PayPal Cashback Mastercard
The PayPal Cashback Mastercard earns 3% cash back when you check out with PayPal and 1.5% everywhere else Mastercard is accepted, uncapped and with no annual fee, which makes it the strongest published no-fee rate on PayPal checkout spend. The catch is that everything routes through PayPal: rewards land as Cash Rewards you transfer to a linked PayPal account, the account has to stay open and in good standing to redeem, and there is currently no welcome offer to sweeten the first year. Off PayPal the 1.5% base trails the flat 2% cards, so it earns its keep as a companion card for heavy PayPal spenders rather than as an everything card.
Direct link to the issuer. We don't currently have an affiliate relationship for this card.
- Annual feeFree
- Welcome offerNo welcome offer currently advertisedThe public marketing page advertises no welcome offer for new cardholders as of July 2026. The card's pitch is the ongoing earn rate rather than an upfront bonus.
- Recommended credit640-800Median 700. See why →
Earning rates
on PayPal Cash Rewards- 3xPayPal PurchasesPayPal checkout only
- 1.5xEverything else
Benefits and credits
account-protection
- Mastercard ID Theft Protection
rewards
- Stacks With PayPal Merchant Offers
- Unlimited Earning, No Minimum Redemption
service
- Instant Virtual Card on Approval
- Up to 6 Authorized Users
Pricing and fees
Full Pricing and Terms- Purchase APR
- 18.49% to 33.24%
- Foreign tx
- 3.00%
- Penalty APR (cap)
- 34.24%
- Balance transfer
- Not disclosed
- Fee Not disclosed
- Cash advance
- 33.24%
- Fee $10 or 5.00%, whichever is greater
- Late / returned
- $40 · $41
Eligibility and application
- Card typeUnsecured personal card
- Pre-qualificationSoft-pull pre-qualification available
- Application inquiryHard credit inquiry on submission
- Approval bureauNot disclosed by issuer
- Authorized user feeNot disclosed
- Reports AU to bureausConditionalAuthorized-user activity is reported to Experian and TransUnion only (not Equifax). Synchrony runs a large store / co-brand portfolio, so confirm per product when a Synchrony card is added.Issuer policy
How the recommended credit score is derived
Reported by users, not disclosed by the issuer. Synthesized from community-reported approval data points and cross-checked against industry editorial guidance for consensus.
- WalletHub: PayPal Cashback Mastercard credit score requirement ('640 or better')
- MyFICO Forum: approval data point (FICO 8 EX 728 / TU 729 / EQ 728, $8,000 starting limit)
- MyFICO Forum: approval data point (TransUnion 690, $7,800 starting limit, $98k household income)
- MyFICO Forum: approval data point (TransUnion FICO 8 above 800, $15,000 starting limit, instant approval)
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JetBlue CardBarclays · MastercardThe JetBlue Card is Barclays' entry point into the TrueBlue program, and it earns its $0 annual fee by staying simple: 3X on JetBlue purchases, 2X at restaurants and grocery stores, and 1X on everything else, with no rotating categories to track.
$0 annual fee -
Chase Freedom UnlimitedChase · VisaThe Freedom Unlimited is a no-annual-fee workhorse that earns 1.5% on everything, with elevated rates on dining, drugstores, and Chase Travel.
$0 annual fee -
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American ExpressAmexBlue Cash Everyday is the no-annual-fee sibling in the Blue Cash line, earning 3% back on the same supermarket, online retail, and gas categories that the Preferred earns 6% on, though here the cap is a more modest $6,000 per category per year.
$0 annual fee
Sources
Affiliate disclosure
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Not financial advice
ccdeck is not a financial advisor. Information here is for educational purposes only. Confirm card terms with the issuer before applying.