Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® Review: Big Savings on Walmart, Dining and Travel

If you regularly shop at Walmart.com, the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard is a no-annual-fee card that lets you earn 5% cash back on those purchases. It offers above-average cash back in-store and at Walmart and Murphy gas stations. You can also use it outside the superstore chain, with competitive cash back on dining and travel. However, other cards may be a better fit if you're looking for a higher rate of rewards and don’t want to be tied to Walmart.

If shopping at Walmart is part of your routine, you can get significant savings from the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard. Just note that the high cash back rate is reserved for online purchases. It offers 5% cash back on Walmart.com purchases and 2% for in-store spending.

This no-annual-fee card also provides 2% cash back on dining and travel. However, it lacks features you normally find with cash back cards, such as 0% intro APR periods and welcome bonuses.

You may want to consider other cards if you want higher cash back in other categories besides Walmart purchases.

>>MORE: MoneyGeek's Best Cash Back Credit Cards

The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard offers a generous 5% cash back on purchases from Walmart.com. Cardholders also get 2% cash back on in-store spending at Walmart stores, Murphy USA and Walmart fuel stations. Additionally, in-store Walmart purchases get 5% cash back for the first year if you use Walmart Pay.

Beyond those Walmart-centric rewards, the card extends its value with 2% cash back on dining and travel. For all other purchases, the card provides a baseline of 1% cash back.

Cash back rewards from the Walmart Rewards Mastercard never expire and can be redeemed as statement credits, purchases on Walmart.com, travel and gift cards.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard lets you maximize your Walmart purchases while offering good cash back on dining and travel.

High Cash Back on Walmart.com: Earn an impressive 5% cash back on Walmart.com purchases, including pickup and delivery. For example, spending $500 monthly online at Walmart would earn you $300 cash back annually. It’s not easy to find a card that can beat this rate.

Rewards on Dining and Travel: With unlimited 2% cash back on dining and travel, this card offers better returns than the typical flat-rate card, which usually provides just 1.5% cash back. Spending $5,000 per year on these categories would mean a $100 cash back by the end of the year.

No Annual Fee: The card doesn’t charge an annual fee, so all cash back you earn goes toward your savings.

5% for In-Store Purchases: The card’s introductory offer lets you earn 5% cash back on in-store Walmart purchases when using Walmart Pay during the first 12 months. Walmart Pay is Walmart’s digital wallet, allowing you to store your credit card information on the app and use it to pay for your purchases. It’s a small extra step that can lead to substantial savings.

Consider these drawbacks before you get the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard.

No 0% Intro APR: Unlike other cash back cards, this card does not have a no-interest period for purchases and balance transfers. This could be a drawback if you're planning a large purchase and want to avoid interest charges in the short term. If you’re looking for a card that rewards groceries, travel and dining while having a 0% intro APR period, consider the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.

Limited In-Store Rewards: The card’s intro offer lets you earn 5% cash back on Walmart stores during the first year and if you use Walmart Pay. However, after that, in-store purchases only get 2%, substantially lower than the 5% you get from online shopping.

Weak Bonus Categories: The 2% cash back on dining, travel and select gas stations is decent, but several cards offer 3% or higher cash back on these same categories. You may miss out on cash back rewards if you spend heavily on these categories. The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express lets you earn 3% cash back on purchases from U.S. supermarkets, online retail and gas stations.

We compare the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard with other cash back cards to help you decide if it’s right for you.

Below, we highlight a card that perfectly complements the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard's straightforward cash back rewards so you can maximize your earnings.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard is great if you frequently shop at Walmart and don’t mind doing it online. With 5% cash back on Walmart.com purchases, it offers hard-to-beat cash back. Its 2% cash back on Walmart stores, Walmart gas stations, dining and travel are welcome and give you decent cash back on your spending.

However, if you want to shop in-store or just want better rewards on more categories, you have several options that don't tie you to a specific brand. Just note that most cash back cards don’t consider superstores like Walmart to be grocery stores.

Our evaluation of the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard included a comparison against 60 other cards, focusing on cash back potential as the primary metric. We considered the following weighted factors, with a 5 indicating the best possible rating:

• Effective Reward Rate: 50% (evaluated based on the effectiveness of the cash back rate)
• Offer ROI: 10% (assessed by the return on investment from introductory offers)
• Annual Fee: 10% (measured by the presence or absence of an annual fee)
• Issuer Satisfaction: 5% (determined by customer satisfaction with the issuer)
• Penalties: 5% (evaluated based on the cost of late payments and other penalties)
• Intro Purchase APR: 5% (assessed by the benefits of the introductory purchase APR)
• Recommended Credit: 5% (based on the credit score requirements for approval)
• Regular APR: 5% (measured by the cost of carrying a balance)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 5% (evaluated based on charges for transactions made abroad)

As outlined in our review, these factors were instrumental in determining the card's strengths and limitations.