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One of the best ways to maximize your credit card rewards is to pick a card that offers bonus points in the categories that you spend the most in.

I looked at the best credit cards for grocery store purchases. Some people mostly eat out, some people mostly cook, and some people do both. The bonus category of groceries and supermarkets can be used for cooking.

There are a lot of credit cards that offer bonuses on grocery and supermarket purchases. In all cases, I will only be looking at cards that earn at least 2% back.

What qualifies as grocery & supermarket spending?

It might be worth clarifying for the purposes of credit cards what qualifies as grocery store spending, and what doesn't, since we all have different places that we buy our groceries. There are a few things to know.

  • The grocery store category generally excludes warehouse stores, Walmart, Target, drugstores, convenience stores, etc.; so you should only expect to earn bonus points or bonus cash back when shopping at “traditional” grocery stores, whether that’s Publix, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc.
  • For American Express cards offering bonuses on grocery store spending, this is limited to U.S. supermarket locations only; so foreign grocery store spending doesn’t earn you bonus points or bonus cash back, and neither will a mini-market or other non-supermarket location where you may purchase groceries
  • This also all comes down to how a particular merchant chooses to categorize themselves; for example, while I imagine it’s not supposed to be the case, I’ve also found that liquor stores are sometimes categorized under the “grocery” category
  • Generally, I’ve found that Instacart orders from supermarkets earn bonus points or cash back, but that’s also not consistently the case

Best credit cards for grocery purchases July 2022

Bonus rewards for grocery store and supermarket spending can be found on many credit cards. The best credit cards to use for grocery store purchases are listed below.

Best Overall Well-rounded card with good earnings rates in multiple categories American Express® Gold CardAmerican Express® Gold Card Best Cash Back The best cash back card for US supermarkets Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American ExpressBlue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Best No Annual Fee 2% cash back, or 2x ThankYou points with the ThankYou Premier or Prestige Citi® Double Cash CardCiti® Double Cash Card Best Mileage Card 2x AAdvantage miles on all of your grocery purchases, on a card with no annual fee American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ CardAmerican Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card

1. American Express® Gold Card

There is a reward for US supermarket spending.

The card's annual fee is $250.

You can earn 4x points on the first $25,000 spent at supermarkets, but this is only valid in the U.S.

Apply for the Amex Gold if you read a review of it.

There is a reward for US supermarket spending.

There is an annual fee for the card.

You can earn 3x points on the first $6,000 spent at supermarkets in the U.S., but only if you have at least 30 transactions in a billing cycle.

Apply for the Amex EveryDay preferred if you read a review.

3. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express 

There is a reward for shopping at the supermarket.

There is a card annual fee.

You can earn 6% cash back on the first $6,000 spent at supermarkets, but this is only valid in the U.S. supermarkets.

Apply for the Blue Cash Preferred if you read a review.

4. Citi Premier® Card

3x Citi ThankYou points are a reward for supermarket spending.

There is an annual fee for the card.

You can earn 3x points at supermarkets around the world with no caps and no foreign transaction fees.

Apply for the Citi premier if you read a review.

5. Aeroplan® Credit Card

Air Canada Aeroplan points are a reward for supermarket spending.

There is an annual fee for the card.

You can earn 3x points at supermarkets around the world with no caps and no foreign transaction fees.

Apply for the Aeroplan Card if you read a review of the Aeroplan Card.

6. Citi Rewards+® Card

2x ThankYou points is the reward for supermarket spending.

There is a card annual fee.

This is an excellent no annual fee card option, though you're limited to this return on the first $6,000 spent per year, and in conjunction with other cards earning Citi ThankYou points, these rewards can be transferred.

Apply for the Citi rewards+ if you read a review.

7. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Capital One Venture miles are a reward for supermarket spending.

There is a card annual fee.

While the card doesn't have a specific bonus category for supermarkets, it just has an all-around great rewards structure; don't be alarmed by the annual fee, as the card offers a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit plus 10,000 bonusanniversary miles.

Apply for the Capital One Venture X if you read a review.

There is a reward for supermarket spending.

There is a card annual fee.

You can earn 3% cash back on grocery store purchases around the world with no caps and no foreign transaction fees.

Apply for the Capital One SavorOne if you read a review of it.

9. Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

There is a 3% cash back on supermarket purchases in the U.S.

There is a card annual fee.

You can earn 3% cash back on the first $6,000 spent at supermarkets, but this is only valid at U.S. supermarkets.

Apply for the Blue Cash Everyday if you read a review.

10. American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card

The reward for supermarket spending is 2x American AAdvantage miles.

There is a card annual fee.

I would only recommend using the card in the US since it has foreign transaction fees.

Apply for the AAdvantage MileUp if you read a review of it.

11. Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

There is a reward for supermarket spending.

There is a card annual fee.

The card offers 5x points in the category in which you spend the most each billing cycle, for up to $500 of spending, and supermarkets is one of those categories, meaning you could earn 5x points on supermarket purchases.

Apply for the Citi Custom Cash if you read a review of it.

12. Citi® Double Cash Card

There is a reward for supermarket spending.

There is a card annual fee.

The card doesn't have a specific bonus category for supermarkets, but it has an all-around great rewards structure, as you earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and 1% cash back when you pay for a purchase.

Apply for the Citi Double Cash if you read a review.

There are lots of great cards for grocery store rewards

Best credit card for online groceries July 2022

It's difficult to beat the Chase Preferred Card for online grocery shopping. The card can be used for online grocery stores.

Purchases for grocery pickup and delivery that are placed online with grocery stores, specialty food stores, or delivery service merchants that classify as grocery store merchants are included in the online grocery category. Delivery services are included.

You can even earn bonus rewards for online grocery purchases

Credit cards are great for grocery store and supermarket spending. If you want to earn travel rewards, you need to use the American Express Gold Card for grocery purchases in the U.S. or the Citi Premier Card for grocery purchases abroad. If you want a no annual fee card, the Capital One SavorOne Cash rewards credit card is a great choice.

Don't forget to pay attention to the exact terms, as not all food codes can be used with all banks. I always advise you to check how they are categorized after you make a purchase. Sometimes coding as grocery stores or supermarkets, I have been pleasantly surprised by bodegas, liquor stores, and other similar establishments. The cards I use for those purchases are determined by this.

What cards do you use to buy groceries?

The rates and fees can be found in the links. The American Express Gold Card, Blue Cash Everyday Card, and Blue Cash Preferred Card are included.

Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder