Personal Finance

Walmart Launching Co-Branded Credit Card with Capital One

Bentonville-based retailer Walmart is refreshing their credit card offerings, upping the rewards to put an emphasis on online shopping and mobile payments. This week the company announced a partnership with Capital One to create the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard while also releasing a store card dubbed the Walmart Rewards Card.  These new offerings will replace the current cards Walmart has with Synchrony, with the retailer advising that cardholders will be automatically transferred to Capital One on October 11th with no need to reapply.

The largest perk of the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard is that it earns 5% back on Walmart.com purchases. This includes the retailer’s Grocery Pickup and Delivery options. Additionally a special promotion will allow cardholders to also earn 5% on in-store purchases made using Walmart Pay until October 14, 2020 (in-store purchases will fall to 2% back after that promotional period). Stepping outside of Walmart, the card also features 2% cash back at restaurants and on travel purchases and 1% back on everything else. The card carries no annual fees or foreign transaction fees.

In a press release announcing the new cards, Walmart SVP of services and digital acceleration Daniel Eckert said, “Walmart’s mission has always been to help customers save money so that they can live better, and our new credit card program—which both helps customers earn more when paying for things in and outside of Walmart, and offers many other incredible benefits—is squarely aligned with that mission.” Eckert went on to say, “As our company has evolved to serve customers shopping in stores, online, and on the Walmart apps, we also recognized the need to fully digitally enable the cardholder experience; that’s why we’ve worked with Capital One to make it possible for cardholders to manage essentially every interaction with the program right from the palm of their hands.”

Looking at the structure of what Walmart and Capital One have created, it’s hard not to think of another massive retailer: Amazon. The online giant also offers both a rewards credit card as well as a store card that both earn Prime member 5% back on their Amazon purchases. Of course one can’t help but notice that Walmart’s highest cash back tier is on e-commerce, making the shot at Amazon even more clear. Interestingly, comparing Walmart’s card line-up to Amazon’s, one thing missing is a secured card akin to the one Amazon debuted in June. Funny enough that card is offered by Synchrony — the same partner Walmart is ditching in favor of Capital One.

Walmart’s latest credit card play could be a win for frequent shoppers — especially those who make their purchases online. Meanwhile the retailer’s swipe at Amazon can’t be ignored, perhaps putting more pressure on these offerings to succeed. With these new cards set to become available on September 24th, now’s a great time for potential cardholders to do their research and consider whether either card is worth adding to their wallet.

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