Photo: Walmart
Walmart is all about saving consumers money, and the retailer’s new private label credit card program with Capital One is designed to reinforce its low-price image.
Yesterday, Walmart announced that it would launch two new cards on Sept. 24: the Walmart Rewards Card, which offers benefits for purchases made from the retailer, and the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard, which extends cash-back offers to purchases made with other businesses, as well.
Both cards provide holders with five percent back on purchases made at walmart.com, including Walmart Pickup and Delivery. In-store and Walmart gas station purchases are good for two percent back, although cardholders can earn a five percent reward for 12 months if they make use of Walmart Pay.
The Capital One Mastercard also provides holders with two percent cash back on purchases made outside of Walmart for restaurants and travel. All other purchases come with a one percent cash-back perk.
“Walmart’s mission has always been to help customers save money so that they can live better, and our new credit card program — which both helps customers earn more when paying for things in and outside of Walmart, and offers many other incredible benefits — is squarely aligned with that mission,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president, Walmart services and digital acceleration, in a statement. “As our company has evolved to serve customers shopping in stores, online, and on the Walmart apps, we also recognized the need to fully digitally enable the cardholder experience; that’s why we’ve worked with Capital One to make it possible for cardholders to manage essentially every interaction with the program right from the palm of their hands.”
Individuals who currently use a Walmart credit card will have their accounts switched so they can begin earning rewards on Oct. 11. Their new Capital One cards will begin arriving in the mail in November.
Walmart’s new cards are similar to private label credit cards offered by its rivals at Amazon.com and Target.
Amazon’s Prime Rewards card offers five percent cash back on purchases made on the site and at Whole Foods. The Target REDcard offers an immediate five percent discount on purchases made in the chain’s stores, on its site and through services such as Shipt’s same-day delivery.