If you’ve used (or thought about using) one of the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services that have popped up at pretty much every single online store today, you know that they have quite a few extremely appealing features:  Flexible payments, 0% interest, bypassing credit checks, and convenience.

You can use one of the BNPL services to help you tackle a big purchase over time — or just use it to buy something you want before you really have the cash on hand to buy it. (Solidarity. We've all been there.)

(If you're a step behind, we have you covered with our comprehensive Buy Now, Pay Later comparison guide which will answer all your questions on how Buy Now, Pay Later services work, and what makes each service stand out.)

However, once you’ve seen how easy it is to use BNPL and how few downsides there are, there are still a few lingering questions that keep you from cutting all your credit cards in half and going all Buy Now, Pay Later, all the time.

1. Is there any reason to use a Buy Now, Pay Later service on something you could easily afford and don’t need to finance?

2. Is there any reason to stick with one Buy Now, Pay Later service, or should you just keep using whichever one shows up when you’re checking out?

The answer to both questions really boils down to one thing: Rewards.

Your credit cards probably give you rewards like cash back, airline miles, discounts, and other special offers. So as the BNPL industry continues to set its sights on taking on the credit machine — and make no mistake, that’s absolutely the plan — the brands have to incentivize customers, build individual brand loyalty, and make it more rewarding to use BNPL for all purchases.  And a couple of them are already on that track.

Two of the biggest names in BNPL, Klarna and Afterpay, offer rewards programs to loyal users. Here's how each of them work, along with the positives and negatives of each.

Buy Now, Pay Later Rewards Programs (As of October 2021)

Vibe (Klarna)

Klarna’s reward program, Vibe, is free to join. You can sign up for it in Klarna’s mobile app.  

They'll give you $5 as a welcome bonus just for opting in, and making your first purchase under the program. (It’s not a doorbuster, but consider it a free coffee.)

It's a pretty simple program: You get 1 “vibe” for every $1 you spend with Klarna. And you later exchange those vibes for various rewards. The vibe-to-rewards conversion rate is variable, but a good rule of thumb is approximately 250 vibes for a $5 gift card. You can also trade vibes for discounts at some stores (e.g., 30% off at Caseable), but those exchange rates are even more variable.

The vibes are awarded when you make payments, not when you initially check out.  Once they’re awarded, they'll appear under “Unlocked Rewards” in your Vibe account.

Klarna says this is “to encourage and reward responsible spending habits,” but in reality, it’s also a safeguard against people making big purchases, spending their vibes, then returning those big purchases to the stores without paying Klarna anything.

If you're thinking of joining Klarna’s Vibe program, you should do so before your next big purchase — because Vibe won't work on any purchases you made before joining the program.  Another tip:  Make sure you actually use your rewards, because unfortunately, every year they get reset to zero. 

You can earn vibes from any purchases, but Klarna's website specifically notes that participating brands include: Amazon, Adidas, ASOS, Best Buy, Foot Locker, Macy's, Missguided, Saks Off 5th, Sephora, Starbucks, Walmart, and H&M.  Klarna says vibes can be redeemed for gift cards from many of those brands, including Starbucks, Sephora, Foot Locker, and UBER, among other things.

Vibe members also have access to “exclusive online and offline sales and shopping experiences,” and can even double-dip at some retailers — earning “an extra layer of rewards, if they are already part of an existing loyalty program through the retailer.”

These opportunities will vary, but here’s one example: A store may be offering a certain discount for a particular purchase, or for using Klarna at check out. And then there may be an additional, stackable bonus for double vibes within the program.

If it seems like all of this is a little vague, that’s because the program’s rules are a little vague. At this point, with unpredictable conversion rates of vibes to rewards, it’s probably best to view this program as a nice little bonus for using Klarna and not as an incentive to go wild on Klarna for the sake of rewards.

Vibe was launched in the summer of 2020 (which you may have missed, since it was such a rip-roaring time for everyone around the world).  It was the first BNPL reward program, but it's still very young, so expect it to be improved and fine-tuned over time [1]. 

Pulse (Afterpay)

Afterpay’s reward program Pulse also launched in the summer of 2020, shortly after Klarna’s Vibe. It's also free to join, but unlike Vibe there's currently no welcome bonus. They do have a referral promotion where you invite a friend, and after they make their first purchase through Afterpay, you each get $10.

One big difference between Vibe and Pulse: When you join Pulse, you CAN be retroactively rewarded for recent Afterpay purchases you made prior to joining the program.

Here's how Pulse works: Every eligible on-time payment earns 10 points, no matter the amount of the payment. Each Afterpay purchase is settled through four payments, so each purchase could earn 40 points, if eligible.

So, let’s say that you make three total purchases with Afterpay.  Each of the three purchases have four payments, for a total of 12 payments.  If you make all 12 payments on-time, you will have earned 120 points (10 points per payment x 12 payments).

As more points are earned, higher tiers and more rewards can be accessed.  Plus, you can earn extra bonus points in targeted ways like shopping in-store, supporting sustainable brands, supporting small businesses, and shopping during yearly seasonal moments such as Black Friday and Afterpay Day. (It’s not a set day, kind of like Prime Day or Father’s Day, and they’ve been having two of them per year, as if it were a solstice.)

Like Klarna's Vibe, the conversion rate of these points into rewards is variable and never clearly defined.  But Pulse points could translate into gift cards as well as exclusive offers and promotions from “top merchants,” which according to the website include Steve Madden, NARS, Tatcha, Vince, and Rebecca Taylor.

Pulse has a more practical and immediate benefit as well: As you earn points, you can earn flexibility in your future financing, like no payments being required up front.

Like Vibe, Pulse does have some limitations where points CAN expire. 

Pulse is organized into levels, so you need to spend a certain amount within six-month blocks of time to qualify for various tiers. There are four tiers: Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and then Mint.  (Which is the tastiest tier.)

As soon as you earn enough points to move into a higher tier (like from Gold to Platinum), the benefits of that next tier will be unlocked immediately. You’re only eligible to trade your points for retailer gift cards in the Diamond and Mint tiers. 

Points reset every six months, which means the earlier in the six months you unlock benefits, the longer you get to keep them.

If you do not earn enough points to maintain your tier status, then you will slide down to a lower tier in the next eligibility period.  Gold is the lowest tier available.

You can also lose your tier benefits if you make too many late payments. If you make more than one late payment, you’ll be dropped back down to Gold status. So basically, you get one mulligan, and then you’re grounded.

Fortunately, the Pulse app keeps track of all the points, statuses, and precious metals (or, in the case of Mint, effervescent herbs) for you [2].  

Choosing and Using a Buy Now, Pay Later Loyalty Program

While these BNPL rewards programs are still in their very early stages (the ambiguity in both around the conversion rate from points to rewards is evidence of that), they’re a solid perk — especially as BNPL services try to close the rewards gap with traditional credit cards.

The benefits of these BNPL rewards programs are mostly evident from what has been laid out above; regardless of why you've decided to use a BNPL service, the bonus points provide an extra incentive for using those services (over all the other services currently fighting for market share).

It’s also a reason to consider routing more purchases through BNPL — even if you have the cash — for the boost in points.

And really, there aren’t any serious drawbacks since the programs are free (assuming you don’t go hog-wild with spending, just to rake in points).

Which BNPL rewards program is best for you?

If you’re choosing between Klarna’s Vibe rewards program and Afterpay’s Pulse rewards program, here’s a quick take on what sets each apart:

Vibe:  Focused on shopping rewards… no confusing leveling system… no harsh late payment penalties. 

Pulse:  Practical account bonuses in addition to shopping perks... rewarding option if you’re planning to make BNPL a routine payment option to stay at higher tiers.

For both rewards programs, you’ll have to spend at least a few hundred bucks to get a retailer gift card back.

Of course, you should also weigh the terms of the actual services when you’re choosing your BNPL provider of choice. (Here’s our Klarna vs. Afterpay comparison.) 

How to use an app that isn’t offered at checkout

One of the hurdles of sticking with a BNPL rewards program is that not every service is built into every eCommerce store’s checkout. For instance, a store like Gamestop offers Affirm, Sezzle, Klarna, and Zip at checkout. So if you’re part of the Afterpay rewards program… can you use the service there?

With Klarna, you can use their BNPL service at pretty much every store you’ll ever find by searching for the store in their app, then shopping normally and using Klarna to pay. You should receive vibes on all of those purchases, even if Klarna doesn’t have a direct relationship with the store at which you’re shopping. You can also use Klarna to shop in person at stores that accept Apple Pay or Google Pay. (If you do want to see an up-to-date list on every store that directly offers Klarna, you can check out our search engine of stores offering Klarna.)

Afterpay is currently slightly more restrictive and limits your shopping to stores with whom they have a working relationship. (Here’s our search engine of every store offering Afterpay.) You can use Afterpay in person as well, but again, only at their list of eligible stores. It’s a big list, but it’s not exhaustive.

What’s next with Buy Now, Pay Later Rewards?

The next big thing: Cash back?

For now, no BNPL services are offering cash back or any other rewards with a fixed value.

We could add that as one of the “cons” of the current rewards program offerings.  If you stacked these programs up against some of the bonuses from even mid-level credit cards, Vibe and Pulse aren’t making big waves yet.  Many cards offer 1% cash back as a base, often with purchase protection and other perks added on top.

There are even two “secured” cards for people with bad or limited credit that offer 1% to 2% cash back: the Discover it Secured Card and the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Card.  (The Discover card will even double your cash back in your first year.)

But BNPL could be entering that territory in the future. Affirm is testing a cash back program, but it sounds like it’s not coming in the immediate future [3].

For starters, it isn’t directly connected to their BNPL operations at the moment. Instead, participating customers complete cash back purchases using their own debit or credit card.

And it’s currently limited to a small percentage of customers.  If you have an Affirm account, you can find out if you’re eligible to participate by looking for the option to “Unlock Cashback” as you are completing your purchase with one of the participating stores listed in the Affirm Marketplace.

If you are eligible, you’ll have to create an Affirm Savings account, as prompted, within one month of your reward being finalized, so that you’ll be able to receive it.  It’s unclear how much cash back is being offered, or how many different variations (if more than one) are being tested.

Additional offers and promotions from other BNPL services

It’s inevitable that the countless other BNPL services will follow with their own loyalty and rewards programs. (And judging by the current ones named Vibe and Pulse, maybe they’ll be called Throb, Tingle, or Palpitate?)

Things are evolving at such a rapid clip in the BNPL world it’s a little surprising that there are still only these two.  

However, there are some other BNPL-related promotions you should be aware of:

Affirm:  Referral bonus.  You invite a friend, and after they make their first purchase with Affirm, you’ll each get $30 in your Affirm Savings accounts.

Sezzle:  Referral bonus.  Same thing:  You invite a friend, and after they make their first purchase with at a store offering Sezzle, you’ll each get $5 in Sezzle Spend.  Your friend has to be a brand new user, and buy something worth more than $40 for the promotion to pay out.

Perpay:  Referral bonus.  If you’re scoffing at $5, Perpay has a “Give $100 Get $200” referral program.  So what’s the catch?  This service draws money directly from your paychecks, so it’s less reliant on you “making payments.”  Also, you can only shop at the stores in their marketplace. The $100 bonus will be deducted from a $250 purchase, while the $200 bonus will be subtracted from your next purchase of $300 or more.  (If you’ve been a Perpay user long enough, you only need to make a $100 purchase to unlock the bonus, rather than $300.)

Once again, keep your eye on the different BNPL services for new perks and incentives. The services are currently in an all-out battle for brand loyalty, and that should provide a chance for you to get some nice payouts and bonuses in the process, whether it’s one-off deals here and there, or lucrative rewards programs.