The average American family spends 12% of their income on paying for food, with that spending split almost evenly between eating out and eating at home. Plenty of credit cards provide bonuses for spending on restaurants, fast food and coffee shops, but far fewer give a bonus when buying groceries.
These bonuses don’t include grocery purchases made at Walmart, Target or any discount club like Sam’s Club, Costco or BJ’s.
We may receive a referral bonus if you sign up for credit cards with the links in this article or links in our credit card reviews.
Best Points and Miles Cards
For this category, we use the Citi Premier card. ($95 Annual Fee) It earns 3X ThankYou points at US grocery stores/supermarkets. Since Sharon is the shopper in the family, this is her primary card for its ease of use and multiple bonus categories.
This is by no means the only card that earns points for groceries.
- American Express Gold Card ($250 Annual Fee) – 4X Membership rewards for the first $25,000 at US supermarkets
- American Express Everyday (No Annual Fee) – 2X Membership Rewards for the first $6,000 at US supermarkets. 20% bonus per month after 20 transactions
- American Express Everyday Preferred ($95 Annual Fee) – Earn 3X Membership Rewards for the first $6,000 at US supermarkets. 50% bonus per month after 30 transactions
- Hilton Honors Surpass American Express ($95 Annual Fee) – Earn 6X Hilton points for grocery store purchases
- JetBlue Plus Card – Earns 2x JetBlue TrueBlue points for grocery store purchases
- Citi Rewards+ Card (No Annual Fee) – Earn 2X points on the first $6,000 of supermarket purchases. Thank You points earned with this card can not be transferred to airline programs, but you can transfer if you have another Citi card that allows point transfers (Premier or Prestige)
- Aeroplan Credit Card ($95 Annual Fee) – Earn 3X Air Canada Aeroplan points at supermarkets globally.
- American Airlines MileUp (No Annual Fee) – Earn 2X AAdvantage points at grocery stores.
Cash Back Cards
- Blue Cash Preferred American Express ($95 Annual Fee) – 6% back on US grocery store spending up to $6,000 per year.
- Blue Cash Everyday American Express (No Annual Fee) – 3% back on US grocery store spending up to $6,000 per year.
- Capital One Savor One (No Annual Fee) – 3% back on grocery stores globally.
- Bank of America Customize Cash Rewards (No Annual Fee) – 2% back at grocery stores AND wholesale clubs up to $2,500 each quarter.
Rotating Bonus Categories
The Discover cards and the Chase Freedom Flex card have rotating bonus categories that often will include grocery stores.
Targeted Spending Bonuses
Occasionally, banks will send out offers by mail or email for bonus points for spending in specific categories (often including grocery stores) for a limited time. For example, they might offer 5X points for grocery, gas station and ride-sharing spending up to $2,500 for the next three months. You usually have to enroll to take advantage, so be sure to check your mailboxes (real and virtual) for these offers.
What if you don’t have any of these cards?
If you don’t have any of the above cards, don’t give up. You should then use whatever card you earn the best reward for non-bonused spending. Maybe you have a Citi Double Cash card, Fidelity Rewards Visa or Capital One Venture card that earns 2% back on all purchases. By all means, that should be your card to use.
That is, unless you’re currently trying to reach a sign-up bonus on a card. I hope any bonus you signed up for will earn more per dollar spent than even the best return on groceries. Don’t be afraid to lose out on a category bonus if you need that spending to meet the sign-up bonus requirement.
Creative ways to boost earnings
If you want to get creative, you can buy supermarket gift cards at a location where you earn a large bonus in that category. Since I earn 5X Ultimate Rewards at office supply stores with the Ink Cash card, I can purchase Whole Foods cards from our local Office Depot. Personally, it’s not worth the extra points we’d earn over our other cards for us to keep running for gift cards (and I think Sharon would kill me if I kept handing her cards to use when she goes shopping) (Note from Sharon: I dunno if I would kill you. I don’t know nuthin’ about these credit cards – I might give you a whole lot of side-eye).
You may also be able to find grocery store gift cards at home improvement stores or gas stations if you have a card that earns a large bonus at those locations.
But what if I get my groceries from Costco?
Final Thoughts
No matter if you decide to sign up for a new card with a high multiplier for grocery store spending or just juggling cards in your wallet to get the most from the cards you have, take a few minutes to make sure you’re getting the most amount of points possible in a category that makes up 5% of your spending.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.