Best Credit Cards for Digital Wallets
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Digital wallets — from popular options like PayPal to retailer apps that allow shoppers to use a saved card through an app — offer an easy and contactless way to use credit cards. And these days, most credit cards still earn their regular rewards when used through any of the top mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
In fact, some cards specifically reward you for using a digital wallet, and others come with features or benefits that make using digital wallets easier.
Here are our top picks for the best credit cards for digital wallets, and which card you’ll want to use with your preferred digital wallet.
Our pick for high overall rewards
Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards:
5% cash back on eligible mobile wallet purchases on up to $3,000 spent per calendar year, then 1% after.
2% back at Kroger-owned stores, Kroger online and transactions through Kroger Pay, the brand's mobile payment app.
1% back on all other spending.
Why we like it
Kroger loyalists might want to snag the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard for potential brand benefits, but the card really shines with competitive rewards on digital wallet purchases.
In addition to cash back for Kroger spending, holders will earn the card’s highest 5% rate for purchases made through Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Garmin Pay and LG Pay — anywhere those eligible wallets are accepted.
Although the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard is a store-branded card, you’re not limited to earning rewards as store credit or points — you get actual cash back. This means that, among cards that reward you for mobile wallet spending, the Kroger card out-earns many of the best options on the market.
The caveat here is that the Kroger card’s mobile-wallet category has an annual spending cap of $3,000, after which you’ll only be able to earn 1% back. So, the most you're able to earn is $150, before you drop down to the 1% rate for the remainder of the year.
Our picks for PayPal
PayPal Cashback Mastercard®
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards:
3% cash back on PayPal purchases.
1.5% back on all other purchases.
Why we like it
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard® is not only a rewarding card to use via PayPal, but it's also easy and convenient to do so. In fact, through the PayPal app, you can start using the card instantly upon approval, without having to wait for the physical card to arrive.
Plus, holders can scan the PayPal app to use the card in person at eligible stores (in addition to being usable online). It earns 3% cash back on purchases through PayPal and 1.5% back elsewhere. That cash back can be easily redeemed as a deposit into your PayPal Cash or PayPal Cash Plus account — another plus for frequent PayPal users.
Chase Freedom Flex®
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards:
5% cash back in quarterly bonus categories on up to $1,500 in combined spending each quarter. Activation of bonus categories is required.
5% back on travel booked through Chase.
3% back on dining, including takeout and delivery services.
3% back on drugstore purchases.
Through March 31, 2025, 5% back on qualifying Lyft services purchased through the Lyft app.
1% on all other purchases.
Why we like it
The Chase Freedom Flex® has historically featured PayPal as a rotating bonus category. In some quarters in recent years, cardholders could earn the card’s lucrative 5% on purchases made through the service, up to the quarterly spending cap. This is in addition to the card’s bonus rewards on other popular spending categories, like travel, dining and drugstore purchases.
In the past, Chase has also featured other digital wallets — like Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay and Chase Pay — as 5% bonus categories.
Our pick for Apple Pay
Apple Card
Annual fee: No Fees*.
Rewards:
3% cash back on Apple Pay purchases made directly with Apple (including Apple stores, within the App Store and for Apple services).
3% back on purchases made at specific merchants via Apple Pay.
2% back on all other spending via Apple Pay.
1% back on all purchases made with the physical Apple Card.
Why we like it
The Apple Card offers bonus rewards on all spending done through its proprietary digital wallet. Cardholders will earn 3% back on Apple Pay purchases made with specific merchants, like Uber and Walgreens, and 2% back on all other Apple Pay purchases. (Using the physical card in person will get you only 1% back.)
Assuming most merchants in your area accept Apple Pay, this could be a lucrative rewards card for you.
Our pick for Venmo
Venmo Credit Card
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards:
3% cash back in your top spending category for the month (from one of eight possible categories).
2% back in your second-place spending category for the month (from one of the remaining seven possible categories).
1% back on all other purchases.
Why we like it
The Venmo Credit Card only works though the Venmo app. And while there's no specific rewards advantage for using the card through the app, it means you’ll be able to use it immediately upon approval, without having to wait for the physical version to hit your mailbox.
Additionally, customers are able to scan their card’s unique QR code, which links to their Venmo app account, to easily send and request money. Points earned from the card will be added to your Venmo balance at the end of each billing cycle, which can then be used through the Venmo app.
Holders can add the Venmo Credit Card to other mobile wallets, like Samsung Pay and Google Pay. But as of this writing, the card was not compatible with Apple Pay.
Other contenders
American Express cardholders have access to the issuer’s Send & Split feature, which (as the name suggests) allows customers to use their card to either:
Send money to other PayPal or Venmo users without incurring a fee, or
More easily split a bill and get paid back through PayPal or Venmo.
Terms apply.
Sending money with a credit card through PayPal or Venmo typically comes with a transaction fee, so AmEx "Send" can save you money ... and the potential embarrassment of being a few bucks short on your part of the dinner tab.
Likewise, splitting a bill among a large group of friends is a notoriously good way to get a headache, but AmEx "Split" smooths the path, letting you choose the card transaction you want to divide up and then select people to split it with (whether evenly or by setting custom allocations for each person). Those people will get a payment request through Venmo or PayPal.
Popular American Express consumer credit cards that offer the Send & Split feature include the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express. Enrollment is required for Send & Split.
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