that all of these purchases were made at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s or Cenex gas stations and earned 2 points per dollar spent, that would net 11,226 points. Spending in other categories would net 30,564 points for a total of 41,790 points, which can be redeemed for $417.90 in qualifying purchases at Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s.

Holders of the Cabela’s card will receive Mastercard benefits including:

• Exclusive offers: Cardholders will receive members-only discounts, promotions, in-store events and giveaways.
• $0 liability protection. You’re not responsible for unauthorized charges made on your card.
• Global services. Get emergency assistance anytime, anywhere and in any language. This includes reporting a lost or stolen card, obtaining an emergency card replacement or cash advance, finding an ATM and answering questions on your account.
• ID theft protection. You can opt in to this service that monitors your credit file for changes that could indicate fraud, sends you emergency alerts and can assign you a resolution specialist if fraud is detected.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 9.99% APR on Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s purchases, 20.49% - 32.24% variable APR
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $0
• Balance transfer fee: 3% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that we may offer you.
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: None

Capital One Cabela’s CLUB® Credit Card* vs. Ducks Unlimited Rewards Visa® Card*

If you like the idea of a card that rewards your great outdoors-related spending, consider a card like the Ducks Unlimited Credit Card. This no annual fee card donates a portion of every purchase you make to support wetlands conservation. You’ll also earn 3% back per dollar spent on Ducks Unlimited purchases (up to $10,000) during each 12 consecutive billing cycle, then earn 1.5% back for the remainder of the qualifying period. Earn an unlimited 1.5% back per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Those earnings are far more flexible than those from Cabela card spending. The redemption options on the Ducks Unlimited Card include merchandise, gift cards/certificates, travel (flights, hotels and car rentals) and actual cash (statement credit, ACH or check).

There is one notable drawback: You can only redeem your rewards in increments of $25, $50, $100, $250 and $1,000, so you’ll have to wait until you earn enough rewards to meet one of those amounts.

Capital One Cabela’s CLUB® Credit Card* vs. Chase Freedom Flex℠

If you’re looking for an all-purpose card that earns elevated rewards across a broad swath of categories, the Chase Freedom Flex could be the needle in the haystack you’ve been searching for. For an annual fee of $0, you’ll earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in categories that rotate quarterly (requires activation), 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Rewards come as Chase Ultimate Rewards®, a highly flexible currency that can be redeemed for cash back, travel, gift cards, merchandise or combined with another Ultimate Rewards-earning card and transferred to one of Chase’s travel transfer partners.

Capital One Cabela’s CLUB® Credit Card* vs. Citi Double Cash® Card

If you just want a card that earns simple rewards everywhere you shop, a card like the Citi Double Cash could be ideal. The card carries an annual fee of $0 and earns 2% cash back on all purchases—1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off.

You can redeem these earnings as straight cash back, use them as a statement credit toward your balance or keep them as Citi ThankYou Points and use them for gift cards or to book travel.

The Capital One Cabela’s CLUB® Credit Card* could be the right choice for someone who uses this card just for purchases within the brand and doesn’t mind only being able to use the rewards to buy items from the retailer. In this scenario, it would be best to pair this card with at least one other flexible rewards card for all of your other spending.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards