Best Credit Card For Grocery Store Purchases

According to the US Bureau of Labor statistics the average American will spend $3,899 per year on Food at home expenses, this means their grocery store spend will likely be much larger as this doesn’t include non-food items this represents a 7.6% share of the average American’s annual spend.

This is why a lot of credit card companies offer cards with category bonuses on grocery store purchases. We’ve compiled this list of credit cards that give you the biggest rewards on your grocery spend. It’s important to note that you’ll only receive these amounts if the store you shop at codes itself as a grocery store, you can read more about how merchant category codes work here. Discount stores such as WalMart, Costco & Sam’s Club will generally not code as a grocery store.

[Read: Credit Cards That Earn 5%+ Cash Back]

Contents

Best Personal Cards

Bank of America Cash Rewards, 2-3.5% Cash Back – No Annual Fee, $2,500 Quarterly Cap

This card normally earns a flat 2% cash back on grocery stores. If you have a lot of funds held with Bank of America this can be boosted to 3.5% cash back. The downside is that you’re limited to only $2,500 in spend per quarter.

Bank of America Asiana Credit Card, 2x Miles, $99 Annual Fee, 200,000 Points Cap

Read our full review of this card

Annual fee isn’t waived the first year but the card does come with some benefits to help offset the fee such as a 10,000 mile certificate and $100 rebate for paid flights. Be aware of the 200,000 points cap ($100,000 on grocery stores)

AmEx Everyday, 2-2.4x Membership Rewards Points No Annual Fee, $6,000 Per Year

The AmEx EveryDay card earns 2x American Express membership rewards points on all U.S supermarket purchases. You also get an additional 20% bonus on all points earned if you have 20 or more transactions on your credit card each month. It’s possible to easily increase the number of transactions you have by using the self check out at a supermarket and doing one item at a time (obviously do this when it’s quiet).

Santander Bravo 3% Cash Back, $49 Annual Fee, Limit Of $5,000 Per Quarter

The Santander Bravo earns 3x points on all gas, grocery & restaurants. You can earn a limit of 15,000 points ($5,000 in spend) per quarter. Points are redeemable for cash and are worth 1¢ per point.

Blue Cash Everyday, 3% Cash Back No Annual Fee, $6,000 Limit

This is the little brother to the Blue Cash Preferred card and earns 3% cash back on U.S supermarket purchases. Unlike the preferred card there is no annual fee on the Blue Cash Everyday but you only earn 3% on the first $6,000 in grocery store spend per year.

In addition to this it only earns at a rate of 2% cash back on all U.S gas stations & department stores.

Consumers Credit Union Visa Signature 3% Cash Rebate, No Annual Fee, $6,000 Annual Limit

This card earns at a flat 3% cash back on all grocery and convenience store purchases (2% on gas and 1% on all other purchases). The card comes with no annual fee but you do need to pay $5 to join the credit union. They limit you to a maximum of $6,000 in cash back rebates per year and $6,000 per year in grocery store spend.

Huntington Voice 3% Cash Back, No Annual Fee, Limit Of $2,000 Per Quarter

The Huntington Voice allows you to pick one 3% category each quarter, one of the options they give you is grocery stores. There is a limit of $2,000 per quarter ($60 cash back) but there is no annual fee on this card.

Golden 1 Credit Union 3% Cash Back, No Annual Fee, No Cap on Rewards

The Golden 1 Platinum Rewards Visa earns a flat 3% cash back on all grocery store spend. There’s no cap on the amount of rewards you can earn. See our full review here.

American Express Hilton Honors Ascend: 6 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent, $95 annual fee

Hilton points aren’t that valuable for most people, but if they are valuable to you then this can be a good option especially as there is no cap. If you spend $40,000 you also get Diamond status.

City National Bank Visa Infinite 3x Points, $400 Annual Fee

Read our full review

This card has a massive annual fee but that is offset by the airline credits and the fact that authorized users also get these credits. Points are worth ~1¢.

U.S Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards 2x Points (up to 4% in travel), $49 Annual Fee Waived First Year

The U.S Bank FlexPerks card earns 2x points on all gas, grocery & airline purchases. When points are redeemed you can get up to 2¢ per point in value. There are no limits on the amount of points you can earn. The annual fee of $49 is waived for the first year only and a sign up bonus of 20,000 FlexPoints after $3,500 in spend.

It’s also possible to downgrade/product change this change to the U.S Bank Cash+ card which has 5% cash back categories you can choose from (no grocery category unfortunately).

AmEx EveryDay Preferred 3-4.5x Membership Rewards Points, $6,000 Cap Annually & $95 Annual Fee

The AmEx EveryDay Preferred card is a new card that American Express introduced earlier this year. It earns 3x membership rewards points on all U.S supermarkets, but you get an additional 50% bonus on all points earned if you have at least 30 transactions within the month.

It’s easy to increase the amount of transactions you have by using the self check out aisle at a supermarket or purchasing small gift cards through amazon. Depending on how much you value MR points, this could be the best grocery card of them all.

Huntington Business Voice – 4% Cash Back – Up To $7,000 In Spend Per Quarter

Read our full review

This card lets you choose one category to earn 4% cash back in. You can change this category every quarter and you earn 4% cash back on the first $7,000 in spend on that category every quarter. One of the categories you can choose is grocery stores.

Old American Express Blue Cash, 5% Cash Back After $6,500 In Spend, No Annual Fee, $50,000  Limit

The Old American Express Blue Cash card is still available for new sign ups, but it’s no longer published on the American Express website. This card earns at 5% on all purchases at U.S gas stations, supermarkets & select drug stores & 1% on all other purchases. Unfortunately it doesn’t earn at this rate until you’ve $6,500 in spend on this card.

Before you hit this threshold it only earns at 1% on U.S gas stations, supermarkets & select drug stores and 0.5% on all other purchases. This card is really only suited for people doing manufactured spending at any of the 5% categories or those who are spending well over $6,500 per year in these categories.

This card now has a $50,000 limit on 5% categories.

American Express Gold, 4x Membership Rewards Points, $250 Annual Fee Waived First Year

The personal premier rewards gold card earns 4x AmEx membership rewards points per $1 spent at U.S supermarkets & restaurants (3x points for flights booked directly with airline). There are no caps on the amount of points you can earn, but there is a hefty annual fee of $195.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred, 6% Cash Back, $95 Annual Fee, $6,000 Annual Limit

This card earns 6% cash back on all grocery store purchases, but only on the first $6,000 in purchases every year. It also has an annual fee of $95 which is not waived for the first year. This is going to be the best option for people with high grocery store spend but not absurdly high (otherwise you will be better off with the Old version). It also earns 3% on gas & department store purchases.

AAA Daily Advantage

AAA Daily Advantage card earns 5% back on grocery purchases, up to $500 USD cash back earned in a calendar year at grocery stores, wholesale clubs and gas stations combined.

Location Restricted

There are a number of cards that are only available in specific areas, I thought I’d put those here rather than in the main section of the site.

UMB Simply Rewards – 3x, No Annual Fee Or Cap

Our full review

This card earns 3x points on gas stations grocery stores, discount stores, restaurants & fast food. There is no cap on the amount of points you can earn. This card is available in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas. It might also be available in different states under a different name  (e.g First National Bank offers same card. This comment covers other states)

Bank Of The West Cash Back Mastercard – No Annual Fee Or Cap

Our full review

This card earns 3% cash back on groceries, dining & gas purchases. It has no annual fee and no spending cap (apart from gas, there is a $1,500 cap on that). It’s available in the following states: AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY.

Honorable Mentions

Chase Freedom 5%, Rotating Categories With $1,500 Cap, No Annual Fee

The Chase Freedom card earns 5% in rotating categories and one of those categories for Q2 2017 is grocery stories. There is a quarterly spending cap of $1,500.

Wells Fargo Cash Back Card 5%, First Six Months, No Annual Fee

The Wells Fargo cash back card earns 5% on all gas, grocery & drug store purchases. Unfortunately it only earns at this rate for the first six months and then it defaults to a flat 1% on all purchases. This is another card that isn’t really worth it unless you have ridiculous high spend in those categories, in which case I’d recommend getting a card dedicated to each of them instead.

It’s also important to keep in mind that by getting a card like this you’d be forgoing getting a card with a high cash sign up bonus.

TD Easy Rewards Visa Credit Card 5%, First Six Months, No Annual Fee

The TD Easy Rewards card is very similar to both the cards above. It earns 5% on dining, groceries, gas & cable and utility bill payments but only for the first six months after account opening. It then drops to 1% on all purchases.

Cards That Didn’t Make The Cut

  • American Express Hilton HHonors: 5 Hilton HHonors points per $1 spent, no annual fee
  • PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature: 3x points on all grocery store purchases (worth 2.5% in Visa gift cards)
  • Barclay Arrival Plus: 2x miles on all purchases $89 annual fee (2.2% cash back when redeeming against travel statement credit)
  • Fidelity Visa: 2% cash back on all purchases, no annual fee
  • AAA member rewards: 2% cash back on gas, grocery & drugstores, no annual fee
  • U.S Bank Cash+: You can pick grocery stores as a 2% cash back option, no annual fee
  • Chase Disney Premier: 2% cash back, no annual fee
  • Union Bank Graphite Amex: 2% cash back, no annual fee first year and then $99 annually

If you know of any cards that earn at a high rate on grocery store purchases. Please let us know, we’ll be happy to include them in this post. You can contact us or comment below. This post is an affiliate link free zone and you won’t find any affiliate links on this page. We appreciate you using our links where ever possible.

If you’d like to see similar information for a different category, then click on one of the below links:
    William Charles
  • On March 23, 2017, 22:29

View Comments (158)

  • Chase Freedom Flex current grocery store 10% cashback offer: $12,000 max spend for new cardholders for their first year, in addition to the quarterly rotating 5% bonus categories ($1,500 max spend per quarter, requires activation), 5% Chase Travel bookings (no limit on spend), 3% drugstores & dining (no limit on spend), 1% on all other spend (no limit).

    10% Cash Back in the grocery store category (excluding Walmart and Target) until the earlier of the end of your first 12 months or first $12,000 spent: You'll earn 10% Cash Back rewards total for each $1 spent on purchases in the grocery store category (excluding Walmart and Target) made within your first 12 months from account opening, or until you reach $12,000 in grocery store purchases, whichever occurs first (9% additional Cash Back rewards on top of the 1% Cash Back rewards earned on each purchase). Please note, if grocery stores is a quarterly bonus category during your first 12 months, you can earn both this 10% new cardmember bonus and the 5% quarterly bonus offers simultaneously until you reach the spend cap for each. However, because both bonuses are earned as additional Cash Back rewards on top of the 1% Cash Back rewards earned on each purchase, the most you will earn is 14% Cash Back rewards: 1% on every purchase, plus 9% on grocery stores through this new cardmember bonus, plus 4% on grocery stores through the quarterly bonus. The additional 9% Cash Back rewards will appear on your billing statement in a separate line from the base 1% Cash Back rewards.

    Plus:

    5% total Cash Back on qualifying Lyft rides through 03/2025: You'll earn an additional 4% Cash Back rewards for each $1 spent when your card is used for qualifying Lyft products and services purchased through the Lyft mobile application through 03/31/2025. Qualifying Lyft products and services include rides taken in Classic, Shared, Lux, or XL modes; bike and scooter rides; and subscription and membership products. Purchase of gift cards, car rentals, vehicle service centers, miscellaneous fees, and other Lyft products and services are excluded from this promotion. Future Lyft products or services may not be eligible for additional Cash Back. You may see "5% Cash Back rewards" in marketing materials to refer to the 4% Cash Back rewards earned in addition to the 1% Cash Back rewards earned on all purchases. The additional 4% Cash Back rewards will appear on your billing statement in a separate line from the 1% Cash Back rewards. Lyft is not responsible for the provision of, or the failure to provide, Chase benefits or services.

  • Amex Blue Cash Preferred (I think the list above just had Everday) and:or Citi Custom Cash. Or, potentially both, I’d spend is high enough and/or you’re able to tag team with a spouse and have substantial grocery spend. Don’t forget that gift cards bought at grocery stores also count as grocery spend AND get bonus points at places like Kroger and Tom Thumb.

  • I think its worth mentioning since I purchase most of my groceries at Walmart due to cost savings, that the Penfed Platinum card probably has the best grocery cash back at 2.25% cash when grocery shopping at Walmart or Target.

  • I know it takes a lot of time, but just was thinking with grocery price inflation, it would be awesome (and maybe could bring in more DOC users) to update this post in particular. Any way the rest of us can help?

    Just followed the AAA card’s post and found on your linked post that it’s now only 3% on groceries.

    I’m likely going to drop my Citi Custom Cash soon as part of the Banking on Our Future action to push the big four banks Citi, BoA, Chase, and Wells Fargo to stop funding fossil fuel projects (https://thirdact.org/act/bank-on-our-future-pledge/ for anyone who’s interested). And am scoping out alternatives.

    So far am thinking to use Discover’s Grocery and Digital Wallets quarters along with the Kroger card’s $3K in digital wallets (and possibly some new card spend downs :)), but another 5% card would be awesome.

    I don’t want to have to deal with Amex’s annual fee and having to put $6K on the card to make it even out to 5%.

    Might also apply for the USAlliance card or Nusenda’s card with grocery 5% quarter(s) as well. Appreciate everyone’s contributions here!

    • So the Annual Fee for Amex bothers you but the Annual Fee for being a AAA memebr to be elligible for this card, DOES NOT !! ?? People never fail to amaze me !! I don't know when people learn to say NO to all the crappy annual membership fees in this country !

      • It does seem to be mostly still up to date, though the order seems off—it says is in order roughly by best card but seems like the AAA Daily Advantage card should be first/near the top as the best card, along with other 5% cards. Not sure if that would be easy to change or not. Sometimes wish readers could volunteer to do some of the work for y’all to make it easier!

  • The best card for groceries right now is the USALLIANCE Visa Signature card.

    6% on groceries and 2% on all other purchases until at least the end of 2023, at which point it may or may not change.

    • Is there any update on that card? AAA Daily AAdvantage seems like the best long term for groceries. The $10K annual spend cap (which includes other categories) is a limitation but along with a quarter of 5% on a rotating card(s), seems like would get many people pretty far towards covering all groceries.

      Also the Kroger family of cards (includes Harris Teeter, etc) with 5% on Apple Pay/Google Pay/etc is easy to use at most grocery stores. $3K max per year

    • 6% grocery is capped at $2000 a month now. Will be seen if it makes it through the rest of 2023 with further nerfing.

    • Sounds like a good card. Is there an annual fee? I went with the Chase Flex. 5% for a year, stackable with the first quarter bonus. Average only a couple hundred a month in groceries anyway so can do a straight 1500 in grocery gift cards for the year.

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