Head to head 
Apple Card vs. PayPal Cashback Mastercard
On the criteria below, Apple Card wins 1 of 4. The verdict depends on which criteria matter to you.
Apple Card
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
PayPal Cashback Mastercard
Synchrony
At a glance
Apple Card wins 1 of 4 criteria here, making it the stronger all-rounder.
Apple Card leads on foreign transactions, while PayPal Cashback Mastercard only ties the rest.
Who wins what
1 vs 0 (3 tie)- First-year math Tie
Both cards land within $25 of each other after the annual fee.
- Annual fee Tie
Same annual fee.
- Earning ceiling Tie
Same peak earning rate.
- Foreign transactions Apple Card
Apple Card has a lower (or zero) foreign transaction fee.
By the numbers
- Annual fee
- Free
- Free
- Welcome offer (typical value)
- —
- —
- First-year net
- +$0
- +$0
- Peak earning rate
- 3×
- 3×
- Top categories
- Apple And App Store, Apple Pay, Bonus Daily Cash Merchants
- PayPal Purchases
- Lounge access
- No
- No
- Travel insurance
- No
- No
- Elite status
- No
- No
- Foreign transaction fee
- None
- 3.00%
- Reward currency
- Apple Daily Cash
- PayPal Cash Rewards
Welcome-offer dollar values use each program's typical-tier valuation from our signup bonus calculator. See the methodology page for sourcing details.