Update 11/2/24: Tech is now showing up for November. Hat tip to Eternal Blue
PayPal has launched a new debit card where cardholders can choose one category to earn 5% cash back on, up to a limit of $1,000 per month in spend. Currently it seems that the card is invite only mode and you can check your PayPal account to see if you’re eligible. Some things to note:
- There is no annual fee
- You have to select your category each month, otherwise you won’t earn 5%
- Categories you can choose are here:
- Grocery
- Dining
- Gas
- Clothing
- Health/beauty
- Full terms here
As a data point, my debit card was blocked for buying $500 money orders and customer service refused to lift the system generated security block. Nice while it lasted.
anyone know the category for 5% uber cashback?
Like for rideshare rides? Just click on an Uber offer instead. Plenty of other cards that offer Uber/Lyft discount.
DP:
Pepper rewards codes as Tech catagory for PayPal Debit 5% Cashback! This lets you stack for an additional 5% cb up to $1000 in spend each month.
Enjoy:)
Excellent flag! Worked for me.
Is it possible to use this card virtually? Like if you have it stored in a virtual wallet or on the app?
Okay, I see the google wallet option and was able to add the card there. Anyone run into issues using the card via wallet and getting cashback? I’d like to use it for dining/restaurants primarily.
Why wouldn’t you be able to add it to Google Wallet or Apple Pay? Also as long as you selected the dining/restaurants category you will get 5%.
It all worked! Added it to Google wallet, selected the category, and I am seeing the 5% point/cashback. So far so good.
I received an marketing email about the 5% debit card, the link in it redirects to the mobile app, which prompts “At this time, we’re unable to set you up with a PayPal Debit Card”.
Not sure why there hasn’t been a DP yet, but…
I tested Walmart Neighborhood Market tonight and it codes as grocery. (tested self checkout first, and then customer service desk)
Maybe the MS Mafia is suppressing DP’s? Or, is Walmart too high profile?
Is there a super secret element to going with
mothman69’s method?
I’m not aware if there’s anything secret about it. I just use the Pay feature out of habit. A few years ago I signed up for the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard for the 5% cash back when using Walmart Pay at checkout. When the 12 months of 5% ran out I was able to switch the payment method in the Walmart app over to my OnJuno debit for 5%. When Juno cash back died, I had P2 open a Capital One Walmart card and went with that for another 12 months. Then we went with Verizon Visa 4% cash back for a while until this PayPal debit card popped up recently.
I don’t actually carry my PayPal card in my wallet so I probably won’t ever test swiping it at our Supercenter.
LOL why do you think there is a conspiracy going on right now with WM NM? I posted before that purchasing goods via WM SCO in-store at a WM triggers the 5% vs at a cashier and had no problems sharing that “secret” because a regular is iffy when it comes coding it as only grocery since they sell much more than food.
I don’t think its any secret but rather just people haven’t reported on it. That is great that you were able to confirm that WM NM works for the 5% since I would be shocked if it wasn’t coded as a grocery store since the goal of the WM NM is to sell only food and groceries.
When the 5% Chase Freedom category is Grocery, WMNM does NOT count. IIRC, Discover is the same way.
Amex Blue Cash does though. (at least a couple years ago… I haven’t tried lately)
I was mostly being funny about the conspiracy.
Ok well I don’t know since Chase makes it clear every time that Walmart, Target and warehouse purchases do not count for the 5% category whenever the grocery store quarter is active.
I think Chase probably does some sort of mass apply exclusion to anything that starts with Walmart which is probably why WM NM is also lumped it as part of Walmart inadvertently even though they should be considered a pure grocery store. I think this is a Chase issue and not so much something that applies to most cards.
I just tried using the debit card on a prescription refill at Kroger. Coded as “grocery”. I checked and sure enough I got the 5%. 😃
I noticed that happens with the Starbucks kiosk too when I buy inside Safeway/Albertsons
What’s the incentive of putting money into my PayPal balance that earns no interest and then gaining 5% on my purchases?
Won’t putting your savings in a HYSA with 4.5% APY and using a 2-3% card be better?
What am I missing?
You don’t need to maintain a large balance in your PayPal account. You can set up a weekly/2-week/monthly auto-reload to fund your account from an external bank account. You can also set up a low balance reload that will transfer a certain amount from your external bank account when your balance drops below a threshold. You can also manually add funds via debit card which is instant. So if you only add funds occasionally as needed based on your spending habits you really aren’t missing out on lost APY from a HYSA and you are still earning 2-3% more cash back than if you used a 2-3% credit card.
I transfer about $1K into my PP account at the beginning of each calendar month. I then move the funds to my PP Savings account (currently earning 4.3%) right away. Whenever I plan to use my PP Debit card, I move money from my Savings to my Balance that morning. If I don’t use it, I move the funds back either on the app or on the website. This might sound like a lot of work but it’s actually really fast.
This way, I am also earning PP some money in interest so hopefully I can stay under the radar for as long as possible. 😉
Great point, I completely forgot about the Savings account.
Yup, do the same thing with my sofi savings and checkings
$50 a month max. Woohoo!
Better than the Citi Custom Cash which only allows $25
Wonder how long it will last though, even a CC earning 5% on a category is pretty much a small loss, and a debit card doesn’t earn the same swipe fees. I expect this will go the way of PayPal Key, eventually.
It might or might not. I’ll use it as long as they keep on paying me.
Using the Walmart Pay feature in the Walmart app (with the PayPal debit card set as your payment method) to scan the QR code on the checkout register screen works for 5% groceries category. I have not tested swiping the debit card by itself.
I’ll have to try that. Interesting that it coded as grocery for a Super Walmart and not just a Neighborhood Walmart Market.
For clarification, it was at a Supercenter not a Neighborhood Market.