The average American family spends 12% of their income on paying for food. While that spending is split between eating out and eating at home, more people are eating away from home and there are plenty of credit cards that provide bonuses for spending on restaurants, fast food and coffee shops. But if you are looking to maximize rewards on all of your purchases, far fewer cards provide 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.
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Top Credit Cards for Grocery Rewards
We’ve changed our card for most groceries to the Hilton Honors Surpass American Express ($150 Annual Fee). It’s the primary card in my wife Sharon’s wallet because we like earning a free night at almost any Hilton by spending $15,000 a calendar year. An added advantage, since Sharon’s the main grocery shopper in the family, is that we also earn 6X Hilton points for grocery store purchases.
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
- Citi Strata Premier card ($95 Annual Fee) – Earns 3X ThankYou points at US grocery stores/supermarkets.
- 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 cannot be transferred to airline programs, but you can transfer if you have another Citi card that allows point transfers (Strata 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.
- American Express Everyday (No Annual Fee) – 2X Membership Rewards for the first $6,000 at US supermarkets. Earns a 20% monthly bonus after 20 transactions (not open to new applicants).
- 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 (not open to new applicants)
Best Cashback Credit Cards for Grocery Purchases
- 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 (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.
Cards with Seasonal Grocery Bonuses
The Discover cards and the Chase Freedom Flex card have rotating bonus categories that often will include grocery stores.
Limited-Time Offers on Grocery Spending
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.
Best Alternatives If You Don’t Have a Grocery Bonus Card
If you don’t have any of the above cards, don’t give up. You should 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 definitely be the card you 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. It’s okay to forgo a category bonus if you need that spending to meet the sign-up bonus requirement.
Buying Gift Cards to Earn More Points
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 gift 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 nothin’ about these credit cards—I might give you a whole lot of side-eye..
Finding Grocery Gift Cards at Other Stores
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.
Best Credit Cards for Costco Grocery Purchases
Final Thoughts
No matter if you decide to sign up for a new card with a high multiplier for grocery store spending or just juggle 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.
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