Gap, Banana, Athleta and Old Navy: One Loyalty Program to Rule Them All?
Gap Inc owns four distinct brands: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta. While each has their own stores, websites, products, styles, and target customers, Gap Inc. made the savvy move of linking their respective rewards programs into one. In theory, this should make the program richer and appeal to a broader audience. So whether your daily outfit consists of jeans, sweatpants, yoga pants, or tailored slacks, Gap Inc. has you covered—literally.
But is linking four rewards programs actually rewarding, or just a logistical nightmare? We took a closer look to find out..
How it works:
Each brand has a rewards program:
- Gap Good Rewards
- Banana Republic Rewards
- Navyist Rewards
- Athleta Rewards
The good news? You only need to sign up once through any of the programs and your auto- enrolled in the other three. Membership is free and you can login online or just give your phone # in the store to be recognized as a member. There is a core set of benefits that are the same for all programs across the family of brands.
Three Tiers:
Core: Free membership
Enthusiast: $500–$999 annual spend
Icon: $1,000+ annual spend (across all brands)
Point Earning: Earn 1 point per $1 spent across all brands. 100 points = $1 in rewards (usable at any brand).
Free Shipping:
Orders $50+ ship free in 3–5 days.
Icon members get 2–3 day free shipping.
Birthday Gift: A mystery deal
Bonus Points, Exclusive Offers, and Special Events:
All members get access to these.
Icon members get a "Create Your Own Sale Day" (15% off at each brand, one day per year).
Each brand also has unique perks (which you can access no matter where you joined). Examples:
· Banana Republic: Free basic alterations for Icon members.
· Gap, Banana Republic & Old Navy: Convert unused GapCash, BR Factory Style Cash, and Old Navy SuperCash into points.
(Gap Inc also aggressively pushes their credit card which increases the point earning to 5 points per dollar and automatically puts you at Enthusiast status among other benefits. However, our review will focus on the free program.)
The Member Experience:
Managing your account is refreshingly simple. Regardless of which brand’s website you log into, your credentials work across all four, and your membership status, points, and benefits are all visible in the same format (see example below of The Gap & Athleta for the same member). Whether you're on GAP.com or Athleta.com, the experience is identical. Kudos to Gap Inc. for getting this right—this could have been a mess.
How you Redeem Points:
Either in store or online, the # of points can be converted to a dollar-off discounts in 100 point increments. For example, if you have 425 points in your account, you can decide to redeem 400 for $4 off, 300 for $3 off, 200 for $200 off or 100 for $1 off. The remaining points stay in your account. This provides flexibility for the member.
What’s the value (or lack thereof):
Up until now, we’ve been singing Gap Inc.'s praises for proram simplicity, ease of use, and seamless integration across 4 brands. You’d think we’d be dancing in our baggy jeans like a Gap commercial. Instead, we’re sitting in a lotus pose in Athleta yoga pants, taking deep breaths as we analyze the program’s value—because this is where things go bad.
👎🏻 The Biggest letdowns:
1. The return value is abysmal: 1% back in rewards is too low. Low as in your-jeans-might-be-showing-butt-crack low. It’s enough to go “ick”, is that for real? For perspective, if you spent $1000 across these brands you’d get just $10 in rewards back. Better retail programs start in the mid-single digit return and can go up from there.
2. Weak Higher-Tier Benefits: The spend amounts required are absolutely fair and easily doable, the benefits are disappointing.
o No higher point earning multiple.
o No improved birthday gift.
o Free shipping benefits barely improve (Icon gets one day faster shipping—yawn).
o The only real perk? Icon members get one “Create Your Own Sale Day” with 15% off. Great, but it’s just one day per year. Would it have killed them to allow one per brand (four days total)?
3. Vague Benefit Promises: “bonus point opportunities” are mentioned with no details. Same with “Exclusive offers and early access”. Would have loved a guarantee on a minimum number of bonus point days to increase that return value.
🕵️♂️ ANY Fine Print?
Yes, but it’s all reasonable (if not generous), fair and clear as a white-tee.
· Must be 16+ to join.
· Tier status is valid for the rest of the year and the following calendar year.
· PayPal and Afterpay purchases earn points.
· No point-earning limit (yay!).
· $500 max redemption per transaction (reasonable).
· Unused GapCash, BRFS StyleCash, and Old Navy SuperCash can be converted to points.
· You can donate your points (nice touch).
OUR VERDICT:
What We Love:
✅ Points work across all four brands. ✅ Super easy to track and redeem rewards. ✅ Simple tier structure with reasonable spending requirements. ✅ No major hidden fine print.
Where It Fails:
❌ 1% back in rewards is laughably low. ❌ Higher-tier benefits are weak. ❌ No point-earning multipliers for big spenders. ❌ The best perk (Create Your Own Sale Day) is a one-day-only event.
Like our review of Nordstrom’s Nordy Club, the real value of this program lies in getting the store credit card. If you’re not a cardholder, this program simply isn’t worth getting excited about. It’s a wasted opportunity—Gap Inc. could have delivered major value with a four-brand program.
For non-cardholders, our recommendation? Join if you want the birthday gift or occasional exclusive discount, but don’t go out of your way to shift your spend here just for the rewards. Instead, hunt for their frequent %-off coupons, which are usually way better.
Rewarded or Robbed?
🚫 lean towards ROBBED!
Leave us a comment! Do you agree or disagree? Any further tips about Gap Inc’s 4 brand program?
