Is the Walmart Credit Card Worth It? Editor’s Review For 2024 (2024)

Pros

• Up to 5% back on Walmart purchases
• No annual fee
• No foreign transaction fee

Cons

• No promotional financing offers
• Above-average regular APR

Information about the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® has been collected by WalletHub to help consumers better compare cards. The financial institution did not provide the details.

Is the Walmart Credit Card Worth It?

A Walmart Credit Card is worth it for people with fair credit or better who regularly shop at Walmart because it offers 1 - 5% cash back with a $0 annual fee. It can help you save while shopping at Walmart's physical stores,shopping online from Walmart.com, using the Walmart app (including grocery pickup and delivery), and getting gas at Walmart stations.

Walmart actually offers two different credit cards: a Mastercard that can be used pretty much anywhere plastic is accepted around the world and a store card that works only at Walmart. The good news is these two offers are nearly identical in terms of their rewards and fees. The only important features you’d receive from the Mastercard but not the store card is the ability to earn 2% back on restaurants and travel and 1% back on all other purchases – the market average for rewards cards.

What You Need to Do to Make Your Walmart Credit Card Worthwhile

To make your Walmart Credit Card worthwhile, you should pay your bill in full every month to avoid interest charges that could potentially offset your savings from rewards. Both Walmart credit cards have relatively high APRs, which makes carrying any balance quite expensive.

Since there is a $0 annual fee, you don’t have to worry about making up for the cost of the card with your rewards. Anything you earn is profit as long as you don’t accrue interest.

Walmart Credit Card Review Highlights

Up to 5% Back on Walmart Purchases

New cardholders can earn 5% cash back on purchases made at Walmart stores using Walmart Pay for the first 12 months their account is open. Otherwise, you will earn 2% back in-store and 5% back when you shop online at Walmart.com or using the Walmart app.

You can even enjoy the best of both worlds. For example, if you order groceries online or through the Walmart app and pick them up at a store, you can still earn 5% back on the purchase. That could be a gamechanger for a lot of families, including mine.

2% Back At Walmart Gas Stations

Gas purchases at Walmart and Murphy USA stations score you 2% back. The main problem with this offer, as I see it, is that relatively few Walmart gas stations are currently in operation. That’s not an issue for everyone, though. “I live near a Walmart Fuel Station, so I always fill up there, and getting cash back to use at Walmart is nice,” WalletHub member Judy Velutato told me.

No Annual Fee

No annual fee means you won’t have to worry about a yearly conundrum concerning whether to close your account or pay for another year of use. I think that’s important not only as it relates to peace of mind, but also because credit scores take into account both the age of your accounts and the amount of their credit lines.

Similarly, the lack of an annual fee makes the Walmart Card a great tool for building credit, as it’s attainable for people with fair credit and doesn’t cost anything to maintain. Store credit cards generally are well-suited to this task because they tend to have lower approval requirements than cards with comparable terms that can be used anywhere.

2% Back on Restaurant and Travel Expenses and 1% Cash Back On All Mastercard Purchases

If you get approved for the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®, you will earn 2% back on travel expenses and dining at restaurants. Based on my research, that makes the Walmart card competitive with some of the best rewards credit cards around – at least in terms of ongoing rewards in those two categories.

You will earn 1% cash back on most purchases, which is slightly below the market-average for a rewards card but nice to have nevertheless.

Plus, there are several ways to redeem these rewards: for Walmart purchases at the register, account credits, gift cards, airfare, hotel stays or rental car reservations.

Walmart Credit Card Review Lowlights

No Financing Offers

Unlike most retailers, Walmart doesn't offer special financing deals.If you need a credit card to finance a big-ticket purchase, check out my recommendations for the best 0% intro APR credit cards.

Higher-Than-AverageRegular APR

Whether you’re approved for the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® or the Walmart® Store Card, carrying a balance will result in paying interest at a rate that might be above the average for your credit-standing cohort. The average APR among credit cards for people with good credit is 24.36%, and credit cards for people with fair credit charge an average of 26.85%.

As a result, I recommend paying your Walmart credit card’s bill in full every month – whichever version you get.

Other Things To Consider About The Walmart Credit Card

Free Text, Email and Phone Notification for Suspicious Activity

You will be notified via text, email, and phone if Capital One notices potential suspicious activity on your account. It’s increasingly common for issuers to offer this feature, but that doesn’t mean it will be any less useful should you ultimately apply and get approved for a Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®. Free notifications are a big help to prevent fraud.

Walmart Credit Card Review vs. The Competition

The retail space is quite competitive, and that characterization certainly includes co-branded credit cards. Plastic is quite profitable for retailers and can be a major driver of consumer loyalty. That’s why major retailers trip over themselves to make their cards as attractive as possible. This can, of course, benefit you if you’re more opportunistic than brand-loyal. Either way, I think it’s always good to see what else is out there before submitting an application.

Below, you can see how the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® compares to some of the most common alternatives – including one you’ve already met.

*The information about Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® has been independently collected by WalletHub. The financial institution did not provide the details.

Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® Review Methodology

This Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.

The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.

Ratings for each category reflect how close Walmart Credit Card is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Walmart Credit Card to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.

To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.