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Best credit cards for back-to-school shopping at Walmart (August 2024)

Ben Walker (CEPF, CFEI?)
·Senior Writer, Credit Cards
Updated 11 min read
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Back-to-school shopping can drain your monthly budget, but you can limit the damage by using a rewards credit card for your purchases. Since these are purchases you plan on making anyway, it makes sense to earn cash back, points, or miles that can help offset your overall spending.

For frequent Walmart shoppers, we’ve curated a list of the best credit cards for Walmart and back-to-school shopping. Some of our favorites include the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Blue Cash Everyday? Card from American Express, but we think there’s something that can work for everyone.

Let’s compare the details of the best Walmart credit cards and find the right one for you.

Annual fee: $95

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit in your first year

APR: 19.99%-29.99% variable

Rewards:

  • 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel

  • Unlimited 2x miles on every purchase

More details: Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs.

Why we like it: The Capital One Venture Rewards makes sense if you want to earn travel rewards on your everyday purchases. It’s easy to use and provides a flexible rewards rate that works with any eligible purchase. That’s especially useful because Walmart stores aren’t typically categorized as a “grocery store” or “supermarket” for credit card purchases.

Read our full Capital One Venture Rewards review

Annual fee: $0 (see rates and fees)

Welcome offer: Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months

Intro APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (then 19.24%-29.99% variable APR)

Rewards:

  • 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%

  • 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases, on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%

  • 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%

  • 1% cash back on other purchases

More details: Receive statement credits for eligible Disney streaming subscriptions and Home Chef memberships

Why we like it: The Blue Cash Everyday is an excellent gas and grocery card, but those types of purchases don’t typically apply to Walmart. However, this card also offers 3% cash back on US online retail purchases of up to $6,000 per year, then 1%*. This category includes purchases on Walmart.com. Some reports say that using Walmart Pay in store could also trigger this spending category.

*Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or on Amazon.com at checkout

Read our full Amex Blue Cash Everyday review

Annual fee: $0

Welcome offer: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $500 in purchases in the first three months

Intro APR: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (then 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR)

Rewards:

  • Unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

More details: You can take advantage of up to $600 in cell phone protection (minus a $25 deductible) per eligible claim, with a maximum of two paid claims per 12-month period.

Why we like it: The Wells Fargo Active Cash is easy to use because of its unlimited flat earning rate. You can use it at Walmart or any other retailer. The intro APR offer on purchases can be useful if you have large upcoming purchases at Walmart.

Annual fee: $0

Welcome offer: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening

Intro APR: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (then 20.49%-29.24% variable APR)

Rewards:

  • 5% cash back in activated bonus categories each quarter (up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%) and Chase Travel? purchases

  • 5% cash back on Lyft rides (through March 2025)

  • 3% cash back on dining (including restaurants, takeout, and eligible delivery services) and drugstore purchases

  • 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

More details: You can take advantage of multiple insurance and protection benefits, including purchase protection, extended warranty protection, cell phone protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and more.

Why we like it: The Chase Freedom Flex can provide up to 5% cash back on Walmart purchases if you activate the offer and Walmart is one of the current rotating categories. Walmart has been selected as a rotating category multiple times over the years.

PayPal is another common Chase Freedom rotating category and an accepted payment method for Walmart.com purchases.

Read our full Chase Freedom Unlimited? vs. Freedom Flex comparison

Annual fee: $0

Welcome offer: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening

Intro APR: 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers (then 19.24%-29.24% variable APR)

Rewards:

  • Unlimited 1% cash back when you make a purchase and another 1% cash back when you pay off that purchase

Why we like it: The Citi Double Cash is a straightforward cash-back credit card that you can easily use as the only card in your wallet. With its simple earning rate, you don’t have to worry about different types of spending categories, which is helpful at stores like Walmart.

Read our full Citi Double Cash review

Annual fee: $0 for the first year, then $95

Welcome offer: Earn a $250 bonus after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening

APR: 19.74%-29.74% variable APR

Rewards:

  • 6% cash back on your first $1,500 in combined eligible purchases each quarter with two retailers you choose

  • 3% cash back on your first $1,500 in eligible purchases on your choice of one everyday category (like wholesale clubs, gas and EV charging stations, bills and utilities)

  • 1.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases

More details: For the 6% category, you can choose from retailers like Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, Disney, Home Depot, IKEA, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Target, Walmart, and more.

Why we like it: If you choose Walmart as one of your selected retailers, you can earn 6% cash back on up to $1,500 each quarter. That’s potentially $90 in cash-back rewards per quarter or $360 per year, which isn’t a bad return for frequent Walmart shoppers. You can also choose another retailer each quarter if you don’t always shop at Walmart.

Annual fee: $0

Welcome offer: Discover will automatically match all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year. So, if you earn $100 cash back, Discover will give you another $100.

Intro APR: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (then 18.24%-28.24% variable APR)

Rewards:

  • 5% cash back after activation on rotating categories each quarter (on up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%)

  • 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Why we like it: The Discover it Cash Back Credit Card has provided multiple rotating categories in the past that could be helpful for Walmart purchases:

  • Walmart in Q3 2024

  • Digital wallets in Q3 2023

  • Digital wallets in Q4 2022

  • PayPal in Q3 2022

  • Annual fee
    $0
  • Welcome offer
    15,000 points after spending $3,000 in first 3 months
  • Introductory Purchases APR
    0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening
  • Ongoing Purchases APR
    18.49% - 26.49% Variable
  • Recommended credit score
    Excellent, Good
  • Rewards rate
    2x points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners (applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1x after that)

Why we like it: The Amex Blue Business Plus provides a flexible earning rate and an intro APR offer on purchases. This makes it an ideal choice for small business owners who don’t want to worry about confusing spending categories and might have upcoming significant expenses at Walmart or other retailers.

  • Annual fee
    $0
  • Welcome offer
    Earn $750 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months
  • Ongoing Purchases APR
    18.49% - 24.49% Variable
  • Introductory Purchases APR
    0% Intro APR on Purchases for 12 Months
  • Recommended credit score
    Good, Excellent
  • Rewards rate
    1.5% unlimited cash back on every business purchase

Why we like it: The Ink Business Unlimited has a slightly lower earning rate than the Amex Blue Business Plus, but there’s no spending cap and you get more redemption options, like flights and hotel stays through the Chase travel portal. This card also provides an intro APR offer on purchases.

Read our full Chase Ink Business Unlimited review

  • Annual fee
    $0 for the first year, then $95
  • Welcome offer
    Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 within the first 3 months
  • Purchase APR
    26.24% variable
  • Recommended credit score
    Good, Excellent
  • Rewards rate
    • 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
    • 2x miles on all other purchases

Why we like it: Earning at least 2x miles on every eligible purchase, with no spending cap, could be an excellent option for many high-spending businesses. That’s especially true if you prefer using your Capital One Spark Miles rewards for travel redemptions, including transfers to over 15 travel partners.

Read our full Capital One Spark Miles review

Going into a big shopping event without a strategy makes it easier to overspend. List everything your family needs, ordered by importance. So, for the necessities on your list, place those at the top and keep the nice-to-haves at the bottom.

Families with elementary through high school children plan to spend nearly $875 on back-to-school shopping this year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Here’s how much you could earn in rewards if you were to use a rewards credit card for that amount of purchases:

Earning $40 or more is a nice savings that can act like a discount on future purchases, whether you’re using the rewards for shopping, dining, travel, or something else. Even better, there’s no real downside to using credit cards, as long as you only spend what you can afford and always make full and on-time payments.

Walmart doesn’t have a coupon program, but you can use manufacturer coupons and offers.

You can use paper manufacturer coupons while making in-store purchases at checkout or add offers to your account using the Walmart app or Walmart.com. After successfully using an offer, Walmart Cash is added to your account. You can redeem Walmart Cash to pay for purchases online or in store, or you can cash it out in store.

For general savings deals at Walmart, we recommend looking for “Rollback” and “Reduced price” tags on Walmart.com.

Launched in 2020, Walmart’s membership program has a lot to offer, including free shipping with no order minimum — which can be extremely valuable depending on your situation.

With free shipping, you can do all your Walmart shopping without leaving your home. Shopping online can also make it easier to compare prices and search for savings. This could be especially useful on big-ticket items such as laptops and other electronics, where a small (5% to 15%) discount might mean big savings for you.

If you’re interested in Walmart+, these credit cards can completely cover the subscription cost, including taxes, for you:

Read more: Target Circle 360 vs. Walmart+ and Amazon Prime

Buying used or refurbished items, especially electronics, can help you save money. The Walmart Restored program offers refurbished items from top brands that have been inspected, tested, and cleaned by experts — all available at a lower price than what you would typically pay.

If possible, we suggest tracking costs to see if something you’ve purchased goes down in price. In some cases, you might be able to return an item and repurchase it at a lower price, saving you some cash. From our experience, Walmart has a decent return policy, typically giving you 90 days to return or replace an item.

  • Eligibility requirements: The best rewards credit cards typically require a good to excellent credit score, which is at least a 670 FICO Score.

  • Annual fee: Yearly fees immediately detract from a card's value, but depending on your desired rewards and benefits, cards with annual fees could be worth it.

  • Rewards: Most rewards cards earn points, miles, or cash back, and different cards can have different spending categories, such as earning elevated rewards on dining and grocery purchases or earning a flat rate on all eligible purchases.

  • Intro APR offer: A 0% introductory APR offer on purchases is an excellent way to avoid paying interest for a certain period of time. That could be especially helpful if you have upcoming large expenses, such as back-to-school shopping.

  • Perks and benefits: Some of our favorite card benefits for Walmart purchases include a free Walmart+ membership, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards? Mastercard? previously offered 5% cash back at Walmart.com, but Capital One and Walmart ended their exclusive agreement in May 2024 and the card is no longer accepting new applicants.

Here are some other cards with high earning potential at Walmart or Walmart.com:

  • Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express

  • Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card

  • Discover it Cash Back Credit Card

  • U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card

The Platinum Card? from American Express and American Express? Business Gold Card offer statement credits for monthly Walmart+ memberships. With each card, you must pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) to receive up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes as a monthly statement credit.

Capital One was the exclusive issuer of Walmart credit cards until the partnership ended in May 2024. Existing Capital One Walmart cardholders can continue using their cards and earning rewards until Capital One makes changes.

We used existing rubrics for cash-back credit cards, travel credit cards, and business credit cards to compare over 100 products to find the best credit cards for Walmart. These rubrics measured various factors contributing to a final rating, including rewards, fees, and introductory APR offers.

We selected the best cards from these rubrics and used our experience, research, and expert opinion to narrow the options. Our final list includes a variety of cards that make sense for different goals and preferences when it comes to shopping at Walmart.

This article was edited by Alicia Hahn

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.