The 11 Best Credit Cards for Grocery Shopping

Whether you do your weekly grocery shopping for the whole family or stop by the supermarket on your way home from work to get a rotisserie chicken, we all spend quite a lot of money at the grocery store ⁠— especially nowadays when inflation keeps rising.

Wouldn’t it make sense to be earning cash-back/points/miles for the money you’re already spending on food and other household necessities? A year from now, you will still have been doing this, but you could also have earned some shopping rewards.

You can use these rewards to enjoy a dinner at your favorite restaurant, subsidize a vacation, or fly for free — the choice is yours!

Now, you’re probably asking yourself: which credit cards are the best to use at grocery stores and supermarkets? We’ll happily give you some answers to this question along with some other details you should be aware of.

Not only will you know which credit cards are best to use for earning rewards on groceries, but you’ll also find ways to maximize those earnings by purchasing items other than foods at the supermarket.

Some Things to Consider Before Getting a Credit Card for Grocery & Supermarket Spending

First, credit cards that offer rewards for grocery purchases aren’t limited to getting rewards on those purchases exclusively. Most credit cards have a wider range of bonus categories. This is definitely a good thing.

While this article talks about ways to accumulate rewards for grocery and/or supermarket spending, if you want to maximize those earnings, you should look for a credit card that provides extra earning potential to match your other spending priorities.

When choosing the best credit card with grocery rewards, you should consider the following:

  • Is there an annual fee? Just because you’ll have to pay an annual fee doesn’t imply you should say ‘no’ to that credit card. You may realize that the benefits far outweigh the annual fee.
  • Does the card offer a welcome bonus? Welcome bonuses may be really valuable. They are usually earned if certain conditions are met such as minimum spending amounts during the first several months after card approval.
  • Are rewards capped at a certain amount? If that’s the case, you should determine how much you will accumulate on the card based on your expected spending levels.
  • Are there extra bonus categories on the card? The best-case scenario is to choose a card that lets you earn in more than one category.

The 8 Best Personal Credit Cards for Grocery & Supermarket Purchases

american express gold card
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1. American Express® Gold Card (Top Choice for Earning Rewards)

The American Express Gold is one of the best credit cards you can use to earn rewards at supermarkets. You’ll get 4 Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent at US grocery stores on up to $25,000 purchases made throughout a year.

This benefit gives you the chance to accumulate 100,000 Membership Rewards points per year for maximizing spending in one bonus category.

Additionally, Amex Gold is one of the best credit cards you can use to earn valuable rewards on flights (3 points for every $1 spend on plane tickets booked through Amex Travel or directly with the airline). When traveling, choose The Hotel Collection where you can receive property credits and room upgrades.

You’ll even get 4 points for every dollar spent at restaurants, plus delivery and takeout in the US — that can really mount up if you eat out often!

Although the annual fee is quite high — $250  — the statement credits along with some other benefits will offset it allowing you to break even. For instance, the card gives you up to $10 in monthly statement credits for dining at restaurants like Goldbelly, Grubhub, Milk Bar, The Cheesecake Factory, and many more.

To further boost the rewards, you receive up to $120 in Uber Cash every year, which you can use for Uber rides or Uber Eats orders (only in the US).

2. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Top Choice for Earning Cash Back)

American Express is also one of the best credit cards for grocery shopping. It gives two cash-back cards that provide valuable rewards on grocery and supermarket purchases (available only in the US). The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card is the more premium of the two.

Despite its relatively moderate annual fee of $95, this credit card more than does its job with its 6% back at US grocery stores and supermarkets (as far as $6,000 in purchases per year; after this, 1%) and extra earnings at all US gas stations, transit (parking, rideshares/taxis, buses, train, and more) and certain US streaming subscription.

To be more precise, the extra earnings are the following:

  • 6% cash-back if you purchase certain US streaming subscriptions
  • 3% cash-back at gas stations and on public transportation in the US (includes taxis, rideshares, tolls, parking, and more)
  • 1% cash back on all other kinds of purchases

It also provides free authorized used cards.

3. Citi® Premier Card

Citi Premier card is the only Citi credit card in this guide and it has quite a few bonus categories:

  • 3 ThankYou Points at supermarkets, gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and air travel
  • 1 ThankYou Point for making other kinds of purchases

The Citi Premier card’s main selling point is the generous bonus categories, but you can also take advantage of the $100 annual hotel savings benefit, which allows you to get a $100 discount for a single hotel stay of $500 or more when booked at 1-800-THANKYOU or through thankyou.com. All these benefits come for an annual fee of $95.

Every ThankYou Point is worth 1.6 cents if you choose to redeem them through any ThankYou partners. If you’re not interested, you can use those rewarding points for statement credits, gift cards, travel booked via the Citi Travel Portal, at BestBuy.com, or at Amazon.com.

Authorized users don’t have to pay any additional fees or foreign transaction fees.

4. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The CapOne Venture X card is Capital One’s best credit card which has a lot of travel benefits, but it’s also great to use for your spending. The earning categories are the following:

  • 10 Capital One mile points when booking rental cars and hotels via Capital One Travel
  • 10 Capital One mile points when booking rental cars through Turo (available until May 16, 2023)
  • 5 Capital One mile points when booking flights using Capital One Travel
  • 2 Capital One mile points for all other purchases

So, when it comes to grocery and supermarket purchases, you’ll earn 2-mile points. On top of that, this credit card offers a maximum of $300 annual travel credit when booking through Capital One Travel, access to Plaza Premium Lounges and Capital One Lounges, free Priority Pass Select membership, and a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus after every account anniversary.

But that’s not all. The CapOne Venture X has other benefits such as a top-tier Hertz President’s Circle status available free of charge, an up to $100 fee credit for applying for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry, cell phone protection, and travel insurance.

No wonder why the annual fee is $395; the list of benefits is quite huge.

The credit card is rounded out with extended warranty, purchase protection, up to 4 authorized users for no extra annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees. The Capital One Miles points system is quite great; each mile is worth 1.8 cents while earning 2-mile points is comparable to a 3.6% return on spending.

In order to make the most of your rewards and get better value, transfer your miles to travel partners to book first and luxury business class flights!

credit cards
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5. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

If you don’t want to register for or keep track of ongoing bonus categories and you’re not interested in receiving any travel benefits from the CapOne Venture X card, there’s also a CapOne Venture card that offers you 2-mile points for every dollar spent on all kinds of purchases (the annual fee is $95).

This card’s benefit list is quite lean, but it does feature additional cards available free of charge as well as access to American Express Experiences. You’ll also get an up to $100 fee credit for applying for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry, 2 free visits to Plaza Premium Lounges or Capital One Lounges every year, and the following other earning categories:

  • 5 Capital One mile points when booking via Turo (available until May 16, 2023)
  • 5 Capital One mile points on rental cars and hotels booked via Capital One Travel

While traveling, you’ll also receive Hertz Five Star status, rental car coverage, and travel insurance.

In addition, this credit card offers extended warranty, purchase protection, no foreign transaction fees, zero fraud liability, virtual card numbers through Eno, and no additional fees for authorized users.

6. Blue Cash Everyday® Card (American Express)

If you’re looking for a credit card that’s less expensive to own (this one has no annual fee) but you still want to take advantage of those supermarket rewards, the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card is the way to go!

You’ll earn 3% back at all supermarkets in the country, as far as $6,000 in purchases yearly; the same cash-back percentage goes for filling up your car at gas stations and buying from US online retailers (up to $6,000 in purchases each year). For the rest of the purchases you make, you’ll earn 1% cash back.

The card’s benefit list isn’t huge, but there are some good things — additional cards are available at no cost, you’ll have access to American Express Experiences (fees and rates), and there are monthly credits for Home Chef purchases (registration required) and qualified Disney Bundle subscriptions (registration required).

7. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

This credit card — which has an annual fee of $95 — offers 3 Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar you spend on online grocery purchases. So, if you do most of your grocery shopping online, this is an excellent option for you.

On top of that, this credit card also earns you:

  • 5 Ultimate Rewards points when booking travel through Ultimate Rewards
  • 5 Ultimate Rewards points when using Lyft (available until March 31, 2025)
  • 3 Ultimate Rewards points on certain streaming services
  • 2 Ultimate Rewards points on all other kinds of travel purchases
  • 1 Ultimate Rewards point on all other kinds of purchases

As part of its benefits list, there is also an annual hotel credit of $50 for hotel stays booked through the Chase travel portal, a 25% redemption offer for bookings via Ultimate Rewards, a free DoorDash DashPass membership, and free Spot Club Platinium elite status to use at The Parking Spot for 2 years (available until October 26, 2023).

But that’s not all — every account anniversary year gives you a 10% point bonus, which can potentially boost your 3 Ultimate Rewards points to 3.3 points.

Finally, this credit card comes with no foreign transaction fees, great amazing insurance, and no additional fees for authorized users.

Every Chase Ultimate Rewarding point is worth 2 cents; this being said, if you accumulate 3.3 points (with the 3 points on grocery purchases made through any online channel and the 10% annual points bonus), you could get back 6.6% of your purchases.

You can easily boost that redemption value by transferring your points to travel partners and booking luxury award travel. There are alternative options to redeem those points, such as gift cards, charity, cash-back, and at Amazon.com.

chase freedom card
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8. Chase Freedom Unlimited®

One of the greatest no-annual-fee credit cards for grocery purchases, the Freedom Unlimited card, comes with lots of benefits for its cardholders.

The Freedom Unlimited card offers 1.5% cash-back on all non-bonus purchases (including groceries), but those card points are more valuable when paired with one of the premium Chase cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred.

This is because the cash-back received can be transferred as points to your Ultimate Rewards earning card. Getting 1.5% cash-back rewards and then converting them to 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points equals a 3% return on your spending!

On top of that, you can also get 5% cash back on travel booked via the Chase travel portal, 3% cash back at restaurants, and 3% cash back at drugstores.

This credit card also has other benefits such as extended warranty, purchase protection, fraud alerts, secondary rental car insurance, no fees for authorized users, and zero liability fraud protection.

The 3 Best Business Credit Cards for Grocery & Supermarket Purchases

1. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card (American Express)

If you own a small business, then the Amex Blue Business Plus is the best credit card to use for grocery and supermarket purchases. You’ll earn 2 Membership Rewards points for every dollar you spend on everyday business-related purchases, up to $50,000 per year.

That is equivalent to a 4.4% return on spending, which is awesome! After that $50,000 limit, your rewards will be reduced to 1 Membership Rewards point.

This credit card has other benefits such as Expanded Buying Power (fees and rates) and no extra fees for employee cards. Oh, and there’s no annual fee!

2. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The CapOne Spark Miles credit card is an excellent solution for those business owners who spend a lot of money on business-related purchases (including groceries) and need rewards with no points cap. The card has a $0 annual fee for the first 12 months; after this, it’s $95.

This credit card is ideal for business owners who want their rewards to accumulate transferable points — you’ll receive 2 Capital One mile points on every purchase you make! Based on our evaluations, that equals a 3.6% return on spending.

You’ll also earn 5-mile points on hotels booked via Capital One Travel and rental cars as well as an up to $100 application fee credit for TSA Precheck/Global Entry.

There are no employee card fees and foreign transaction fees. The card also offers extended warranty, purchase protection, virtual cards from Eno, and zero liability fraud protection.

3. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

The Ink Business Unlimited credit card is a great choice because of its compelling (and quite simple) earning potential, a hefty welcome bonus of $750, and much more.

You’ll accumulate an unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase you make, which can be converted to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards if you own a credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, Chase Sapphire Preferred card, or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.

Having an Ink Business Unlimited card along with one of those credit cards could give you a cash-back of 3% instead of 1.5%!

Other card benefits include extended warranty, purchase protection, zero liability fraud protection, no fees for employee cards, and primary car rental insurance — all of these for no annual fee!

After reading this article, you may be thinking of ways to save more money while shopping. No worries, here’s another article that may help you: 5 Ways to Save Money AND Shop Online.

 

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