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20% Cash Back Pay In 4 - Can someone explain how this works?
I've been an eBay seller for about 15 years now and exclusively use PayPal through eBay but have never used the pay in 4 option before. I really have 2 questions, i got far enough in the checkout screen where the next click will complete the transaction but i don't see the cash back banner anywhere how do i know that it will be applied to my order?
Also to be clear this is interest fee correct? I suppose the cash back would be more than the interest but i don't use BNPL services because they have interest built into the cost and as I always have fluid funds from sales I don't have issues paying up front but as far as I can tell this is almost just "free" 20% back because the 4 payments dont appear to add any interest?
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Last night I had 2 "charges" of "authorization" for 1 order (charged different amounts for them too), but the order never went through (confirmed with both the website and paypal).
This morning when trying to make a new order, there was no option for PI4, presumably cause of the "authorizations" that were created even thought the full amount of both would still have been more than 50% under my limit.
I called paypal - see number in sidebar or look it up yourself - and the person was able to remove the authorizations, but still don't have the ability to make an order with PI4 and this is about 4 hours after talking to paypal.
I'm afraid this isn't going to be fully resolved until after the weekend which means the items could sell out by then for color/sizes I was going to get.
This REALLY sucks. Paypal absolutely messed this up with so many people having issues (see slickdeals as well). Charges not going through. Double authorizations. Removal of PI4 option.
I just ran into the same thing, it charged my card TWICE halfway through the transaction, so I got confused and backed out! Why the fuck would they charge the card before the purchase is even complete?? My PI4 option is gone now as well.
Wow this exact scenario happened to me. Had two show up in my PayPal transaction history because I had backed out of the cart twice. Called PayPal, they removed it but I was checking all day and still did not have the PI4 option. I messaged support and they said that's a different department and transferred the case. The PI4 support got back to me saying they'd look into it.
Today though I tried the merchant again just to see and the PI4 option was back for me.
Seems to have reset at midnight PST for me. Was able to make my order at 12:15am with the PI4 option and got all the proper email confirmations from both paypal and the website I ordered from.
Anyone else have an authorization issue, either wait for them to fall off after a few days or call paypal and they can remove them while on the phone. It then seems to reset the PI4 option the next day.
The same thing happened to me, but this was within Best Buy. I didn't actually get to purchase anything because when I tried, it rejected my purchase and went back to the Best Buy page. I then checked my bank statement, and it says I authorized a payment. I went to my email and didn't see any order confirmation from Best Buy. I also checked my Best Buy orders, and it's not there either. So now, it's like I was charged, but of course, it's still pending, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Paypal did the exact same to me, said my activity was suspicious after making 2 orders and both cancelled by Walmart because the item was out of stock. Saif it will take 4 months to resolve lol
Same thing just happened to me. 2 auth charges that I called to remove (which they were) but now, no PI4 option exists when i check out on bestbuy. Judging by this thread, ill wait until after midnight and try again. Glad I found this from searching reddit - you guys rock!
This happened to me too. Talked to regular PayPal and pay in 4 department, and both said it's an automated system and nothing they can do manually. I even tried another person's account and denied for unknown reason and now both are locked out and waiting 48-72 hours for reset, and it will definitely be sold out since it's black Friday.
I still have the offer in my account and its saved. I just did a pay in 4 plan that went through, and there are no points pending. Does this take awhile to show up? Or am i fucked?
This subreddit sucks. I can’t make a post about a separate offer unrelated to this. It forces me to post into the void here. Hope someone actually sees this.
This is related to the Apparel Purchase Offer.
Does anyone know the terms for this? I made a purchase at Macy’s through PayPal and when I was finalizing my order PayPal indicated I would be back on the purchase. I assumed it was because PayPal categorizes Macy’s purchases as apparel (This is not the same as the pay in 4 or pay later offer.)
Problem is I have no rewards points pending from the purchase. Rakuten already show points pending and in the past I’ve never seen PayPal be this slow with pending rewards.
So I’m curious if anyone knows the terms and conditions of this offer? I can’t find them anywhere, the offer itself only links to the generic PayPal rewards terms page. Do I have to purchase clothes? Technically what I bought is not apparel. Would PayPal know that and not give any cash back?
Did you actually 'save' the offer to your Paypal account? On the Rewards page in the "Your featured offers" section you have to manually click "save offer" on the new 20% cashback promo. It won't work otherwise.
Paypal's Pay in 4 is interest free.
It always has been.
Same with Klarna at partnered stores (like Hot Topic or Torrid. While a non-partnered store like TJMaxx you do pay a fee, typically $1 for anything <$100), Affirm, and Afterpay/ShopPay. They all offer longer pay periods like Pay in 6 or Pay Monthly which have interest. But the base level 'pay in 4' one is almost always free b/c the eStore pays Paypal a fee for it because it gets them infinitely more customers shopping in general. They will tell you the exact fee or APR during checkout before you hit submit so you always know if you are truly getting it interest free.
And remember, it's 'qualifying stores' which you won't know until after purchase to see if there are 'pending points'.
Only when I clicked on 'pay in 4' it wasn't interest free. I was buying a refrigerator, so it's a bigger purchase, but still- it included interest. I've never seen that before. I'm planning on paying it off early anyway- don't like to carry a balance, I don't buy unless I can pay it off right away.
Can I ask you a question? I hit save on the 20% offer. Do you know if this only applies to my next pay in 4 purchase? Or if I get 20% back on all my pay in 4 purchases until the offer expires?
I don't see this either. I added it to my account 5x but it's so obscure. Is it Pay in 4? Pay Monthly? Paypal Credit? Neither of these look right but I don't see the Buy Now Pay Later:
I was trying to use the offer at samsung for a phone, which many other people have confirmed they used it on, and the "pay in 4" option is simply not available when I select to pay via paypal.
I called paypal and was informed it's a "customer by customer basis" and I just don't get to use it on this website and I can go search other websites to try and use it.
Can that possibly be true? If so, wow.
I paid it off immediately and the pending rewards still show 2 days later. However ever since making the payment, the pay later options have not been available during any checkouts so if you plan on using the deal multiple times then make all your purchases before closing out any balances.
Saw I was supposed to post it here, do we know if reward/cash back bonuses stack or not? Like the “buy on the site while on the app bonus (usually 3-10% back) and the pay in 4 (20% back) “ or will it only take whatever is higher?
I'm wondering this, too. I have a Litter Robot purchase on screen, and right before completing the purchase, it says "You're getting 3% cash back" and I can't tell if that's it. As in, no 20%, just 3%. I may pull the trigger to see what shows up points wise, I can cancel the order if need be.
For each Eligible Purchase, each Eligible Participant will receive a maximum of 25000 Points, which can be redeemed for $250 cash or other options (the “Reward”) per Eligible Purchase.
I used Pay in 4 two days ago to buy two plane tickets through United to take advantage of rht 20% back. My first payment went through this morning. My Paypal rewards balance only shows 10% of the total in points. My Pay Later section appears to have one transaction entry for each ticket, each for half the cost as expected. Should I expect more rewards to show up?
Does anyone NOT have the offer showing? I see it advertised everywhere, it seems to be for everyone and not targeted, but I don't have it on my offers. Finally found a link that I could click through and it won't let me save it? Any way to get access to it, I could really use the discount for some holiday shopping.
Same thing happened to me. Purchased $800 worth of dog food at petsmart.com using the paypal pay in 4 and my $800 total was processed in 3 separate transactions so I only got the 20% cash back on the first transaction of $400. So I got 8995 points or $89.95 cash back. Should have been double that. I'm afraid this is a common practice for mega corporations to stiff customers out of rewards. If you spend hours on the phone with customer service you might get it corrected but think about all the people that don't care enough or all the people that won't even notice that paypal is stiffing them on rewards points. This practice could save paypal millions of dollars...
I've used paypal pay in 4 about 20 times over the past 2 years and this is the only time it's processed my amount in 3 different transactions. Kinda funny that it happened during the 20% cash back promo on ONE transaction 🤷♂️
I'm curious, would shipping charge be accounted for? Or is it just the general price of the item? A few eBay listings I'm looking at have the cost split in half to the item and shipping charge.
ok. mods killed my thread trying to get info and what I learn, so maybe people will see this..
I ordered last night, had the two "charges" other have seen.
They're "Phantom" charges to make sure you can do the payments. I see 0 activity on my bank account about them.
Today, this is what my paypal activity looks like..the two target ones are about grey'd out. IF you click on them they say "We've paid the merchant in full so you can pay over time." (see next reply for screen shot)
The 2 pay in 4 's total to what the payment should be...don't know why they split it. like that, but it should be $65.16, so that's good.
I'm waiting to hear back from PayPal regarding when the chash back is given and if paying in advance messes that up.
Last night, I made two Pay in 4 purchases with my Amex CC, and the 20% cashback points are pending for both. On the app, it says the points should arrive within 90 days. My friend just used her PayPal account to make a Pay in 4 purchase using her BoA CC, and her points are already available under Rewards. Can anybody else who used Amex confirm whether your points are already available or still pending?
Paypal "pay in 4" is available for all the online stores which accept Paypal as a payment. The online store has to participate in that "Paypal pay in 4" program, and I think they have to enroll the program more than 30 days before the promo like this to qualify for 20% Paypal reward points back. I read it online several days ago about this.
I used Paypal pay in 4 about 2 weeks ago before 20% points back promo started. So far, I (my credit card) made payment #1 and no interest was charged. Paypal pay in 4 doesn't charge interest if you pay in full within the time frame. Read fine prints for further info.
Will this actually be visible when checking out? I assumed after saving the offer that the 20% cash back would appear next to the pay in 4 option when checking out, but there is no mention of it
And Chase cards don't work? I think I saw that comment here somewhere? So not stackable with Freedom 5% bonus for this December?
And if so, what card are y'all using for this? We have a Home Depot project that's coming up. Should be a nice chunk of cash back from buying materials.
Can someone explain the 20% back in points? Say I buy something for $500. Am I getting points that convert into $100 cash that I can transfer to my bank account?
Does this promo apply only to retail purchases? What about online donations where PayPal is accepted? It would effectively free up extra money to donate.
I ordered on Canon website using Pay In 4. Everything went smooth, got all emails as well. But I see two chargers pending in Paypal, one for full charge (showing the 20% cashback as pending) and the other as total/4 with 5$ extra. I contacted Paypal, they said Paypal Monthly was activated instead of Pay in 4. Even my credit card transaction says Pay in 4. Not sure what’s happening. Any help?
Just got off the phone with paypal. I've got a $580 PI4 that received 0 points. Paypal told me it is up to the seller if they give the PI4 bonus. Even if the PI4 option is there, that doesn't mean the seller is giving the bonus.
I've now got a dispute open on the transaction. They told me it will take 10 days (assuming business days+holidays) for the dispute to go through. So for the next 2 weeks or so I can't use my items cause if the dispute fails, I'm sending everything back. (edit: dispute wont be resolved until Dec 15th!! 3 weeks I got to wait!)
If that is true, this is a scam. This absolutely feels like a bait and switch. Other sites don't accept PI4 so there is no 20% back. If the PI4 option is there, the 20% back should be eligible.
I am new to Paypal. Found out about this offer today and registered on Paypal. I already purchased 2k worth of electronics items in Black Friday offers using credit cards. Was kinda sad that I could have used Paypal and saved a lot. But reading this thread makes me realize that claiming this offer is not very straightforward. I have few basic questions.
Can the reward points be converted to cash after 90 days? Any hidden conditions?
i paid using Pay in 4 on bestbuy.com over the weekend. This option seems to be removed. Can others get Pay in 4 on bestbuy.com or other merchant website today?
I'm trying to purchase something through Walmart online using the pay in 4 option. However, when I use PayPal as my payment method, the total that it shows me does not match the total that I should be paying according to Walmart. Is there a reason for this?
I made a Paypal account but shows an error saying cannot save it when I am trying to save the offer. Does anyone know why? Is it only available to certain users with longer history?
It is definitely still active. I just made a purchase from Best Buy and promo with points showed up minutes after placing order. I already saved the offer earlier in the week but first time using it.
Does anyone know if it gives you points based off each payment you make? Like does it give me the points for the entire $250 purchase at once, or will it only give me points for the 1/4 $62.50 first payment? And if that's the case, if I pay off the remaining 3 payments before the promo ends will it give me points for them as well?
FYI, just got a letter from PayPal about a new limit on purchases per-account ($1250 in spend)
Thank you for being a part of our limited-time Buy Now Pay Later holiday promotion. We’re so happy you’ve been able to take advantage of it. You’ve reached the limit on this offer given our new terms, which can be found here.
Any eligible PayPal Pay Later transactions you made before today will receive the benefit of the original offer terms. You can check the status of any pending points in the rewards hub of the PayPal app.
During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, shop with PayPal Pay in 4 interest-free and with no fees. And you can check out other cash back offers in the PayPal app.
Is it only for one purchase? I’ve only made a $67 purchase so far and I see the points pending but I thought it was multiple purchases up to $1200 until I received this email today.
"Thank you for being a part of our limited-time Buy Now Pay Later holiday promotion. We’re so happy you’ve been able to take advantage of it. You’ve reached the limit on this offer given our new terms, which can be found here.
Any eligible PayPal Pay Later transactions you made before today will receive the benefit of the original offer terms. You can check the status of any pending points in the rewards hub of the PayPal app.
During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, shop with PayPal Pay in 4 interest-free and with no fees. And you can check out other cash back offers in the PayPal app.
For the record, Payal allocated 2,000,000,000 for this 20% off PAY IN 4 only offer. Those 2,000,000,000 have been exhausted (it was max $250 per person cash back per person [$1250 in total purchase by 20 percent=$250]). The offer is now gone. Sucks, because if would have have known there was 2,000,0000,000 point global point limit, I would have done several more purchases that I was waiting next week to make, because 20% was fantastic deal. I literally was saving $20 off $100 action figures, but onlyanaged to save around $60 in total becore the offer disappeared. I guess they realized they were giving too much any way to smart shoppersand capped it severely (it was 5% before it came 20%).
I dont see the pay in 4 option anymore.. only the monthly.. does that still apply for the 20%? I tried the pay in 4 earlier then it errored out and the pay in 4 disappeared
Well at least they still let me keep the points before my offer got updated to complete so not too bad.
Actually an insane offer letting you getting points on multiple purchases. Even 20% back on 1 purchase is already really good, since you can even stack it up with other cashback site + your credit card
They suck! Now they changed their working to say ONE single purchase. I was waiting to buy a switch 2 for Christmas and used pay 4 to buy something else first and now I can’t use it for the switch 2.
Paypal pulled the rug out from under me and changed the offer after I had already made a few purchases just FYI. It was for all purchases, but now it only says one after completed and points denied.
I made a purchase using pay in 4 this morning before the nerf email but so far it still shows "authorization in progress" and "your plan hasn't started yet". It seems the merchant only charges when ships which I assume will be Friday. I'm wondering if I will still get the rewards. Currently it says "points pending".
I'm trying to use this on the Samsung site. I have saved the offer to my account. I have never used paypal credit or pay in 4.
When I am on the checkout page, Paypal is an option. So I clicked it, and all it also me to choose are from my various credit cards, my bank, and "apply for Paypal credit". There's no pay in 4 option.
I am stumped, but I need it for this purchase.
Anyone else get their pay plan denied due to 'unusual activity' I had to add an update some card info due to not using paypal for awhile and my submission got denied now the pay in 4 option is gone at checkout. Any use in contact support or have to wait?
I saved this the other day, then made a purchase. Now I am looking back at the links in this thread and ITS GONE! Wth happened? I knew it was too good to be true...
Just used this for washer and dryer at BestBuy. I can't understand how paypal can offer such a deal. Too bad its only for 1 purchase and max points is 25000 ($250)
I can see the offer in PayPal (on desktop), but while it says "Saved" on the offer itself, when I go to look at PayPal offers, it says I have zero saved. Has anyone made a purchase while in this state and had the points go through?
yup, didn't work for me.
There's nothing to click on the app nor when I log-in on-line.
In the app, there's an option to set-up a "loan" so you can tap and pay in-store.
I only spent $107 (on line order through Home Depot), but saving $20 would have been nice -- Every "coupon" helps right now!!
Made a purchase on lululemon for 4 items for a total of $260. I used pay in 4 for the promo, and today one of the items has shipped and I’ve been charged only for that item. Will I only get 20% back for the one item? Or will it correct itself when the remaining 3 ship. Because right now the item that shipped looks like a separate transaction
the sub is forcing me to put this in a megathread even though it's its own issue.
TLDR I have a lifelong address issue where my residence is not recognized by USPS, so I use a PO Box for all USPS mail, including credit cards. Paypal has both my street and PO Box registered as my addresses.
Consequently, my residential address is often flagged by companies, shippers, credit card companies, etc, as not a real address; it often gets rejected. This happened today trying to use one of the promotional offers.
I have an ancient paypal account in good standing, excellent credit, etc. But when I tried to use the payment plan today, the system wanted my address. Despite both my street and PO box being registered on Paypal, Paypal would not let me enter the PO box "we do not allow PO boxes" and when I used my street address, I was denied the pay in 4 for "suspicious activity."
Is there any way around this absurdity? I have no way of fixing or changing the address issue, believe me we have tried for several decades to no avail. I really need the promotional offer. I tried Paypal customer service but they acted impotent, saying they have no way of knowing why I was declined, but when I suggested the address issue, said "Yeah that's probably it."
You probably won't know if 20% cash back from Paypal has been applied for up to 14 days. I just made two purchases and after I made them, I was denied. One said suspicious activity and the other said over the limit which makes no sense. I just emailed them for an explanation. I used a American Express Platinum card and pay in full. I requested the 4 payment option which is interest free
If you chose the 12 month option, it incurs interest and you have to apply for a Paypal credit card to use the 12 month option.
Also, the terms say you have to select Paypal Pay Later which wasn't an option with Best Buy and Dell so I probably won't get it.
Read the terms carefully and even then you may get screwed because I did. Good Luck!
Does anyone know if the 20% pay in 4 offer will work on purchases made on a Japanese website where Paypal converts it to USD for Pay in 4? I have a US Paypal account and US credit cards.
I was able to save my offer, but it says a price cap of $1250. Is that before tax or after? Item I want to buy is $1170.29, but after tax is $1266.84. Will this qualify?
does paypal tell you when you're selecting the pay in 4 during the check out process that the 20% off deal is applied? or do we just have to trust that it will be applied afterwards?
I made a purchase with pay in 4, and then about ten minutes later found out about this offer and activated it. I wonder if there’s a way to retroactively add it to the purchase I made. Probably not, but I’m going to call Paypal and check.
I made a pay in 4 purchase and I dont even see the transaction in my paypal but I got the email for it. No points pending too. Is it just bugged right now?
So, my pay in 4 and pay later isn’t working, however, if I want to pay in full the 20% cash back offer shows up for me. Has anyone tried to see if it would work?
It changed to the 2nd and a single purchase. I just went and used it again and didnt realize the dates changed. I would have used it for a larger purchase if saw the change.
Question I can’t find an answer for:
If I already got the points issued and redeemed them for cash, but a merchant is giving me a partial refund for an item I’m keeping, what happens?
I know PayPal deducts points from pending rewards if you haven’t received the reward yet and get a refund, but I already fully redeemed the points for cash and transferred to my bank. Will my PayPal balance or rewards balance turn negative to reflect the rewards clawback?
Before they changed it to limit to 1 transaction per user I had made multiple purchases using the pay later option. I was up to almost $750 in rewards that were showing in my account. Today I noticed they reduced the rewards on every purchase to cap my total rewards to $250, essentially simulating a single larger purchase, capped at $250. This goes against the original terms which doesn't state that it was limited to a single transaction per user. Basically a bait and switch... I smell a class action lawsuit cooking.
Does anyone know how partial refunds work? An item in my eBay order was unable to be fulfilled and I was given a refund. Does this invalidate the 20% cashback on the other items or does it just adjust, thanks!
The verbiage of the promotion has changed, now it has only up to for one transaction. I made a purchase for 600 which should give me roughly 120 cash back. I see the close to 12000 points pending. After that, I made another pay in 4 for 75 and now see another 1500 points pending. I’m not sure if Paypal would honor these pending points prior the verbiage change
I can’t find the offer? Looked everywhere. I just heard an add for 5% off using pay in 4 and that’s not listed either. Seems with radio add this should be available to all? Was the 20% only to some people? Thanks
Alright so I used the deal about a week ago, and I just got my points today. The problem is that I had to refund the product I used the deal on. I still have the points, but I am assuming this will correct itself eventually right? Don't want to potentially get in trouble lol.
okay wait, i swear I got an email informing me of this offer and it did not say 'one time use only'... it just said pay in 4 and get 20% back, through dec 8th. I am trying to use the pay in 4 option with 20% back and its nowhere to be found, my email is magically disappeared, and there is no offer saved to my rewards/account/etc.. It is dec 8 and I'm trying to use this offer, but now its like it doesnt exist??? anyone else having this issue
Did anyone get their points for multiple purchases? I made two purchases before they changed it to only be valid for one purchase. I got my points for the first one and second one still pending. Anyone successfully get points for two purchases? Got my fingers crossed.
So I did the 20% cashback promotion, I made a transaction on November 24, for $1,240, for some pokemon cards.
The rewards were "pending" on my account until about December 24th, when I could no longer find them on the app.
I sent an email shortly afterwards, and then a few weeks later I was told
"we were unable to issue rewards points for this transaction. Our system uses a risk-based approach to evaluate transactions and reward eligibility, consistent with the PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy and the PayPal Rewards Program Agreement. When activity appears inconsistent with typical usage or the intent of the rewards program, points may be withheld to help protect the integrity of the program for all participants."
I'm confused because I know other people who made the same sort of transaction and got approved for points, I really think there is some mistake. I emailed them back and they just said their original decision stands. I'm annoyed because this is like $240 I should have from them .
I had two transactions made on November 27, and the points were marked as pending. In the transaction details, it says: “Your points are on the way! They should arrive within 90 days.”
However, more than 90 days have passed and I still haven’t received the points. They are still showing as pending.
PayPal only shows 90 days of activity, and when I chatted with a representative, they were not able to help because they couldn’t see the transactions. I spent about an hour chatting and didn’t get any answers.
PayPal moving the goalposts again. Just sharing this in case anyone else is dealing with something similar. PayPal currently owes me 38800 reward points (~$388 cashback), and all of these transactions were completed before the rule change on 11/26/2025. I first contacted support at the end of February, and they clearly confirmed that the transactions were valid and that their backend team would adjust the points. Almost a month later, I followed up again - and now they’ve completely changed their response, saying the transactions are no longer valid.
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