Love Walmart? New Cards Offer up to 5% Back on Purchases There

If you love to shop at Walmart, a new credit card might help you hold on to more of your hard-earned cash.

Walmart and Capital One have teamed up to unveil the Capital One Walmart Rewards Credit Card Program. It features two credit cards — which became available this week — that pay up to 5% cash back on Walmart purchases.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard can be used at Walmart and anywhere else that accepts Mastercard. It offers a slew of perks to shoppers, including:

• 5% back on purchases at Walmart.com, including on grocery pickup and delivery orders
• 5% back on in-store purchases when using Walmart Pay (mobile checkout) for the first year
• 2% back on in-store purchases after the first year
• 2% back on restaurants and travel
• 1% percent back on purchases elsewhere

Cardholders can redeem their rewards at any time, including during checkout at Walmart.com or as a statement credit.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard also boasts no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.

In addition to that card, Capital One and Walmart also are offering the Walmart Rewards Card. While you can only use this card at Walmart, it offers some perks of its own, including 5% back on purchases made at Walmart.com and via the Walmart app, unlimited 2% back on purchases in stores after the introductory offer and 2% back at Walmart Fuel Stations.

To apply for the new cards, stop by Walmart.com.

Walmart says its current cardholders will be upgraded to either the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard or the Walmart Rewards Card and start earning the new rewards as of Oct. 11. Updated cards will arrive by mail starting in November.

Is a Walmart card right for you?

As great as earning up to 5% back on Walmart purchases might sound to a Walmart fan, understand the downsides before jumping at the opportunity.

As with many rewards credit cards, the biggest downside to Walmart’s new cards is steep interest rates.

There is little point in signing up for any rewards card if you’re unable to pay off the balance in full each month to avoid incurring interest charges. Otherwise, what you pay in interest can easily exceed what you earn in rewards.

According to the fine print on the retailer’s site, the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard’s interest rate can be as low as 17.99% and as high as 26.99%, depending on your credit. The Walmart Rewards Card’s interest rate is 26.99%.

Also note that opening any new credit card account might cause your credit score to dip temporarily, according to credit reporting company Experian. So, if you plan to apply for a mortgage or other loan in the near future, you might want to hold off on getting a new credit card.

Still unsure whether a shiny new Walmart card is for you? Shop around. Using a free online resource like Money Talks News’ credit card search tool enables you to compare multiple cards at once.

What’s your favorite credit card? Let us know in comments below or on our Facebook page.