If you shop at Big Lots, don’t forget to become a Big Lots Rewards member. It’s free and you’ll earn rewards just for shopping at the closeout store. New members receive a 15% off coupon just for signing up.
Many people shop at Big Lots for the savings on name-brand items, since their prices are lower than retail stores, but why not make it better with the Big Lots Rewards program?
Here’s everything you must know about the program.
What are Big Lots Rewards?
Big Lots Rewards is a shopper loyalty program. It’s free to join and you earn rewards every time you shop at Big Lots. You don’t have to buy specific items or spend a certain amount of money. The program works based on the number of times you make a purchase.
Who Qualifies for the Big Lots Rewards Program?
The Big Lots Rewards program is easy to sign up for since it’s free. Anyone qualifies as long as you are 18-years old and a U.S. citizen. Big Lots will issue a rewards card to you which you must carry with you to get rewards.
If you don’t have your card with you, a Big Lots employee can look up your account using your phone number and name. You can also add the card to your mobile wallet for ease of use.
How does Big Lots Rewards Work?
Every time you shop at Big Lots, present your Big Lots Rewards card or ask the employee to look up your account. They’ll scan your card and credit your account for your visit.
Once you have 3 visits, you’ll earn a $5 reward. Every time you spend $200 on furniture, you’ll earn a $10 bonus reward. You can also earn rewards every time you shop online. Just enter your Rewards card number at checkout to get credit.
Big Lots also issues ‘Birthday Surprise’ rewards, exclusive coupons and discounts, free item weekends, and military discounts.
What is a Qualifying Purchase at Big Lots?
Your Big Lots Rewards purchase counts toward a Reward as long as they are not gifted cards or rentals. Online purchases count once the item ships to you and even price-hold or special orders count after you pay for the item and take delivery.
How do you Get your Big Lots Rewards?
Big Lots sends rewards via email on Fridays. It typically takes 7 – 14 days to process your reward, so check your email for the week or two after you’ve achieved reward status. If you don’t see an email or want to check another way, you can also log into your Big Lots Rewards account that you created when you signed up for the program.
Checking your Rewards account may also turn up ‘other offers’ since Big Lots periodically offers Big Lots Rewards members exclusive offers not available to everyone one else.
How to Sign up for Big Lots Rewards?
To sign up for Big Lots Rewards, you must first create a Big Lots account. When you sign up, click the box that says ‘I’ll sign up for rewards’ to sign up for them at the same time.
When you sign up for a Big Lots account, you’ll earn the following benefits:
- Save your shipping info for faster checkout
- Save your payment info for faster checkout
- Easily track your purchases
- Create and save wish lists
- Update your communication preferences including your email which is primarily how you’ll receive yoru Big Lots Rewards
What are the Benefits?
- Receive $5 for every 3 visits
- Eligible for exclusive offers for members
- Receive early access to upcoming sales and deals
- Get targeted offers based on your purchase history
- You can spend your rewards on almost anything in the store including clearance items
- You can combine Rewards coupons with other offers or even use multiple Rewards on one transaction
- You earn credit for a purchase even when you use a Reward
- Price-holds and special orders count as a purchase when you take delivery (and pay for) the items
- Shopping online counts as a visit and is separate from store visits, so you can get credit for 2 visits on one day if you shop online and in-store on the same day
What’s Excluded from Big Lots Rewards?
Big Lots doesn’t exclude much from their Rewards program, which is a nice perk. The only exclusions are gift cards, rentals, and donations.
Are there any Downsides?
- Rewards expire 17 days after issuing, so you have only 3 weekends to use Rewards
- You cannot share Rewards
- Qualifying purchases expire after 12 months, which means you start over even if you had 1 or 2 visits before the 12 months were up
- You can only earn one qualifying purchase per day so if you visit a Big Lots store twice in a day, you only get credit for one visit
What is the Big Lots Furniture Bonus?
Big Lots pays a $10 bonus for furniture purchases over $10. Here’s the kicker though.
You must spend over $200 in one transaction. Furniture purchases don’t carry over. For example, if you bought a nightstand for $100 today you wouldn’t earn the bonus. But if you bought a table and chairs for $500, you’d earn a $20 bonus because you earn $10 for every $200 you spend on furniture in one transaction. You can earn multiple furniture bonuses in one week too as long as the total exceeds $200 on furniture alone.
Big Lots Rewards FAQ
Do Big Lots rewards expire?
Yes, you only have 3 weeks (17 days) to use your Big Lots Rewards. Make sure you check your email often to check for rewards. If you think you should have received a reward but didn’t, check your spam folder or log into your Big Lots account to check the status.
What if I forget my Big Lots Rewards card when I shop?
Big Lots makes it easy to get credited for your purchases even if you forget your Big Lots Rewards card. If you saved it in your mobile wallet, you can show your barcode to the cashier at checkout. If you don’t have the card in your mobile wallet, the cashier can look up your account after receiving a little personal information including your first and last name and phone number.
Can you get a purchase credited after you leave the store?
Yes, head to your Big Lots account and log in. Click on ‘enter previous receipts’ and follow the instructions. You’ll need information from the receipt so make sure you have it handy. You have 30 days to get credit for a purchase.
How can you check your Rewards status?
To check your progress, head here and enter your login information. Click on ‘View Rewards Status’ to see if you’ve earned rewards or how many more visits you need to earn a reward.
Is there a maximum number of rewards you can receive?
Yes, you can only receive one $5 reward per week. If you shop at Big Lots more than 3 times a week, your credit will carry over into future weeks. You won’t lose the credit for shopping, but will instead earn rewards for future weeks.
For example, if you shopped at Big Lots 5 times this week, you’d earn one $5 reward in 7 to 14 days and the following week, you’d have 2 visits already credited, leaving only one visit left to earn your next reward.
What is a pending reward?
A pending reward is a reward you’ve earned but that Big Lots hasn’t issued yet. They issue rewards on Fridays, so if you happen to log into your account on Tuesday and see that you have a pending reward, it usually means you’ll have a new reward to use on Friday.
What is the birthday surprise?
Big Lots doesn’t reveal what the Birthday Surprise is since it wouldn’t be a surprise then! Everyone that shares their birthdate (it’s optional) receives a reward in their account. You’ll receive notification via email, but if you don’t, log into your Big Lots Rewards account to look for it.
If you didn’t provide your birthday when you signed up, you can add it to your account later by logging into your Big Lots account.
Bottom Line – Is the Big Lots Rewards Program Worth It?
Considering that the Big Lots program is free and there really aren’t any terrible downsides, we think it is well worth signing up for the program.
You’ll earn free money to use at Big Lots on almost any purchase. The two largest downsides are you must use the rewards within 17 days and you must shop at least 3 times in 12 months to keep your visits tallied.
Other than that, if you shop regularly at Big Lots, you can save $5 after every 3 visits – that could add up to significant savings. We love that you don’t have to buy certain products or keep track of certain purchases. Just show your card at checkout or provide your phone number and you’ll receive credit for your visit!
I have a credit card with Big Lots and I want to know how the rewards programs work with using my credit card. I use to work for Chase Bank and I know how it works for us at Chase. I AM TRYING TO GET THROUGH ON THE PHONE and I am having trouble doing so. I want to know how much in rewards I do have and how can I use them.
I purchased over1000.00 on furniture back # Oct 7th. I have never received my rewards. What can I do fix this problem.