Forget the Afterpay Card. Use This Instead.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) has gone mainstream. Afterpay even has its own card now -- just load it into your digital wallet, tap to pay, and you can split purchases into installments wherever Google Pay or Apple Pay are accepted.

There's just one problem: it's probably not doing you any favors.

My main gripes with the Afterpay card

I cover credit cards for a living, and I'd encourage most people to skip the Afterpay card entirely. There are smarter moves, and it's not complicated.

It can encourage overspending

According to a Motley Fool Money trends study, 57% of BNPL users say they rely on it to buy things they otherwise couldn't afford. Installment tools have a way of quietly pushing your spending past your actual budget.

Basically, splitting a purchase into four easy payments makes things feel more affordable than they are.

It earns zero rewards

Every purchase you make with the Afterpay card is a missed opportunity. No cash back, no points, no miles -- just a payment split. Over a full year of everyday spending, that can realistically add up to $300 or more of easy money left on the table.

It doesn't even build your credit (but it can hurt it)

The Afterpay card doesn't report your on-time payments to the credit bureaus. So it can't help build your credit score and overall profile.

But if you fall behind and the account goes to collections, you will certainly be reported to credit bureaus and your score will take a big hit. You basically get the downside risk with none of the upside.

The better move: save first, then pay

The cleanest version of purchasing anything is simple. Save for the purchase, then pay cash or use your debit card.

You don't owe anything, you don't carry a balance, and you have total peace of mind. For smaller discretionary purchases -- clothing, fast food, tech accessories -- this is almost always the right play.

Yes, it requires a little patience to save. But it also means you're spending money you actually have, which is a powerful foundation for everything else in your financial life.

Even better: use a rewards card and pay it off immediately

Here's where you can really start benefiting with cards. Instead of paying with Afterpay or a debit card, put the purchase on a rewards credit card and pay it off in full when the statement comes (or earlier if you prefer).

The result: you get the same net cost as paying cash, plus you earn cash back, points, or miles on every dollar you spend.

Done right, this approach also helps build your credit history with on-time payments reported to all three bureaus. The credit card works for you instead of just being a payment mechanism.

See our picks for the best rewards credit cards of 2026.

For this strategy to work, one rule matters above everything else: don't carry a balance. Pay the card off in full each month. The moment interest charges enter the picture, they'll eat whatever rewards you earned and then some.

What if you need to finance a bigger purchase?

Sometimes a purchase is genuinely large enough that paying it all at once isn't realistic. In that case, a credit card with a 0% intro APR period is a much stronger tool than BNPL.

The math is the same -- no interest for a set window -- but with a credit card you get the upside: rewards on the purchase, credit-building potential, and purchase protections that most BNPL services simply don't offer.

You set a monthly payment target, divide the balance by the number of months in the intro period, and automate the payment. Same discipline as BNPL, better outcome.

Spend smart, skip the BNPL trap

Personally, I just don't see much benefit to the Afterpay card. If you can save up and pay with cash or debit, that's almost always the better move -- you'll owe nothing, and there's nothing to track or manage.

But honestly, a rewards credit card is the easiest upgrade most people can make. Same spending you're already doing, with cash back or points attached, and credit-building on top of it. More flexibility, more upside, and none of the traps that come with BNPL.

Start earning cash back on every purchase -- see our top rewards cards.