- Intro Offer
-
5% Introductory offer: Earn 5% cash back on purchases in Walmart® stores for the first 12 months when you use your card with Walmart Pay
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 17.99% or 28.99% (Variable)
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
-
580 – 850
Fair – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 5% Earn 5% cash back on Walmart.com purchases, including pickup and delivery ; Earn 2% cash back on purchases in Walmart® stores, Murphy USA and Walmart® fuel stations; 2% cash back on restaurants and travel purchases; 1% cash back on all other purchases everywhere else Mastercard® is accepted
The Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®* is the rare retailer credit card that allows you to earn cash back rather than store credit, though it does favor shopping online at Walmart.com to shopping in store.
Despite the preference for online shopping, the Walmart Mastercard offers a few additional rewards categories for everyday spending outside of Walmart, like on restaurant and travel purchases -- though other credit cards may offer more competitive rates. Still, if you wanted to keep the card for strictly Walmart purchases, this credit card has no annual fee so you can effortlessly earn up to 5% back at Walmart.
Rewards
The Capital One Walmart Card earns 5% cash back on Walmart.com, including pick-up and delivery, and generally 2% cash back in Walmart stores. However, for the first year, you can earn 5% back at Walmart stores if you use Walmart Pay, the digital wallet app, to make your purchases. Outside of Walmart, you’ll earn 2% cash back at restaurants and on travel, and 1% cash back on other purchases.
5% is an excellent rate for general rewards credit cards, but the standard in-brand rate for retailer credit cards. So for online shopping at Walmart, this card is competitive -- or if you’re willing to use Walmart Pay in store for the first year. For travel and dining, you can find other cash-back credit cards with no annual fee that offer higher rates.
Rewards redemption
The cash back you earn will actually post to your account in the form of rewards points. There are a variety of ways you can redeem your Capital One rewards. When you log into your online account through the Capital One website or mobile app, you can see how many rewards points you’ve earned by clicking on “View Rewards.” Note that your balance will be shown in points, with each point equalling one cent. So 1,000 points is equivalent to $10.
Once in the rewards section, you’ll have the choice to redeem your points as a statement credit, a check, a gift card or as a reimbursement for recent purchases. The reimbursement is similar to the statement credit, except that the purchases reimbursed won’t be counted toward your statement balance at the end of the month.
You can also redeem your points for travel through Capital One’s travel portal.
Potential drawbacks
With no annual fee and a straightforward cash-back program, there aren’t too many drawbacks. If you have lots of different credit cards for different stores and spending categories, make sure you have a good management system in place so you never miss a monthly payment.
The APR is fairly high at 17.99% or 28.99% variable, so it’s especially important to pay off your entire balance every month to avoid interest charges.
Alternative cards
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card earns 3% cash back in the category of your choice (as well as earns 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs). You’ll earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then 1%. The available 3% categories are online shopping, gas, dining, travel, drug stores or home improvement stores.
Walmart is considered a “superstore” so won’t be covered by the 2% category, but if you choose online shopping for your 3% category, you’ll get 3% back at Walmart.com and other places you shop online (excluding non-retail services like utilities, insurance, membership organizations, and schools).
See our review of the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card for more information.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases -- one of the best flat-rate cards you can find. While 2% is significantly less than the 5% back you’d get at Walmart.com with the Walmart Mastercard, the flexibility makes the Active Cash credit card a go-to staple for your wallet.
For a welcome bonus, you can also earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. You can also take advantage of the introductory APR to avoid interest charges.
For more details, see our Wells Fargo Active Cash Card review.
How Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® compares to other cards
- Intro Offer
-
5% Introductory offer: Earn 5% cash back on purchases in Walmart® stores for the first 12 months when you use your card with Walmart Pay
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 17.99% or 28.99% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Fair – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 5% Earn 5% cash back on Walmart.com purchases, including pickup and delivery ; Earn 2% cash back on purchases in Walmart® stores, Murphy USA and Walmart® fuel stations; 2% cash back on restaurants and travel purchases; 1% cash back on all other purchases everywhere else Mastercard® is accepted
- Intro Offer
-
$200 cash rewards Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
2% Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.49% – 28.49% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
2% Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
FAQs
It’s important to note that this article is about the Capital One Walmart Mastercard, and not the Walmart Rewards Card. If your application for the Capital One Walmart Mastercard is not approved, you will be automatically considered for the Walmart Rewards® Card*, a “private-label” card that can only be used at Walmart properties (including Murphy USA gas stations).
The Capital One Walmart Mastercard can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Walmart Pay is a mobile wallet that allows customers to pay with their phone. To use Walmart Pay, download the Walmart app and link your credit card. Then, at checkout, navigate to Walmart Pay, enter your unique security PIN or biometric information, and hold your phone over the kiosk’s PIN pad.
To find the nearest Walmart location, use Walmart’s online store locator.
*All information about the Capital One Walmart Rewards Card and Walmart Rewards Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
