PayPal Debit card with 5% categories?!

[OmarR]

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@Wavester64 wrote:

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@unsungivy wrote:

Oh wow, I missed that someone got around to testing Costco.com for Groceries. That's been on my to-do list for awhile! This is truly the BEST Groceries category option card out there!

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Does it work for Costco (in store) as well?

How about Walmart+ online? Does that trigger the 5% under Groceries?

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It did work for me in-store at Costco. But it did NOT work at the gas station, which is what I expected. I use my Abound VISA anyways, so that does not bother me. But if one wanted to, they can just purchase a cash/gift card inside the store and use that to purchase gas.

[Wandering]

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@OmarR wrote:

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@Wavester64 wrote:

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@unsungivy wrote:

Oh wow, I missed that someone got around to testing Costco.com for Groceries. That's been on my to-do list for awhile! This is truly the BEST Groceries category option card out there!

---

Does it work for Costco (in store) as well?

How about Walmart+ online? Does that trigger the 5% under Groceries?

---

It did work for me in-store at Costco. But it did NOT work at the gas station, which is what I expected. I use my Abound VISA anyways, so that does not bother me. But if one wanted to, they can just purchase a cash/gift card inside the store and use that to purchase gas.

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I wonder why that would be. I use the PP Debit with the gas catagory at the Costco pumps for 5% flawlessly.

[OmarR]

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@Wandering wrote:

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@OmarR wrote:

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@Wavester64 wrote:

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@unsungivy wrote:

Oh wow, I missed that someone got around to testing Costco.com for Groceries. That's been on my to-do list for awhile! This is truly the BEST Groceries category option card out there!

---

Does it work for Costco (in store) as well?

How about Walmart+ online? Does that trigger the 5% under Groceries?

---

It did work for me in-store at Costco. But it did NOT work at the gas station, which is what I expected. I use my Abound VISA anyways, so that does not bother me. But if one wanted to, they can just purchase a cash/gift card inside the store and use that to purchase gas.

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I wonder why that would be. I use the PP Debit with the gas catagory at the Costco pumps for 5% flawlessly.

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I should have clarified:

I have mine setup for Groceries. So only the in-store purchases trigger it.

[Wandering]

This month I changed the Paypal Debit Category from gas back to grocery.

Went shopping tonight and found:

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Sam’s Club

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Target

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Costco (reconfirmed)

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Grocery Store (go figure)

Does Not code as grocery at CVS

Does Not code as grocery at Ollie's

[UncleB]

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@Wandering wrote:

This month I changed the Paypal Debit Category from gas back to grocery.

Went shopping tonight and found:

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Sam’s Club

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Target

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Costco (reconfirmed)

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Grocery Store (go figure)

Does Not code as grocery at CVS

Does Not code as grocery at Ollie's

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Good to know about Ollie's not coding as grocery.

I can also reconfirm that in addition to Target, target.com codes as grocery as well.  This continues to be a pleasant surprise that I'll take advantage of for as long as it works.

Edited to add:  samsclub.com codes as grocery as well.

[DoppelgangerD]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Wandering wrote:

This month I changed the Paypal Debit Category from gas back to grocery.

Went shopping tonight and found:

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Sam’s Club

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Target

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Costco (reconfirmed)

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Grocery Store (go figure)

Does Not code as grocery at CVS

Does Not code as grocery at Ollie's

---

Good to know about Ollie's not coding as grocery.

I can also reconfirm that in addition to Target, target.com codes as grocery as well.  This continues to be a pleasant surprise that I'll take advantage of for as long as it works.

Edited to add:  samsclub.com codes as grocery as well.

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Codes as grocery for Costco online too. I read it on Reddit and placed an order yesterday to confirm.

I also tried it a month or so ago at Dollar General and that did NOT code as grocery. 

[UncleB]

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@DoppelgangerD wrote:

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Wandering wrote:

This month I changed the Paypal Debit Category from gas back to grocery.

Went shopping tonight and found:

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Sam’s Club

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Target

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Costco (reconfirmed)

Codes as Grocery for 5% at Grocery Store (go figure)

Does Not code as grocery at CVS

Does Not code as grocery at Ollie's

---

Good to know about Ollie's not coding as grocery.

I can also reconfirm that in addition to Target, target.com codes as grocery as well.  This continues to be a pleasant surprise that I'll take advantage of for as long as it works.

Edited to add:  samsclub.com codes as grocery as well.

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Codes as grocery for Costco online too. I read it on Reddit and placed an order yesterday to confirm.

I also tried it a month or so ago at Dollar General and that did NOT code as grocery. 

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Yeah, same here on the 'no' with Dollar General... I admit that one did surprise me a bit (considering what else PP Debit is letting slide as groceries).

[ptatohed]

I have a general question about using debit cards, like this PP debit card.... when using a debit card for regular spending (I never do), don't you need to keep a lot of money in the checking account at/near 0% interest at all times to cover whatever spend you may do? Or is there something I am missing?

[DoppelgangerD]

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@ptatohed wrote:
I have a general question about using debit cards, like this PP debit card.... when using a debit card for regular spending (I never do), don't you need to keep a lot of money in the checking account at/near 0% interest at all times to cover whatever spend you may do? Or is there something I am missing?

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 That's true, but in this specific case, you can tie PayPal to another account, and then use the debit card from that account to fund the PayPal account just before purchase.

(Some savings accounts will let you have/use a debit card too.)

Ironically, PayPal also offers a savings account that's goes through Synchrony Bank.

(Yes I know, synchrony, yuck, but its currently at 4% which is better than most other savings currently.)

Anyway, you could store some money there...

...then, go into the PP app where you can easily see both accounts, and just before making purchases, transfer what you need from savings -> PP account.

AFAIK, this is the only way to transfer money instantly to PP from another account without using a debit card, but it's kind of a neat hack to keep your money earning interest.

[Tlnr2f]

I just transfer money from my main checking acct with SoFi (using my debit card) to my PP acct before using it for whatever purchase I'm about to make. The transfer is instant and free. 

Another option PP offers is to auto-transfer an amount of your choosing anytime your PP balance falls below a set limit (which you also get to decide). For example, you could set it to automatically transfer $100 anytime it drops below $50, or something like that.