Walmart+ is Walmart's $98-a-year membership program. It bundles free delivery on qualifying orders, 10¢-a-gallon fuel discounts, Paramount+ streaming, and mobile scan-and-go. It does not give you cash back on purchases. So the honest question is: does the value of the perks beat what a 5% cashback card returns on the same spending?
What Walmart+ is actually worth
- Free delivery: valued at $7–$10 per order. Break-even at roughly 12 delivery orders per year.
- Fuel discount: 10¢/gallon at participating stations. A typical two-car household filling 60 gallons a month saves about $72 per year.
- Paramount+ Essential: $7.99/month retail, or $95.88/year — only valuable if you'd otherwise pay for it.
- Scan-and-go: time savings, not dollars.
Add up realistic value for a household that uses delivery occasionally and doesn't want Paramount+: roughly $120–$150 in usable perks per year, net of the $98 fee.
What a 5% cashback card returns
The Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard pays 5% on Walmart.com and the Walmart app. A household spending $400/month online at Walmart earns $240/year in cash back with no membership fee.
The answer: they're not competing
Walmart+ pays you in perks; the card pays you in cash. You can stack them. If you already have Walmart+ for the delivery, adding the 5% card is pure upside — the card still earns 5% on Walmart+ delivery orders.
Decision framework
- Order delivery 12+ times per year? Walmart+ pays for itself. Keep it and add the 5% card.
- Order delivery under 6 times a year and don't want Paramount+? Skip Walmart+, use the 5% card and pay the occasional delivery fee.
- Between 6 and 12? Do the math on your last 12 months of Walmart delivery orders — the fees are itemized on each receipt.
What we don't recommend
Buying Walmart+ solely for the Paramount+ perk. If you want the streaming service, subscribe directly and use a cashback card. You'll come out ahead unless you also use the delivery benefit regularly.