Originally Posted by
seeker333
The only time REI is a good deal for me is when I use their credit card, which gives you a small kickback (0.5-1% IIRC) that adds up over the year to perhaps $50-100 if I use the card for all CC purchases throughout the year. In this case it's an OK deal since you get something for "free", although I have opted a few years to buy nothing and wait for the cash back in form of a check issued around July 1.
There are better cc rebate deals than the 1% REI cc rebate, and most/all of them let you have your rebate MUCH faster than REI. These days, I only use my REI cc for REI purchases.