How Hard is it to get a Petland Credit Card?

Consumer credit programs have been available in the United States for more than 50 years. These programs may be used for the same types of purchases a consumer would use their Visa, MasterCard, Discover or Amex. The “buy now, pay later” option and mentality has been successful for providers of consumer credit programs, and for the retailers who offer them, including Petland.

Petland customers are free to obtain credit from the source(s) of their choice. As a convenience to customers, we have developed relationships over time with several third-party credit sources. Our goal is to identify consumer options with reputable credit sources that adhere to applicable law and ethical practices.

Petland has a long-term relationship with Bread Financial, that supports the Petland Credit Card program as our primary consumer credit option offered in our stores. For customers that may not qualify for the PLCC program but still have modest credit profiles, we work with several secondary consumer credit providers that are approved by us.

Here’s some fast facts:

•  Annual U.S. Pet Industry expenditures total approximately $60 billion. A good number of these purchases are made via credit transactions.

•  Petland stores experience a 25-30% sales penetration with consumer credit programs.

•   Many companies offer consumer credit programs for primary, secondary and tertiary-tiered customers

There are three tiers of consumer finance programs in the marketplace. These are categorized as primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary

•   Caters to consumers with B+ credit and higher. “Prime” credit is associated w/FICO scores of 700+

• A majority of these applicants should be approved by prime lenders (i.e. the Petland Credit Card).
• These programs are the most regulated by state & federal authorities (OCC, FDIC, State Banking Dept.)
• Easiest to understand, least complicated disclosures.
• Programs may be revolving or installment.

Secondary

•  Like primary credit but targeted to consumers in the “B and C” credit ranges. “Near prime” credit is associated w/FICO scores in the 600-700 range.

• Those near the top of this range may be approved by a primary lender.
• Most likely, these applicants will be approved by a secondary provider.
• Currently, less regulated than primary.
• May include less attractive or fewer promotional programs.
• Revolving programs mirror primary programs in terms of process, terms and disclosures.
• Works best when a single credit application serves both primary and secondary providers.

Tertiary

• Caters to applicants C- to No credit. “Sub to sub sub-prime” credit is associated w/FICO scores below 600.

• Least regulated of all tiers of consumer credit.
• Typically features “no credit check” financing.
• Often characterized by usurious interest rates, or other fees and charges.
• Many of the programs are “lease-to-own.”
• The higher risk associated with these more credit-challenged individuals may result in practices that are not in the best interests of the consumer or the retailer.

It should be noted that Petland’s prohibition of tertiary consumer credit products is intended to ensure that our stores responsibly present credit options to consumers. Petland defines a tertiary credit product as any product with an annual percentage rate that exceeds 39.99%.

There are three types of credit program offerings available to consumers: Revolving, Installment, Lease-to-Own.

Revolving (The Petland Credit Program is a revolving program)

• Revolving credit financing is one of the easiest, most accommodating payment solutions you can offer to potential buyers. It provides flexible and long-term financing, which feature the most manageable payments, and several different types of programs. Standard Revolving (as in a Visa, Mastercard, Discover program) is where the customer has a grace period from the date of the first statement– typically 25 days – during which they can pay their balance in full to avoid finance charges. Or they can choose to make minimum monthly payments on their accounts (typically 1 to 3.5% of the outstanding balance), with monthly finance charges accruing based on the account’s average daily balance. Revolving programs also offer Promotional Financing options such as Same as Cash programs with equal monthly payments, and 0% finance charge for a specified number of months. Since the customer has an available line of credit that can be used continually to make ongoing purchases, revolving programs are a great way to build customer loyalty and assure repeat business.
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Installment

• An installment contract is another option available to customers. In simple terms, it is a loan for the full price of the product, which requires repayment at fixed intervals (typically monthly) over a certain period of time. The monthly payment includes finance charges. This type of loan allows customers to manage their finances in a predictable and responsible manner as the monthly payment amount remains the same for the duration of the contract.

Lease-to-Own

• This type of program should never be considered, nor offered in any Petland store. This type of offering is typically for extremely credit-challenged customers who don’t qualify for either primary or secondary programs.

In fact, Petland prohibits any and all forms of leasing programs used as consumer financing.

Our policy also restricts combining (stacking) more than two third-party credit products to complete a transaction. Ultimately, customers will make their own decisions regarding how to finance their purchase, and not all third-party credit sources are transparent to the retailer.

At no time shall a Petland store offer any consumer credit product that is in violation of its appropriate state usury laws/consumer credit laws.

Through this policy, we attempt to balance the consumer’s right to make their own financial decisions and enjoy the companionship of pets, while also ethically and responsibly offering options that align with Petland’s culture.