I'm trying to figure this out too, because I sometimes get the 3% but most of the time I only get the 2%. So far, I found another post asking this same thing and PayPal responding saying they have to hit the Pay with PayPal button on the website you are buying from and make sure that the PayPal Mastercard is selected as the main default card for purchases on the PayPal app/site. You only get the 3% for online purchases amd everything else is 2%. BUT.. I've also seen that PayPal is changing the everything 2% to everything 1.5% on Aug 1st 2024. The 3% for online purchases remains the same I believe. But for online purchases... This is what you need to do. First, go to PayPal app or website. Make the mastercard the preferred card of choice for online purchases (or all purchases). Then whenever you shop online, and if the site you're using accepts PayPal, then at checkout you just click the PaY with PayPal option. You can also look up stores on PayPal app ro site and see if they're offering better cash back opportunities for that particular store. If they do, it'll open a new window to shop from. Don't close that window or else you won't get the cash back rewards. Or if you do close the window out, you can click it again to reopen it and start over by selecting your items to purchase. If it's a type of website that you have Login information for then you can also log in and shop using your cart.
Edit: I went back and corrected info for when PayPal is changing the 2%
