Venmo Offers 5% Cash Back On Some Brands — If You’ll Jump Through Some Hoops

PayPal’s Venmo made a splash with its 3/2/1 credit card, which awarded cash back based on top spending categories. But its latest move into cashback rewards isn’t on credit; it’s on debit. Borrowing from the rewards model popularized by competitor Cash App, cardholders can earn up to 5% cash back at brands like Uber, Amazon, or Walmart — if they’re willing to jump through a few hoops.

• The company’s new Venmo Stash program gives spenders the option to pick “curated bundles” of top brands, which can earn cashback with the company’s Debit Mastercard.
• By default, purchases earn 1%, but cardholders can earn 2% for turning on auto reloads — and 5% (up to $100/mo) if they send a direct deposit of at least $500 to Venmo.

Is it worth it? If you don’t have an affinity for the various brands in Venmo’s bundles, a solid cash back credit card might do you more good. But for those looking to optimize a little more — say, with a big retailer like Walmart — the opportunity to earn back 5% of up to $2K in purchases from Venmo’s bundles might be budgeting $500 in your direct deposit settings to unlock those savings.