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Digital wallets and online payment systems like PayPal can make it easier to transfer money or make electronic payments.
Need friends to pay you back for concert tickets? Done. Quickly send your league manager that fantasy football buy-in you forgot about? Easy. Buy that cute gift you wanted to grab off Etsy? Just a few clicks and voila!
Online payment methods including are rising in popularity. But credit cards aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Do PayPal credit cards offer the best of both worlds?
In this in-depth review, you’ll learn about the PayPal Cashback Mastercard and the PayPal Extras Mastercard. We outline the main benefits, programs, fees, and drawbacks of each so that you can answer that question for yourself!
Hot Tip: These cards are often confused with PayPal’s prepaid Mastercard options (debit cards). If you are looking for PayPal’s Cash Mastercard (a very similar card name!) or PayPal’s Prepaid Mastercard, see our article on those Paypal cards.
| PayPal Cashback Mastercard | PayPal Extras Mastercard | |
| Main benefits |
|
|
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
| APR* | The prime rate plus:
| The prime rate plus:
|
| Late fee | Up to $40 | Up to $40 |
*APR as of May 13, 2022
Both PayPal Mastercard Credit Cards are issued by Synchrony Bank under a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Both of these cards can be used for purchases anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
If you don’t have a PayPal account, you’ll need one to reap the full benefits of these cards, including redeeming cash and points directly to your PayPal account.
As you can see from the table above, the most significant differences between these cards are in their rewards and benefits. Let’s check them out.
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard will earn you 2% cash-back on every purchase through their Cash Rewards program.
There are no restrictions on the type of purchases that earn cash-back. Cardholders enjoy 2% cash-back* on all purchases. Qualifying purchases do not include balance transfers, cash advances, convenience checks, disputed or unauthorized purchases, fraudulent transactions, or any other transactions that aren’t eligible to earn rewards.
Bonus rewards may be available for certain purchases from time to time, offering a higher percent cash-back than the standard 2%.
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard is an everyday spend card, as there are no category or quarterly bonuses.
If directly linking your cashback to your PayPal account is crucial to you, this card may be a good choice. If you want an everyday spend credit card that earns you cash-back on almost all of your purchases and you don’t care about PayPal, see the Alternative Rewards Credit Cards section below.
Cash rewards are available for redemption on a monthly basis. Rewards are available for transfer to your PayPal Account the billing period after the period after you earn them. You’ll earn one month and can redeem the next.
To make the transfer, cardholders should:
Once complete, rewards will be ready to use once.
There is no minimum redemption threshold to transfer cash rewards.
Hot Tip: Remember, to utilize the Cash Rewards Program (to earn or transfer cash-back), your credit card account and PayPal account must be open, in good standing, and linked to each other.
With the PayPal Extras Mastercard, cardholders earn tiered points with category spending bonuses.
⛽ 3x points per dollar spent on gas purchases
🍽 3x points per dollar spent on restaurant purchases
💻 2x points per dollar spent on PayPal and eBay purchases
🛍 1x points per dollar spent on all other purchases
The 3x points on gas and dining is a nice bonus. The 2x points on PayPal and eBay purchases may or may not benefit you depending on how actively you utilize these options to shop.
PayPal is becoming more and more widely available as a means of payment, including many online retailers including Target, Best Buy, Hotwire.com, Macy’s, and Under Armour, and sometimes within Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Rewards points are credited to your account on a monthly basis the billing period after you accrued points, so you earn points one month, and they’re credited the next. Points are calculated day-by-day with the daily total purchase amount rounded down to the whole dollar.
The points you earn through your PayPal Extras Mastercard are subject to a limit. The maximum amount of points a cardholder can accumulate is 50,000 per account year (beginning the date you opened the account).
When redeeming points with the PayPal Extras Mastercard, consider the point value per dollar spent.
Paypal’s advertises that cardholders need 6,000 points to earn a $50 PayPal Cash credit. This equates to about 0.83 of a cent per point earned, which is a poor value considering the typical earnings ratio for most cards is 1:1 (at a minimum). The points of some specific credit cards are valued much higher if you optimally redeem them. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns Ultimate Rewards points that are extremely valuable when transferred to their airline and hotel partners.
PayPal offers the following categories for points redemptions:
💰 PayPal Cash (in $50 increments placed into the cardholder’s PayPal account)
✈ Air travel
🏨 Hotel awards
🚗 Car rentals
🎁 Gift cards and merchandise
🏝 Vacation awards
Find restrictions on awards here.
Follow these steps to redeem your points:
Hot Tip: It’s important to note that you forfeit the ability to earn and redeem points if you don’t make a minimum payment when due. Additionally, your account must be in good standing to utilize the program.
Cardholders don’t technically need to have an active PayPal account linked to their card. However, without one, you won’t get to make purchases through PayPal, earn rewards on PayPal purchases (2x points), redeem points online for rewards, or utilize the online account management option.
Without an active PayPal account, you can use your Mastercard and earn points outside of PayPal and redeem points for a statement credit. With this option, you can only redeem your statement credit by calling the number on the back of the card.
Although it’s possible to use the card and earn rewards without a PayPal account, other credit cards offer better rewards without PayPal. You can see those in our Alternative Rewards Cards section below.
In addition to rewards, these cards come with standard Mastercard benefits. These include (but aren’t limited to):
🗓 Extended warranty coverage
💸 Price protection
🔐 Identity theft resolution
💳 Microchip technology
Extended warranty coverage guarantees double the original manufacturer or store brand warranty for up to 1 year.
With price protection, cardholders may be reimbursed the difference if the item price drops within 60 days of purchase.
Identity theft resolution means cardholders may receive ID theft alerts, credit card replacement. ID Theft Affidavit assistance is available for victims of identity theft.
Microchip technology is utilized by most mainstream credit cards today and ensures increased protection, as chip-enabled terminals are reportedly a more secure way to pay.
Each credit card has a maze of fees and drawbacks to navigate. The tables and summaries below explain what you can expect from PayPal’s credit cards.
| PayPal Cashback Mastercard | PayPal Extras Mastercard | |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
| APR | The prime rate plus:
| The prime rate plus:
|
| Cash advance APR | The prime rate plus 23.74% | The prime rate plus 23.74% |
| Minimum interest charge | $1.50 | $1.50 |
| Cash advance fee | $5 or 3% of the amount of each cash advance (whichever is greater) | $5 or 3% of the amount of each cash advance (whichever is greater) |
| Foreign transaction fee | NONE | 3% of each transaction |
| Late fee | Up to $40 | Up to $40 |
As you can see, there are quite a few fees listed above. Being a responsible cardholder is the best way to avoid these fees.
You should pay off your balance in full, each month. If you can’t pay off your balance in full, you need to pay off as much as you can and always at least the minimum payment.
Interest charges can quickly add up if you’re not paying off your balance in full each month. Depending on your creditworthiness, you could have a high APR. An APR of 17.24% is about average to above average. Anything above 20% is high, and 29.24% is absurd (especially as there are many credit cards with 0% interest.
If you’re at all confused about how credit cards, credit scores, APRs, fees, and other credit details work, take a look at some of our articles on Credit Basics.
In general, most reviewers are reasonably pleased with the PayPal Cashback Mastercard. Positive reviews are to be expected, as there aren’t any glaring negatives for this 2% everyday cashback card.
The obvious drawback to the PayPal Extras Mastercard is the low points value-to-dollar ratio. Your money won’t go as far with PayPal’s rewards as other rewards-based credit cards offering a 1:1 value (or higher).
Furthermore, points redemptions with the PayPal Extras Mastercard can be complicated.
For example, there are minimum thresholds a cardholder must meet before redeeming points, and these thresholds are different for each points redemption category.
If redeeming for a travel reward, then all air, hotel, and car rental rewards must be redeemed at least 21 days in advance.
If you want to keep things simple and like cash-back, the PayPal Cashback Mastercard can be a good choice. But the Citi® Double Cash Card is a strong alternative. This card earns 2x points that can be redeemed as cash-back (1x when you purchase and 1x when you pay off your statement).
It’s a little easier than the PayPal Cashback Mastercard because you don’t need to transfer the money anywhere to redeem it.
If rewards are more important to you, then you can definitely do better than the PayPal Extras Credit Card. The value of those points is only 0.83 of a cent, whereas you can quite easily achieve 1.25-1.5 cents for each point with some other credit cards. That adds up to 50-80% more.
PayPal Cashback Credit Card: With 3 separate APR tiers, applicants can be approved with a range of credit scores.
PayPal Extras Credit Card: Some credit card review sites report you’ll need a very good to excellent credit score for approval. However, others state an above average to good score. Since there are 2 APR tiers offered, that gives the impression that applicants can get approved with a range of reasonably solid credit scores.
You can apply for either PayPal card online. You can apply for the PayPal Cashback Mastercard here, and the PayPal Extras Mastercard here.
You can log in to your PayPal account to make payments online. Go to paypal.com and click Log In at the upper right-hand corner.
From there, select your PayPal Mastercard from your Wallet.
Then, find your PayPal Mastercard on the left-hand side. If you have not already done so, you will need to link your credit card to your account.
Once you click on your PayPal Mastercard, you’ll be transferred to a Synchrony Bank portal where you can check on your account, make online payments, and more.
If you’re an active PayPal user, chances are you’ve considered getting the PayPal Cashback Mastercard or the PayPal Extras Mastercard. Is either one the best card for your wallet? That depends.
Bottom Line: If you use PayPal a lot and you need a good card for rewards on everyday spending, the 2% cash-back on all purchases with the PayPal Cashback Credit Card is a pretty good deal.
However, once earned, cardholders have to actively transfer their cash rewards over to their PayPal account to utilize them. Also good to note: the cash rewards you earn in any reward period won’t appear in your rewards summary until the billing period after the reward period.
While the PayPal Extras Credit Card may look good on paper due to its tiered points earning strategy, the redemptions are quite complicated. Plus, a significant consideration is the value of points for your spend. If you base the value on the advertised cash-back PayPal credit (6,000 points for $50), 1 point is a below average 0.83 of a cent.
Lastly, if you’re a points and miles earner (or want to become one), this isn’t best rewards card for you.
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An experienced points hacker, Erin is Alex’s partner-in-crime and contributes to Upgraded Points with in-depth guides and relationship management. Erin’s work has been cited in multiple major publications.
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15 comments
Richard Williams
November 30, 2018
Their paypal card gives you 2% back. Nice. The niceness ends there. All support calls go offshore to the Philippines where their reps barely speak any English. Recently, I made an online payment for a vendor for about $200 for a medical bill. It went through. About 2 hours later I attempted to do the same for a $40 utility bill. It was rejected and my acct. was immediately put on hold for no reason. I called in and they stated they need to call my cell to give me a code to validate. I got the code but then they said they could not validate it because my cell service is VOIP which they claimed is not secure enough. Unbelievable. They said they would snail mail me a code which would take about a week. Absurd. I immediately canceled my card. Absolutely horrible customer service.
Bill Smith
March 06, 2019
I’ll be traveling soon, but it’s unclear as to what travel protection is granted with this card. Paypal sends you to the generic Mastercard site which states that not all benefits may apply to a card and to check with the banks issuer. Upon doing the latter through online chat, just got what seemed like a poorly confused rep as to what I was asking. To this point my secured message sent to paypal has gone unanswered.
Now I use this card for my everyday purchases just for the 2% cash back, but other cards to take advantage of benefits that are clearly defined by those banks issuing the card!
Gerry Dizon
June 09, 2019
Do you offer a Business credit card?
Jarrod West
June 09, 2019
Hi Gerry,
Please keep in mind that we do not have any affiliation with PayPal. PayPal does not offer a business version of the PayPal Cashback Mastercard.
Shawn
June 29, 2019
Will the PayPal Cashback Mastercard or the PayPal Extras Mastercard aim their focus towards credit rebuilding? Will either card report the progress or lack of progress to the credit bureau? Some of the major credit bureaus provide suggestions for acquiring credit cards that will assist in credit rebuilding but I have not seen either of the PayPal cards on the list.
Christine Krzyszton
July 01, 2019
Hi Shawn. While the PayPal Mastercards do report to the 3 credit bureaus, they are not designed for building credit as you will need a good credit score to be approved. If you are looking for a credit card for building your credit, you might find helpful information in one of these articles. /best-secured-credit-cards/ AND /easiest-credit-cards-to-get/
Reaper
July 22, 2019
One downside of the PayPal MasterCard is that it doesn’t support ApplePay.
Stephen Au
July 22, 2019
Hey Reaper,
Thanks for your feedback! You bring up a good point.
Michael White
October 03, 2019
Apparently, if you already have a PayPal Extras MasterCard there is no upgrade option. I was told I would have to close the PayPal Extras MasterCard first or create a new papal account to apply for the cashback card, neither is a good option for me or my credit rating.
It looks like I will be looking for another cashback card and moving the PayPal card to my drawer for PayPal transactions only.
Robert Cartland
September 24, 2020
I was planning on making the PayPal Mastercard my go-to card for the 2% cashback bonus. Unfortunately, my experience with this card has been terrible. My application for the card was initially approved with only a $300 credit limit which they promised to increase as soon as I activated the card. That was a lie. So, I decided to pay off the balance in order to free up the credit and use the card. However, they decided to put a 15-day hold on my payment even though the payment went through without a problem. I now have a card with zero balance and only a $25 credit limit which is useless. My FICO scores are between 790 and 800 and we have a high annual income. I called customer service for an explanation and was told it was due to limited account history. However, I also have a PayPal Credit account with Synchrony which is in good standing and has a credit limit of $5400. Yesterday, I applied for the Citi Double Cash Card and was offered a credit limit of $12,500. Your mileage may vary, but I consider the Synchrony PayPal Mastercard to be a terrible product – the worst credit card I have ever had.
DSmith
June 30, 2023
Same exact experience. Horrible. Disappointed. And I have other Synchrony Mastercard accounts none of them do this. Only PayPal.
Chris Maxey
January 27, 2021
Good rewards, everything else stinks.
I do not need credit, I got this card solely for the rewards but when met with 15 day holds on payments and no usable balance left it does not meet my needs. This is the second time they have put a 15 day hold on my payment without telling me or making a note of it on my online account. Terrible service, go elsewhere.
Elmer Fudd
March 24, 2021
“Paypal’s advertises that cardholders need 6,000 points to earn a $50 PayPal Cash credit. This equates to about 0.83 of a cent per point earned, which is a poor value considering the typical earnings ratio for most cards is 1:1” WRONG –When you divide $50 by 6,000 points, you get .00833, not 0.83. So, 3X points is equal to 2.499 Percent, each point being equivalent to 0.833 cents, not 0.83 of a cent as stated.
A Welshman
June 27, 2023
If you read the benefits on the brochure for the Paypal Mastercard benefits guide (https://paypal.syf.com/essimages/cs/groups/ess_webasset/dualcard/@paypal/en/pdf/ess048622.pdf), it does not actually include price protection beyond for specific types of hotel rooms booked through Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services, nor does the card benefits guide include any reference to an extended warranty.
Jarrod West
July 05, 2023
Hi A,
Thanks for pointing this out, we are currently in the process of updating this post.
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
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