Update 11/2/24: Tech is now showing up for November. Hat tip to Eternal Blue
PayPal has launched a new debit card where cardholders can choose one category to earn 5% cash back on, up to a limit of $1,000 per month in spend. Currently it seems that the card is invite only mode and you can check your PayPal account to see if you’re eligible Available to everybody now. Some things to note:
- There is no annual fee
- You have to select your category each month, otherwise you won’t earn 5%
- Categories you can choose are here:
- Grocery
- Dining
- Gas
- Clothing
- Health/beauty
- Full terms here
Similar to
hwufeh (or one of the three), my debit card also appears to be – I’m assuming? – blocked at grocery stores, or at least the one with MO available in my area. As of yesterday it showed a “Not Authorized” error twice at customer service, and the same error soon after for a $3.99 PIN-based purchase at the same store. The $3.99 went through when it was run as credit though.
I haven’t used the card very much: once in January for a $995 grocery MO, once in December at Best Buy, once for crypto, no activity otherwise. I guess a ~$1000 PIN-based transaction at a grocery store is distinctive enough.
It looks like Health & Beauty is no longer an available category, at least for me. It was the category I had selected last month, so I wonder if they swap the available options each month.
Categories for April 2025 are Apparel, Fuel, Groceries, Restaurants, Rideshare and Public Transit.
How useful is that category? Does it work to pay Copay at doctor’s office etc.?
Haven’t been able to redeem 5000 points I earned back from buying MO at a grocery store. Am I blocked/locked/caught or its truly tech glitch?
I am also not able to redeem 1000 points that I earned with “Pay in 4” offer. I get “ something went wrong” error. I have reported this to their support team. Lets see.
I was just able to redeem them now. Try again.
You are right, it worked for me too. Thanks.
I didn’t even remember that it used to not be available to everyone. I’m pretty sure that it’s been available to everyone for months but
William Charles never updated the article.
BTW, did you find out about this post from my comment here: #2029424 ? If so, I would recommend that you sign up just like I did to Mark!
Updated
Don’t you want to put a link in the post?
Sure, added
Are there definitions for cashback besides the listed 5% categories?
Eg, unlimited 1% blanket rewards for everything?
AFAIK, it doesn’t give any CB for purchases that don’t fall into the 5% category that you choose. You also don’t receive any additional CB if/when you reach the $50 maximum per month.
Thanks for the reply. I must be confusing this product with the paypal mastercard credit card? I was under the impression the debit card earned 3% on paypal purchase..
Does the gas category only work for gas stations and not like paying a gas bill (propane)?
Yes I would assume only road fuel from a service station. Natural gas and/or propane bill would most likely be classified as utilities if that was a category.
For the debit cards rewards, does it ever take time to show up? Used for eating out and one posted points immediately while another transaction did not show points so far ( about 24 hours). Thanks
Might depend on how the card was processed. Debit cards can be processed as “Debit” or “Credit”… which can impact the cost to the merchant, cost to the issuing bank, speed in the transaction to post, and if you need to use your PIN or not. Two completely different networks/systems to access the same account.
More than likely you will get your rewards… let us know what you find out.
Mark
Reminder to pick a cashback category today
Chuck 
William Charles
As a data point, my debit card was blocked for buying $500 money orders and customer service refused to lift the system generated security block. Nice while it lasted.
Where were you buying your MOs at? I wouldn’t give up on it yet. You might just have to find a different MO avenue.
They wrote that their debit card was blocked, not that they didn’t receive the 5% CB…
I took it that they refused to remove the security block from making that same purchase but I figured he can still use his card elsewhere or not related to the 5% category. Dude I wasn’t even talking about not receiving the 5% CB……obviously I know the transaction didn’t go through.
I get it that we get the debit card to only use it for the 5% CB but the first thing you do when trying to figure out the issue is to see if the card is completely toast for purchasing things outside of that merchant… OP just wants to give up so oh well.
I ended up filing a complaint through CFPB and they gave a wishy-washy answer about a security issue. They reinstantiated my account but I have not MSed since then.
What does a security issue even mean? Did you confirm if you are able to use it to purchase a “normal” transaction?
How did you become aware that they’ve blocked your debit card? Did you get an email from PayPal? Is your entire account shut down?
My card would get declined at grocery stores. I did not try at other merchants. On calling, the phone agent said that there was a security issue they couldn’t lift on the account and gave useless advice to use another card at the store.
anyone know the category for 5% uber cashback?
Like for rideshare rides? Just click on an Uber offer instead. Plenty of other cards that offer Uber/Lyft discount.