The 5 best credit cards for Walmart shopping

If you’re a frequent Walmart shopper (and even if you aren’t), you should know that Walmart is one of the most rewarding merchants in late 2022 — just in time for the holiday season.

Let’s take a look at the best rewards credit cards for Walmart spending, and learn how to combine those cards with a powerful online tool to potentially boost your earnings.

The best credit cards for Walmart shopping

These five rewards cards are currently the best options for Walmart purchases thanks to earning bonuses or statement credits:

The Platinum Card® from American Express
Chase Freedom Flex
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard
Citi® Double Cash Card

The information for the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

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Card details of the best credit cards for Walmart shopping

The Platinum Card® from American Express

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Rewards at Walmart: The Platinum Card® from American Express offers up to $155 in statement credits annually toward the monthly cost of Walmart+, a membership that provides free grocery delivery (on orders of $35 or more), free shipping, discounts on gas and more. (Plus Ups are excluded.)

The membership costs $12.95 per month, plus any local sales tax, so the Amex Platinum statement credits essentially mean cardmembers can enjoy complimentary membership. Enrollment required.

Finally, Amex Platinum cardholders now have free access to Paramount+ as part of their Walmart+ subscription.

Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees).

Current welcome bonus: 100,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Because we value Membership Rewards at 2 cents each, we estimate this welcome offer to be worth $2,000 in travel.

Standout perks: This card is loaded with other annual statement credits, too. For example, cardmembers can expect:

Up to $200 in annual hotel credit on prepaid Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings with Amex Travel when you pay with your Amex Platinum. A minimum two-night stay is required for The Hotel Collection.
Up to $200 in annual statement credits for incidental fees charged by one airline you select.
Up to $200 in Uber Cash for U.S. services per calendar year, split into monthly $15 credits for U.S. rides (with a $20 bonus in December).

Enrollment is required for select benefits. Read our Amex Platinum review for more details.

Apply: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Related: Your ultimate guide to saving money with Amex Offers

Chase Freedom Flex

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Rewards at Walmart: The Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom (no longer available to new applicants) offer rotating 5% bonus categories each calendar quarter (up to $1,500 in purchases). From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, you’ll earn 5% back (5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar) with PayPal and Walmart on up to $1,500 in spending (1% back after that; activation required by Dec. 14). That means you can earn up to $75 back by maxing out this current bonus.

Annual fee: $0.

Current welcome bonus: $200 cash back (20,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. 

Standout perks: This no-annual-fee card offers cell phone protection when you use it to pay your monthly bill. You’ll receive $800 in coverage per claim for theft or damage (maximum two claims and up to $1,000 total in a 12-month period). You may have to pay a $50 deductible, which is significantly lower than some other cards that offer phone protection.

Read our review of the Chase Freedom Flex to learn more.

Apply: Chase Freedom Flex

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

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Rewards at Walmart: The Capital One Venture Rewards offers unlimited 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, including at Walmart — a great option if you prefer a low-annual-fee card without a lot of bells and whistles.

Annual fee: $95.

Current welcome bonus: 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

Standout perks: Aside from unlimited 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, you’ll also earn unlimited 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel — plus no foreign transaction fees, an up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck, two free lounge visits per year and more.

Read our review of the Capital One Venture Rewards to learn more.

Apply: Capital One Venture Rewards

Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard

Rewards at Walmart: Perhaps the best option for Walmart loyalists, this card offers 5% cash back on Walmart.com including pickup and delivery and 2% back in Walmart stores, at restaurants and on travel.

Annual fee: $0.

Current welcome bonus: 5% cash back in Walmart stores for the first 12 months after approval when you use your card with Walmart Pay.

Standout perks: This card doesn’t have much in the way of perks, aside from its bonus categories, which means you’ll have to be spending a lot of time (and money) at Walmart to get a solid return.

Read our review of the Capital One Walmart Rewards.

Citi Double Cash Card

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Rewards at Walmart: Earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% back as you buy and 1% back when you pay.

Annual fee: $0.

Current welcome bonus: Earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.

Standout perks: Again, not much in the way of additional perks here — although if you’re looking for a simple, no-annual-fee option to boost shopping savings (or all savings, for that matter), the Citi Double Cash is a great pick.

Read our review of the Citi Double Cash.

Apply: Citi Double Cash

Stack credit card rewards with Shopping portals

Shopping portals are one of the most effective tools for saving money on purchases you planned to make anyway. When you begin shopping through an online portal, you will see the offers available for specific merchants, and then when you click on one, you will be redirected to the merchant’s actual website. The portal will track your spending and reward you when it identifies that you’ve made a purchase.

Shopping portals are handy because they give you the opportunity to earn rewards from more than one source. You’ll earn bonus points or cash back from the portal, but you’ll also earn any rewards your credit card racks up.

For example, Rakuten usually offers around 2% cash back per dollar in certain categories with Walmart (this offer could increase or decrease without warning), which you could combine with your credit card bonuses for some pretty massive savings.

You can use a shopping portal aggregator like Cashback Monitor to find high returns as well.

Holiday extended return policy

If you needed more proof that shopping at Walmart can be worth your time, the company’s just announced an extended holiday return window: All eligible purchases made on or after Oct. 1, 2022 can be returned through Jan. 31, 2023.

That comes alongside a new curbside return policy, allowing customers to return items without leaving their cars, and a new option where Walmart+ members near select stores can have returns picked up right from their doorstep — perfect for busy Amex Platinum Card Members this holiday season.

Bottom line

If at all possible, Walmart is a store worth directing your purchases through right now if you have one of the following cards:

The Platinum Card® from American Express
Chase Freedom Flex
Capital One Venture Rewards
Capital One Walmart Rewards
Citi Double Cash

These cards offer a great return at Walmart (though some are restricted to online purchases), and you can earn even more by stacking these returns with an online shopping portal.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.