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While many of the most popular credit cards offer travel rewards, there are also some popular retail credit cards. Capital One has lots of great cards, and last week they announced two new credit cards in conjunction with Walmart.
Those cards are now open to new applicants, so I wanted to provide a quick update on that front.
Capital One Walmart Rewards Credit Card
Capital One and Walmart have now rolled out two new credit cards:
- The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard, which is their main credit card, and which you can apply for here
- The Walmart Rewards Card, which is exclusively for Walmart purchases
The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, and offers the following return on spending:
- 5% back on purchases at Walmart.com, inclusive of Walmart Grocery Pickup and Delivery
- 5% back on in-store purchases when using Walmart Pay for the first 12 months after approval as a special introductory offer
- 2% back on Walmart purchases in stores outside of the introductory offer
- 2% back on restaurants and travel
- 1% percent back everywhere else
You can redeem your rewards at any time for travel, gift cards, during online checkout at walmart.com, for recent purchases, and even for statement credits, so the rewards are more or less good as cash.
In the press release about the new card, Capital One also stresses the following:
The card also includes a variety of digital-first features that reimagine how customers interact with their credit card. While customers can apply for the card at Walmart.com, the Walmart app, or at CapitalOne.com, Walmart and Capital One have also created a mobile application experience. Applicants can text to apply from anywhere and complete their application from their personal mobile devices. Once applicants are approved and their identity is verified, they will receive immediate access to their card for Walmart purchases.
I’ll admit I’m low tech. While I appreciate them making it easy to apply and to get instant access to cards, I feel like being able to apply either on a smartphone or on a computer wasn’t really a pain point in the cardmember experience?
So I’m not sure what exactly texting to apply for a credit card looks like, but…
What About Current Walmart Cardmembers?
Current Walmart cardholders will be converted to one of these cards, and will earn rewards with the new structure as of October 11, 2019, with new cards arriving in the mail beginning in November.
Current cardholders will also be eligible to earn 5% back when they use their card with Walmart Pay for in-store purchases through October 14, 2020.
Is The New Walmart Credit Card Any Good?
When we see co-branded credit cards introduced, I feel like they generally go in one of two directions:
- They’re lucrative for spending with the co-brand partner, but not for everyday spending
- They’re lucrative for everyday spending, but not with the co-brand partner
In this case, the newCapital One Walmart Rewards Credit Card is great for frequent Walmart shoppers.
For the first year you’re potentially earning 5% cash back both in-store and online, which is excellent. Beyond the first year you’re just earning 5% cash back at walmart.com, and 2% cash back in-store.
Unfortunately beyond that, this card isn’t very lucrative. You earn 2% back on restaurants and travel, and 1% back on everything else. While it’s nice to have a no annual fee card with no foreign transaction fees, you should be able to do better than that.
For example, on the most basic level theCiti Double Cash® Card is an incredible no annual fee card:
- It offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase (in the form of ThankYou points)
- Rewards can be combined with Citi ThankYou points earned on Citi Premier or Prestige making them even more valuable
Bottom Line
Capital One and Walmart have launched a new credit card that offers a great return on spending for those who frequently make purchases with Walmart. On top of that, the card has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
Unfortunately the card isn’t otherwise very lucrative for everyday spending, as you’re looking at earning 2% on restaurants and travel, and 1% back on everything else.
So if you’re a frequent Walmart shopper it could be worth picking up this card, but I wouldn’t recommend using this as your primary card for everyday spending.
What do you make of the new Capital One Walmart Card?
