Which Credit Card Reward Programs Let You Use Points Through PayPal?
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PayPal’s "Pay with Rewards" program allows holders of eligible credit cards to redeem their rewards through PayPal, wherever that service is accepted at checkout online.
If you're a frequent PayPal user, then linking your card to the service can make it easier and more convenient for you to access and use those rewards, especially if you have a leftover handful of points that you can't otherwise spend elsewhere. And in some cases, point values could be higher when redeemed through PayPal than they would be if redeemed for direct cash back.
But for many of the credit card rewards programs that work with this feature, it won't be the most valuable use of your points, compared with other redemption options.
Below is a summary of point values with each program.
Reward program | Point value with PayPal, in cents |
|---|---|
American Express Membership Rewards | 0.7 |
Capital One cash back | 1 |
Capital One miles | 0.8 |
Chase Ultimate Rewards® | 0.8 |
Citi ThankYou Rewards | 0.8 |
Discover | 1 |
PayPal Cashback Mastercard® | 1 |
PayPal Extras Mastercard® | 0.83 |
U.S. Bank | 1 |
Wells Fargo | 1 |
1. American Express Membership Rewards
For American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points, 10,000 of those points can be redeemed for $70 when used for PayPal payments. This means points are worth 0.7 cent when redeemed this way — well short of what Membership Rewards can be worth when redeemed for travel (usually at least a penny per point, and in some cases much higher).
But it's worth noting that the PayPal option is a slightly better deal than the 0.6-cent-per-point value you'd get if you redeemed for a direct statement credit.
Some of the most popular American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards include:
To redeem rewards this way, cardholders must first link their eligible Membership Rewards-earning card to their PayPal wallet. Terms Apply.
2. Capital One
For eligible Capital One cash-back cards, $1 in cash rewards will be worth $1 when you check out with PayPal.
Points are worth a little less for Capital One travel cards: One mile is worth 0.8 cent when redeemed this way. Miles are typically worth a penny each when redeemed toward travel, so opting to redeem them through PayPal would lose you some value. However, redeeming them this way gets you more than the 0.5 cent per mile that they’d be worth if you redeemed them for cash back directly.
Eligible Capital One cards that can earn points through PayPal include:
In order to redeem your cash back and miles, you must link your eligible Capital One card to your PayPal account.
3. Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 0.8 cent each when redeemed through PayPal.
When redeemed for cash, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are typically worth 1 cent per point. And depending on which Chase cards you have, points could be worth as much as 1.25 to 1.5 cents each when redeemed for travel via the Chase portal. To this end, redeeming rewards through PayPal is not the most valuable use of your points.
Some popular Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards® points include:
Chase Freedom®.
Chase Sapphire® Card.
Ink Plus® Business Credit Card.
Eligible cardholders can link their Chase card to their PayPal wallet to start redeeming points this way. Once linked, you can select to use your Ultimate Rewards® points wherever you check out with PayPal online.
4. Citi ThankYou Points
Citi cards that earn ThankYou points are eligible for PayPal redemption. ThankYou points are worth 0.8 cent each when redeemed through PayPal. This is lower than the typical 1 cent per point you would get if you redeemed your points for cash or statement credit, and also likely a poor points value compared with other redemptions options such as travel.
Popular Citi cards that earn ThankYou points include:
Citi Prestige® Card.
To redeem your ThankYou points this way, you must have an eligible Citi card linked to your PayPal account. Once linked, you can automatically use your points to pay whenever you check out with PayPal. You can also manually link your ThankYou points to your PayPal wallet online.
5. Discover cash back and miles
Cash back and miles earned from eligible Discover cards can be redeemed through PayPal when making a purchase. Redeeming your points this way won’t lose you any value: $1 earned in rewards is worth $1 that can be used via PayPal. The same 1:1 value applies to miles earned: 100 miles is equal to $1.
Eligible cards include:
Discover More Card.
To redeem cash back and miles this way, you’ll have to link your eligible Discover card to your PayPal account. Once your card is linked, you can use your rewards to pay whenever you check out online with PayPal.
6. PayPal-branded credit cards
PayPal has two co-branded credit cards, both issued by Synchrony, that earn rewards you can redeem for PayPal credit or as a deposit directly to your PayPal account.
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard® is a cash-back card. It earns 3% back on PayPal purchases and 1.5% back on all other purchases. That cash back can be redeemed in any amount as a deposit into your PayPal Cash or PayPal Cash Plus account.
The PayPal Extras Mastercard® is no longer accepting applications. It earns points instead of direct cash back. You'll get more redemption flexibility, but generally lower point values. For example, you can opt to redeem points for cash back credited to your PayPal account, but you need 6,000 points for that first, which gets you a $50 credit. That's a value of only 0.83 cent per point. You can also redeem for things like gift cards, merchandise and travel, but minimum point thresholds also apply to those options.
Both cards require you to have a PayPal Balance account in order to apply and redeem points this way. If you have one of these cards, you cannot have the other.
7. U.S. Bank
Cash-back cards, points-earning cards, FlexPoints-earning cards and business cards from U.S. Bank participate in the PayPal Pay with Rewards program. Eligible cards include:
1 point is worth 1 cent each when redeemed through PayPal.
To enable Pay with Rewards, you’ll need to link an eligible U.S. Bank credit card to your PayPal account. You can complete this process from the U.S. Bank website, U.S. Bank app or in PayPal.
Choose Buy Now with PayPal at checkout if you want to use your U.S. Bank rewards to pay, in whole or in part, for a purchase.
8. Wells Fargo
Rewards-earning cards from Wells Fargo are eligible for PayPal redemptions. Your Wells Fargo Rewards points won’t lose any value when redeemed this way: $1 in cash rewards will allow a customer to redeem for a cash equivalent of $1 when you check out through PayPal.
Eligible rewards-based credit cards include:
You must link your eligible Wells Fargo credit card to your PayPal account to start redeeming rewards this way. Once linked, you’ll be able to select your Wells Fargo card and use your earned points when you checkout with PayPal.
All information about the Chase Freedom®, the Chase Sapphire® Card, the Ink Plus® Business Credit Card, and the Citi Prestige® Card have been collected independently by NerdWallet. They are no longer available through NerdWallet.
All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through NerdWallet. To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page. To view rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
All information about the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® card is no longer available through NerdWallet.
The information related to the Capital One Spark Cash, Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business and Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
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