PayPal Cashback Mastercard

Earning Rates

Key Benefits

All Benefits

• $200 cash back welcome bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first 3 months — bonus credits to your PayPal balance after the spend threshold is met (verify the current offer on PayPal's site at apply time).
• 3% cash back on PayPal purchases — any purchase made through PayPal anywhere PayPal is accepted online or in-app (PayPal checkout, PayPal QR code, PayPal in-store checkout via the PayPal app).
• 2% cash back on all other purchases — flat-rate everywhere Mastercard is accepted, with no rotating categories and no caps.
• $0 annual fee — keep the card indefinitely without paying to hold it.
• $0 foreign transaction fee — Mastercard's standard 1% network FX assessment is absorbed, so foreign purchases earn the same 2% (or 3% if routed through PayPal) without an FX surcharge.
• Mastercard World tier card — includes Mastercard's baseline World benefits (Priceless cities offers, cellular protection on select issuers (verify), ID theft protection, Mastercard Global Service emergency card replacement and cash advance).
• Cash back is deposited to your PayPal balance — no minimum redemption threshold, redemption happens automatically each statement cycle (1 point = $0.01 / 1:1 ratio).
• Redeem PayPal balance to a linked US bank account, send to friends or family via PayPal, send via Venmo (after PayPal-to-Venmo transfer), or spend directly using PayPal at any merchant that accepts PayPal.
• Cash back does not expire as long as the PayPal account and card remain open and in good standing.
• Issued by Synchrony Bank — applications go through Synchrony's underwriting; existing Synchrony account holders should be aware that approval pulls reflect Synchrony's risk model (often more lenient than the major issuers).
• Synchrony does not count toward Chase 5/24, Amex's rolling-12 new-card rules, Capital One's 1-in-6, or Citi's 8/65 family velocity caps — a useful slot for credit-card-churn-aware applicants.
• Contactless EMV chip card with tap-to-pay.
• Mobile wallet support: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay — and, naturally, the PayPal wallet itself for in-app and PayPal QR-code checkout (which triggers the 3% category).
• $0 fraud liability for unauthorized transactions reported promptly (Mastercard Zero Liability + Synchrony's fraud protections).
• PayPal Buyer Protection on eligible PayPal-funded purchases — separate from the card itself, this protects PayPal-routed transactions for items not received or significantly not as described.
• Account management through both the PayPal app/website (rewards tracking, recent transactions) and Synchrony's MySynchrony portal (statements, payments, autopay, payment due dates).
• Autopay, paperless statements, and free FICO Score updates are typically available via the MySynchrony account portal (verify current availability).
• Best-pairing for high PayPal-share spend: stacks well with a hotel or airline cobranded card for travel, while routing online checkout through PayPal whenever the merchant offers PayPal to hit 3%.
• Transfer partners: Not offered — this is a pure cash-back card with no airline or hotel transfer mechanism; rewards are PayPal-balance dollars only.
• Lounge access: Not offered — $0 AF cash-back card; lounge access requires premium products (Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, etc.).
• Global Entry / TSA PreCheck application credit: Not offered — not bundled with this card; the Capital One Venture X or Amex Platinum carry this benefit instead.
• Trip cancellation / trip interruption insurance: Not offered — Mastercard discontinued most baseline US consumer travel insurance benefits in 2024; verify the current Mastercard Guide to Benefits for any residual coverage on the World tier.
• Auto rental collision damage waiver: Not offered as a card-issuer benefit — post the 2024 Mastercard network changes, US consumer World cards do not advertise a primary or secondary CDW; check the current Guide to Benefits before declining a rental counter waiver.
• Purchase protection and extended warranty: Not offered as a card-issuer benefit — Synchrony does not advertise card-issuer purchase protection on this product; only Mastercard World network baseline protections (if any) apply.
• Cell phone protection: Not offered by Synchrony on this card — competitors with no-AF cell-phone-protection coverage include the Wells Fargo Active Cash and BoA Unlimited Cash Rewards World Mastercard variant (verify).
• Hotel or rental car elite status: Not offered — this is a cash-back card without travel-program status conferral.
• Authorized users: Not offered on legacy PayPal Cashback Mastercard issuance (Synchrony does not advertise authorized-user support on this product — verify with Synchrony customer service at application time).