Walmart Business Credit Card Review, Plus Top Alternatives

On those days when you look up and realize you’re out of office supplies, cleaning gear, and you need to stock up for the company’s annual picnic, where do you go to get your shopping done? If you frequently head to Walmart or Walmart.com for your business needs, then you might be considering the Walmart Business Credit Card.

By using this credit card for some of your essential purchases, you’ll be able to build your business’s credit history and credit score. However, with all of the business credit cards available, how do you know that (even as a frequent shopper) the Walmart Business Credit Card is right for you? Will this card save you money? Will you earn cash back with your purchases? These are important things to consider when looking at Walmart’s Business Credit Card—and this review is here to help.

We’ll take a hard look at the Walmart Business Credit Card, an in-store charge card that you or your employees can use only at Walmart stores, Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, Walmart.com, Murphy USA gas stations, and Sam’s Clubs. We’ll break down everything you need to know, as well as the pros and cons of getting this card. Additionally, we’ll explain another of Walmart’s credit card offerings, as well as top business credit card alternatives.

The Walmart Business Credit Card is meant to help small businesses manage their spending and separate their business and personal expenses. This is a store card, meaning that you can only use it in-store or online at Walmart stores, Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, Walmart.com, Murphy USA gas stations, and Sam’s Clubs.

Although you are limited to those options, there is a lot included under that one umbrella. Walmart carries a vast array of products, plus they have a myriad of locations across the country—giving you access to all of their merchandise across many regions.

One of the factors you always want to look at when choosing a credit card is the fees. The Walmart Business Credit Card for store purchases has no annual fee. Additionally, as you might expect, this card doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees—not that this is of particular concern unless you’re visiting an international Walmart and plan on using your card there.

The APR for the Walmart Business Credit Card is fairly straightforward. The rate for purchases is currently 17.05% and will vary depending on the prime market rate. You have a grace period of 26 days if you make a payment in full each time.

Regardless of your credit history, you’ll pay a delinquent APR for late or missed payments. The delinquency rate is 24.99% if you don’t make your minimum payment by the due date twice in any six billing periods consecutively.

As for late payment fees, it’s $29 for new balances of a minimum of $50, and $15 for any amount less than that. These late payment fees are not too high if you think you’ll carry a balance. Of course, you don’t have to worry about any of these rates if you intend on paying off the entire statement balance in full and on time every month.

Now that we’ve gone through the basics of this business credit card, let’s break down the benefits.

First, you can use the Walmart Business Credit Card to help you better manage your purchases, since you receive an itemized monthly statement. This will be great for accounting purposes, as it will help you keep track of every Walmart purchase. With this statement, you’ll be able to see exactly where you’re spending the most—which is perfect for business budgeting or trying to trace your spending patterns. Plus, by using the credit card and paying off your bill on time, you’ll be improving your business credit score.

Additionally, since the card can only be used at Walmart, you’ll have a sense of security with your employees—knowing that by giving it to them—they can only use it there. Furthermore, in comparison to other business credit cards, it may be easier for you to get approved for the Walmart card, especially if you’re looking for an easy line of credit to spend at your go-to store.

To be quite honest, there is not much substance to the Walmart Business Credit Card. Since you can only use the card at Walmart, it’s essentially a line of credit for Walmart without any additional perks or benefits. Whereas other business credit cards offer perks like welcome bonuses, cash back, discounts, and more, the Walmart Business Credit Card has none of these.

The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard for consumers, on the other hand, offers discounts and rewards that the business credit card does not. (We’ll discuss this in more detail below.) The consumer rewards card gives you 5%, 3%, and 1% back in the form of rewards on certain categories—plus this card can be used not only for Walmart purchases but also wherever Mastercard is accepted. Although the Walmart Business Credit Card may be helpful if you need it from a cash flow standpoint, it certainly doesn’t give you the option to truly make the most out of your card.

Now that we’ve broken down the pros and cons of this card, let’s look at what kind of businesses are best-suited for the Walmart Business Credit Card. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it’s hard to say that this card would be the absolute best possible choice for any small business. Look at the facts:

• No benefits, rewards, or discounts
• No breaks for late payments, regardless of credit standing
• No ability to use beyond the Walmart family of stores
• Not even the best Walmart credit card out there

In other words, small businesses really can’t get much use out of this card. The card is simply a line of credit—and although it shouldn’t be too hard to get approved for— if you’re spending on a business credit card, you might as well get something in return.

As we mentioned above, however, it could be beneficial to limit your employees’ spending to one store. But if you’re really concerned with limiting their purchasing power, there are other options you can explore, including a prepaid card, like Bento for Business. Otherwise, this card is probably best suited for a regular Walmart customer who is looking for a simple credit card to establish business credit.

If you’re really interested in a Walmart credit card, it’s worth thinking about their consumer Rewards Mastercard from Capital One. In September 2019, Walmart announced a complete overhaul of their consumer credit card program—which included switching providers from Synchrony Bank (which supplies the Walmart Business Credit Card) to Capital One.^[1]

With the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard, Walmart actually provides a more robust alternative to their own business credit card. To explain, first and foremost, this card gives you the option of spending outside of Walmart’s network of stores and provides notable rewards. With this card, you can earn:

• 5% back on purchases at Walmart.com and the Walmart app, including Walmart grocery pickup and delivery
• 2% back on Walmart purchases in stores and at Walmart and Murphy USA Fuel Stations
• 2% back on restaurants and travel
• 1% percent back everywhere else

There is no annual fee with this card, no foreign transaction fees, and you can redeem your rewards at any time for travel, gift cards, during online checkout at Walmart.com, for recent purchases, and statement credits. Additionally, Walmart has a special introductory offer with this card where you can receive 5% back on in-store purchases when using Walmart Pay for the first 12 months after opening your account.

The rewards on this card never expire and there is no cap on the rewards you can earn. The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard will have a variable APR of 17.99%, 23.24%, or 26.99%, based on your creditworthiness.

Although your APR might be higher, this Walmart Rewards Mastercard certainly has benefits above and beyond their business credit card. Moreover, if you’re interested in a credit card that can only be used for Walmart purchases—similar to the Walmart Business Credit Card—Walmart also offers the consumer Walmart Rewards Card from Capital One.

Like the Walmart Business Credit Card, the Walmart Rewards Card from Capital One can only be used for Walmart purchases; however, it does offer some additional rewards benefits that the Walmart Business Credit Card does not.^[2] With this card, you can earn:

• 5% back on purchases made at Walmart.com or in the Walmart mobile app
• 2% back on purchases made at Walmart stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and at Walmart and Murphy USA gas stations
• 2% back on the purchase of gift cards at Walmart (online, app, Walmart Pay or in stores)

Plus, like with the Rewards Mastercard, this card has an introductory offer of 5% back on purchases made at Walmart stores using Walmart Pay within the first 12 months of opening your account.

Also, this credit card has no annual fee, your rewards never expire, and there is no cap on the rewards you can earn. The APR on this card, however, is higher than the Walmart Rewards Mastercard, at a variable rate of 26.99%.

While neither of these Walmart credit cards is designed specifically for businesses, their impressive rewards make either a better option than the Walmart Business Credit Card—if you’re looking for a credit card specifically from Walmart.

However, there are certainly other credit cards—those that are designed particularly for businesses—that can strike a great balance between rewards and other features. Let’s check out a few other options:

If you tend to carry balances and are concerned about APR, the American Express Blue Business Plus might be a great pick for you. At 12 months, this business credit card carries one of the longest 0% intro APR periods on the market—meaning you can go interest-free on any balance you carry during that period. After the 12 months are over, a variable APR kicks in, depending on the prime market rate and your creditworthiness, so you’ll want to be sure to check the AMEX terms and conditions.

Furthermore, you can use this card anywhere that accepts American Express cards and not just at Walmart. So, that’s a definite benefit of this card—but you’ll also be earning rewards, too. For every dollar you spend, you’ll earn 2x rewards, up to $50,000 annually, after which, you’ll earn 1x rewards points on every dollar.

You can redeem these rewards for nearly anything, including merchandise and travel—which could be particularly impactful for your business. Plus, there’s no annual fee on this card, so it’s certainly worth considering.

What’s more, for a limited time, you can earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.

One of the pros of the Walmart Business Credit Card is its simplicity. There are no complicated terms, rewards, or spending categories to keep track of. If you want more from your business credit card, but don’t have the time or desire to track your benefits, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business card might be for you.

The Spark Cash card is one of the simplest cash back rewards cards available to business owners. You get unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases—each day, every day with no cap. Also, if you travel abroad, there are no foreign transaction fees.

Another perk of this business credit card is the generous welcome offer. You also get free employee cards, meaning that you earn rewards on what they spend as well.

This card has an annual fee of $95, but Capital One waves it for the first year. Therefore, not only can you try out this card without risk, but if you qualify for the signup bonus, the fee is covered for the next five years.

The Bento for Business card, which we mentioned earlier, is a little different from the previous two. Unlike the American Express Blue Plus and Capital One Spark Cash cards, Bento is a prepaid business credit card. Similar to the Walmart Business Credit Card, this card is simple and offers no rewards—it’s just a line of credit.

But the difference here is that when you sign up for Bento, your card is hooked up to your business bank account. Therefore, you supply the funds for the card yourself, securely transferring cash directly onto the card to fund your credit line. If your biggest concern is employee spending, this card lets you set limits (since you choose how much goes on the card at any given time), but also allows for flexibility.

With this Bento card, you can easily set spending limits, track card activity, automatically integrate expense data into your bookkeeping software, and create as many cards as your business needs. This way, you can carefully monitor your finances, but also give your employees the ability to spend outside of Walmart.

Plus, Bento offers a 60-day free trial and does not require a credit check when you apply. The lack of a credit check also makes this card a particularly worthy option for those who have poor credit and are looking to improve their credit score. It’s important to note, however, that you will have to pay a monthly fee based on the number of cards you require.

Ultimately, you might want to seriously consider your other options before filling out a Walmart Business Credit Card application. Although you may be a frequent Walmart shopper who wants a simple, straightforward business credit card, there are cards out there that meet both of those requirements—including the Walmart consumer credit cards—plus give you added benefits.

Every dollar can help your small business, so you should pick a credit card with intention—one that’s going to help you earn rewards, points, or discounts, or lets you control spending with a degree of flexibility that isn’t also limiting. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide which business credit card is right for your business, but it’s worth remembering that there are plenty of options that will give you more than the Walmart Business Credit Card can.