I applied for the Paypal Mastercard a few days ago, but was approved for the PayPal Smart Connect line of credit instead. As some of you know my credit is not that great, but I’ve been able to gradually bring my scores up. I’ve been approved for an Ally Auto Loan and now this line of credit since I started rebuilding with two secured cards (CapOne and BOA), about a year and a half ago.
Why I chose Paypal? I’ve been active as an occasional eBay buyer and seller for the past ten years and I use PayPal every month to pay for different services (from domain name renewals and online memberships to sometimes accepting payments associated with my occupation). I thought either the Paypal Mastercard or PayPal Smart Connect would be a great option for me to continue rebuilding. It would also help my credit mix as I currently do not have any retail cards and I didn’t want to get just any retail card for the sake of having one.
For those of you who haven’t heard about it before, PayPal Smart Connect is an online credit line offered through GE Capital Retail Bank (GECRB). It’s not an actual credit card, but a line of credit that’s linked to your PayPal account. It has no annual fee and can be used anywhere PayPal is accepted. If you have a Paypal debit card, you can link this line of credit as your backup fund and pretty much use your debit card as a credit card. Aditionally, your PayPal debit card will earn you a 1% cash back from every purchase (not a lot but at least something).
PayPal Smart Connect has a pretty high APR (26.99%), but as I said before, I will use it to keep rebuilding and will pay in full every month, so I don’t really care about its APR. Also, I’ve read comments from other people with PayPal Smart Connect saying you can request credit line increases every four statements. This is an automated request done through the phone with no hard pull, so I’m looking forward to that. I appreciate when banks let you grow and reward you for being responsible.
Now for the details:
Application Date: Late May, 2012
Account Type: Retail Card/Credit Card
Credit Report Pulled: TransUnion
My Score when Approved: 656 (Experian)
Line of Credit Approved: $500
Current Line of Credit: $3500
2012 Timeline
- June: Applied for PayPal’s Mastercard.Approved for PayPal Smart Connect instead. $500 CL.
- August: Received $300 automatic increase after using it a lot during first 2 statements. New credit limit: $800.
- December: Requested a credit line increase through their automated phone service. Received a $500 increase for a new credit limit of $1300.
2013 Timeline
- April: Requested a credit line increase through their automated phone service. Received a $200 increase for a new credit limit of $1500.
- August: Requested a credit line increase through their automated phone service. Received a $2000 increase for a new credit limit of $3500.
PROS: Got an automatic credit line increase after only two statements. After this, I’ve been approved for credit line increases every 4 statements. GE is known to be generous about giving credit line increases and apparently you can request one every 4 months/statements. This is all done through their customer service number. It’s automated, painless and they only do a soft pull.
CONS: No physical credit card given, but line of credit can be linked to your PayPal debit card which can then be used as a regular credit card.
OVERALL REVIEW: I was initially approved for a $500 credit line. This was my first unsecured credit approval in years. I’ve had this line of credit for a little over a year and my credit line is currently at $3500. Along with a couple of other credit cards, this PayPal card offered by GE has helped me rebuild and re-establish my credit. I use PayPal Smart connect often for eBay purchases and other PayPal payments. I’m hoping that eventually I’ll be able to product change this card to a PayPal Mastercard (but at the moment it looks like this is not possible).
I will update this review again when or if I have something new to add. Please feel free to ask questions, add comments or share your experience with this line of credit.
Do not get pay pal connect card it is a rip off. used it once payed off balance and then cancelled. Then I got a bill for 25.00 as a late charge because I paid my balance 3 days late.
Ed, sorry to hear about your late charge. I haven’t had any problems with Paypal. I’ve learned my lesson and I always pay my credit cards on time. Any credit card company will eat you alive if you pay late. Also, opening and closing credit accounts like that can hurt your credit score. I think PayPal Smart Connect is a good option for people who use PayPal a lot and don’t have great credit.
I have been very fortunate to use PayPal Smart Connect for many of my business and personal transactions. They are easy to deal with and seem to always be there when I run into any snags. I’m sure they would still charge me obnoxious late fees if I ever was late but that is why I use an automatic payment system.
Overall, I like what they do for me and I would endorse their services.
I got a smart connect card too with an 800.00 credit limit. I have not been able to make purchases with anyone who accepts PayPal. I spent over two hours on the phone being bounced back and forth between PayPal and GE trying to figure it out. I was told that the card could not be used anywhere PayPal was accepted. Can someone tell me how to use the card?
Thanks in advance
Hey LMM,
There are two ways you can use PayPal Smart Connect:
1. If you are buying anything online and paying with PayPal, you can chose Smart Connect to be your funding source. If PayPal Smart Connect is not showing up as a payment option go to PayPal Smart Connect->View Card Details->Update Account Preferences and chose the option: “When available, PayPal Smart Connect is your preferred way to pay with PayPal”. I use it all the time. But you need to proceed as if you are going to pay with PayPal, then select Smart Connect to pay, just like you would select say your credit card or checking account…
2. If you have a PayPal debit card, you can link your PayPal Smart Connect to your debit card and pretty much use it as a credit card at any store accepting Mastercard or online (even if PayPal is not accepted). You need to make sure you do not have any money in your PayPal account, otherwise it’ll use your available balance first. To select Smart Connect as your back up fund: go to PayPal Debit MasterCard®-> and select Backup payment method: Line of Credit for your PayPal Smart Connect. I’ve done this so I know it works! If you don’t have a debit card and are interested in doing this, you need to request a debit card from PayPal.
Hope this helps.
We applied for the smart connect and was approved S well. We started out with a 500$ line of credit ( 6 months ago) and the raised to 700 then 1700. With out us even knowing. I am curious to why they raise it soo ofter? We do use it alot but only for small purchases
Hey Andy,
From what I’ve read online GE seems to be very generous about giving credit line increases (if you pay on time and don’t max out your credit). They must like that you are using it a lot and by extending your credit line, they probably hope that you use it even more.
Everyone needs to wrap their minds around this. I got penalized for paying my bill early. Think about that for moment… Now here is the full story. For my very first payment I knew would be due late December 2013-Early January 2014, I paid on December 13, 2013 so I would not have to think about it during the holidays and figured that’s what responsible people do. PayPal does not acknowledge the payment because it was received 2 days before the billing cycle. As a “reward” for being responsible, they charged a late fee and said I am past due because they did not receive a payment on January 5 (even though they quickly posted my payment 12/13/13 that was to go to my first payment due). I do not recommend Paypal Smart Connect to anyone. It has turned out to be not so smart on my part. Their billing practices are appalling!
I would think that it would be easier to have an automatic payment being release on the actual DUE DATE of the card.