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PayPal Credit Card Cashback MasterCard Mega Review
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PayPal Credit Card | Amazing Cashback Mastercard | What we Love and Hate About It

PFG's Rating:

 Strongly recommended as core card in your wallet. The deserves consideration as your anchor cashback card due to its 2% on everything unlimited cash back rate. Don’t carry a balance though, the interest rate is high at ~24% and it’s variable.

Pros and Cons: PayPal Credit Card Cashback Mastercard

Pros

N

2% unlimited cash back on all purchases

N

No annual fee

N

Intro offer: $100 cash back (must spend $500 within 90 days)

N

3% cashback when you checkout with PayPal

N

Reputable issuer (Synchrony Bank) and processor (MasterCard)

Cons

s

~23.99% variable APR interest rate is above industry average

s

3% foreign transaction fee

s

No intro APR rate

s

Requires a PayPal account. To apply cash back rewards directly to your purchases and/or credit card statement requires a PayPal Balance Account

  • 2% unlimited cash back on all purchases
  • 3% unlimited cash back on all purchases made through the PayPal app when you select the PayPal Credit Card as the funding source through the app. Requires the merchant to accept PayPal.
  • 23.99% variable purchase APR.
  • Rate will vary with the prime rate.
  • This rate may be more or less depending on PayPal’s evaluation of your creditworthiness. Their credit terms agreement states that they split accounts into 3 types aby creditworthiness and charge different rates depending on your account type.
  • $0 annual fee.
  • 3% foreign transaction fee. 
  • Cash advance rate is 28.49%, which is also variable with the prime rate, which is in addition to $10 or 5% of the advance, whichever is greater
  • Late payments: up to $40.
  • Returned payments: $29.
    • Applications are subject to credit approval
    • While they will take into account your total application, we recommend a credit score of at least 680 to be likely for approval
    • Be 18 years old (or the age of majority in your state or territory)
    • Have a government issued photo ID and tax identification number (for example a social security number)
    • Be willing to provide a non-PO Box mailing address
    • No additional perks or benefits were identified. They offer standard credit card perks like fraud and identity theft protection. 

    Interested in other credit cards?

    Check out our credit card hub!

    Credit Card Comparison Tool

    Paypal Credit Card Executive Summary: Light on perks, heavy on cash back and APR

    Excellent overall card with some of the highest cashback rewards rate available today. Deserves consideration as a possible anchor card in your wallet. Light on special features/perks, but has no annual fee. Watch out for the super-high interest rate APR and payoff the balance on this card every month.

    Let’s get into all the details ⏩ ⏩

      Features and benefits discussion

       Let’s check out the benefits:

      PayPal Credit Card features

      2% unlimited cash back on everything is a great deal and is actually hard to find. Most unlimited cash back cards top out at 1.5%.

      This card deserves consideration as a primary card. Except, of course, where you can earn more rewards in specific instances.

      You’ll need a PayPal Balance account to use your cash rewards directly on your PayPal Credit Card. If you don’t have one of these accounts you will have to transfer your rewards to a bank account.

      While the 3% rate for purchases made is nice, we don’t think it’s all that exciting of a benefit. To make an extra $1,000, for example, you will have to spend $100,000 with merchants that accept PayPal. That’s quite a lot of spending before you hit a material difference. PayPal seems to be a common way to accept payment for small and medium size online businesses. So unless you do a lot of shopping with them, this could be a good credit card to get.

      We should note that this may be changing, though. PayPal claims that over one million businesses now accept payment through PayPal. They are working hard to expand their network, and this 3% could become more valuable over time as they do that.

      To get 3% back you have to use the PayPal app to make a purchase. You must select the PayPal Credit Card Cashback Mastercard as the funding source.

      The 3% headline rate is mostly a marketing gimmick. There has been a race recently among credit card issuers to have the highest ‘headline’ cashback rate. But the reality is that the restrictions they put on that headline rate make it not worth much. Like only if you use PayPal or rotating categories.

      This makes it hard to make it make a material difference in the amount of cashback you receive. Unless you are a heavy user of what they’re offering and track and optimize spending carefully. Instead, focus on the core rate you will get for the majority of your purchases.

      The PayPal Credit Card Cashback Mastercard also offers standard credit card perks. Examples include identity theft protection, Tap and Go payment, and CHIP security technology.

      s

      Potential pitfalls and drawbacks

      Here’s what to watch out for when using the PayPal Credit Card:

      PayPal Credit Card drawbacks
      The interest rate is a variable APR at 23.99%. That is pretty well above the industry average of about 17%. You will definitely want to make sure you fully pay off the balance on this card every month (like other cards). If you have an emergency and need to temporarily carry a balance, you should use a card with a lower interest rate. Since the interest rate is variable, PayPal may change it from time to time. They mention the base rate is off of the Prime rate on their site (a common practice).
       
      You need a PayPal account to have the card. We don’t love having too many accounts to manage, but many people already have an account. It’s also free to open and maintain.
       
      There’s no intro APR rate on this card. It’s not good for a balance transfer or for trying to carry a 0% balance for a period of time.
       
      This card has a massive 3% foreign transaction fee. You will want to use one of your other cards with a low or no foreign transaction fee when traveling abroad. Or when buying from online merchants in other countries.

      Who the PayPal Credit Card is great for

      PayPal Credit Card who should get
      This is a great card for people with good or better credit. If you’re looking for an anchor cashback credit card, this could be it. A 2% unlimited cash back is about the highest cashback rate you can find right now.
       
      It’s an especially good card for heavy PayPal users. Particularly those willing to be on the lookout for merchants who let you pay with the PayPal app to get to the extra 3% rate.

      Who the PayPal Credit Card is not a good fit for

      • People unwilling to open and/or maintain a PayPal account
      • Fair or poor credit, like all credit cards this one is subject to credit approval
      • People who already have an unlimited cashback credit card with higher than a 2% rate. Very hard to find at writing
      • People who forget to pay off their full balance (or are unable to) each month. This card has a high-interest rate AP, so make sure you’re paid in full each billing cycle

      Acceptance and likelihood of credit approval

       
      PayPal has partnered with Mastercard as their processor on this card. So it’s likely to be accepted just about everywhere that accepts credit cards. They report that PayPal is accepted at over a million merchants now.
       
      You will likely need a credit score of approximately ~680+ to be approved for this card. This is not a good card for credit re-building or repair, or for people just starting out with no credit.
       

      How we recommend using the PayPal Credit Card

       
      This card has an interesting feature we think might be unique. You can use your PayPal Credit Card CashBack Mastercard as the funding source to send someone money through your PayPal account. There is an extra fee to do this: 2.9% plus 30 cents. But since you will earn 3% cash back on this transaction, you will essentially break even.
       
      There are other simpler ways to send people money, like VenMo or if you have free wires through your bank account. But if for some reason those are not available or not working, this is an interesting backup option to have.
       

      Details on the PayPal Credit Card’s terms and conditions (e.g., normal or anything peculiar)

       
      The $500 you must spend within 90 days of account opening to get the $100 cashback account opening bonus is net of any returns or other adjustments. You can only get the $100 cash bonus once per account.
       

      Background on PayPal, Synchrony Bank, and Mastercard

       
      Synchrony Bank is the issuer of this card and is one of the largest issuers of credit cards in the world. Many top brands trust Synchrony Bank to be their credit card issuer.
       
      Mastercard is the processor and is one of the two largest credit card processors in the world.
       
      PayPal is FinTech company known for payments and is one of the largest companies in the world. We trust all three of these companies and they are trustworthy and reputable.
       
      We think it’s a good partnership that has come together to put out a very strong cash-back credit card offering.
      A

      Final Word on the PayPal Credit Card

      Worthy of serious consideration as an addition to your wallet. 

      Other common questions about the PayPal credit card

      I’m looking for the PayPal Credit Card login page

      Try navigating here: https://www.paypal.com/signin.

      Can you use a credit card on PayPal?

        Yes. You will need a PayPal account and to link your credit card to that account. When making a payment or purchase you will need to select the linked credit card as the funding source.

        Does PayPal have a credit card?

        Yes. The card this review and page are about: The PayPal Cashback Mastercard. At writing, this is the only credit card PayPal offers.

        Do you need a credit card for PayPal?

          A credit card is not required to open a PayPal account.

          Is PayPal Credit a credit card?

          No. PayPal Credit is a separate and distinct product from the PayPal Cashback Mastercard. It is a revolving credit account that functions similarly to a credit card account when you make a payment with PayPal and select it as the funding source. Interest and fees may apply.

          Can you pay someone on PayPal using a credit card?

          Yes. Select the credit card linked to your PayPal account that you would like to use at checkout.

          Editor's Note:

          At Personal Finance Guru, we want to help you maximize your lifestyle through personal finance. You can trust the integrity of our independent financial advice. Our opinions are our own and have not been provided, reviewed, approved, or endorsed by any advertiser or financial product provider. To support and grow the site, however, we may receive compensation from the issuers of some products.

          Cathy Gresham

          Cathy Gresham

          Editor & Author

          Cathy Gresham is a finance whiz. 

          After earning her MBA from The Wharton School, she has worked in strategy at some of the world’s largest and most influential financial companies for 20+ years. Notably, she has worked for the biggest credit card issuers and networks and brings an insider’s perspective to how credit card products work behind the scenes.  

          Cathy is passionate about personal finance and investing, and loves helping people learn about these complex topics. Her wit and humor make learning about money fun, and she’s always happy to share her knowledge with others.

          Cathy enjoys spending time with her family and friends when she’s not crunching numbers or developing investment strategies. She’s also an avid runner, and can often be found pounding the pavement on her morning jog.