The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* fits the bill of a strong retailer credit card. Not only does it offer 5% cash back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, but it's also one of the rare store credit cards that functions well as an everyday credit card because it has rewards categories beyond just purchases made on Amazon.com. You also get either a $100 or $150 Amazon gift card instantly when you're approved as a welcome bonus, and can take advantage of Amazon's financing options for six to 18 months on purchases of more than $50 in lieu of rewards. After the promo period, a variable APR of 16.49% to 24.49% applies.

You won't pay an annual fee or foreign transaction fees with this credit card, but you will need an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $139 annually. If you don't have and don't want Prime, you can apply for the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card, though it has lesser rewards.

For more information about the rewards and financing options, see our full review of the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card.

The Target RedCard* rewards program lets you earn your rewards as a discount at checkout, whether you're shopping in the store or online. This is a unique feature because most store credit cards -- and general credit cards -- opt to give you rewards "back" on your purchases that you can later redeem for statement credits or direct deposits, rather than let you save money upfront.

The RedCard comes with other perks such as free two-day shipping on millions of items from Target.com, and an additional 30 days on returns (Target's standard return policy is 90 days from the date of purchase).

For more details, see our full review of the Target RedCard credit card.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®* in-brand rewards heavily incentivize shopping on Walmart.com rather than in-store. While you'll earn the typical 5% cash back when shopping online at Walmart.com (including pickup and delivery), you'll only earn 2% cash back on in-store purchases, which you could easily match with a credit card that isn't brand specific. It does, however, have some rewards on everyday spending as well. The Walmart Credit Card also offers preapproval, so you can check your eligibility without dinging your credit.

The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card* doesn't offer any cash-back rewards, but it does offer consistent interest-free financing for six months for purchases of $299 or more (17.99% to 26.99% variable APR thereafter). Home Depot will, on occasion, offer promotions in which you can finance a large purchase for up to 24 months without interest. You'll have to make all your minimum payments on time during that time or you'll lose the benefit, and we recommend paying off the balance in full by the end of the interest-free period to avoid interest charges. 

Another notable perk is that you'll get up to one year to make returns made with the Home Depot Credit Card. The usual return window otherwise is only three months. Note that Home Depot also offers specialty commercial credit cards for contractors, and project loans that anyone can apply for.

With the Kohl's Credit Card*, you get a coupon for 35% off your first purchase online or in stores when you use your card within the first 14 days as a type of welcome bonus. The coupon applies to your whole transaction -- not just a single item. Plus, you can use the discount in tandem with any Kohl's Cash you may have on hand, which can reduce your costs even further. 

Kohl's is a little less straightforward about its other credit card benefits, most likely because it reserves the right to change rewards at its discretion. You'll earn a special anniversary offer every year, though the specifics are not disclosed. You can also enjoy extra discounts throughout Kohl's when using this store credit card.

The first benefit you can take advantage of with the Macy's American Express® Card* is 20% off your Macy's purchases on both the day you're approved and the day after, for up to $100 in total savings over the two days. That means you can take advantage of this for up to $500 in spending at Macy's for the first two days.

Being a Macy's cardholder means you're automatically enrolled into Star Rewards -- Macy's loyalty program -- as a Silver member. This means you'll earn 2% in rewards on your purchases, versus the 1% you'd earn if you joined the Star Rewards as a Bronze member (the base level). As you spend more at Macy's, you'll progress through the rewards program and earn more rewards. 

Once you spend $500 on the card in a year, you'll get bumped up to 3% rewards as a Gold Member, and once you hit $1,200 or higher for the year, you start earning 5% back on your Macy's purchases as a Platinum member. You'll get other perks as you spend more such as Star Passes, which give you 25% off any day and free standard shipping with no minimums.