8 best credit cards for groceries for September 2024

Bonus category cards offer higher rewards rates in select categories — typically anywhere from 3 percent to 6 percent back in rewards. Sometimes there is an associated spending cap. Cards that offer bonus grocery rewards earn cash back, points or miles on purchases at stores classified as supermarkets based on their merchant category code. That includes favorites like Safeway, Albertsons, Kroger, Publix and many other local grocery stores.

Co-branded cards carry the name of a retailer and a credit card issuer. Like traditional credit cards, you can use a co-branded grocery rewards card wherever credit cards are accepted, but they tend to earn the best rewards at the retailer named on the card. Co-branded cards are mostly offered by large national superstores.

Store credit cards like the Target RedCard™ are closed-loop cards (also known as private-label cards), which you can only use at a specific retail store. It’s important to note that these cards will not earn bonus rewards in grocery categories. Superstores (like Target and Walmart) and wholesale clubs (like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s) are separate merchant categories from grocery stores. Also, these store-only cards tend to carry higher APRs than other types of grocery store cards but may be more accessible to people with a lower credit score. These cards may also give you access to deferred-interest financing options, which can help you pay off store purchases over time (or wreak havoc on your finances if you fail to pay off your balance before the promotional financing period ends).

Grocery rewards maximizers discuss making the most of credit card rewards regularly in communities like r/CreditCards*. Grocery credit cards are among the most commonly discussed cards because this is a major spending category for nearly everyone.

One user argued that the Blue Cash Preferred is only a good card for one year because of the $6,000 yearly spending cap. Once you factor in the annual fee, “the best rewards rate you can achieve on grocery spending alone is only 4.4 [percent]. If you spend anything else besides exactly $6,000 on groceries (higher or lower) then the effective cash back rate is even worse.”*

Another user prefers the no-annual-fee Citi Custom Cash since they don’t spend past the monthly cap on groceries.

“The best thing is that [it] is always 5 [percent] cash back for the first $500 per month. It works for me as I usually don’t spend more than that per month on groceries.”*

Here’s how the math works: The Blue Cash Preferred earns 6 percent back on up to $6,000 spent every year, then 1 percent. Spending exactly $6,000 per year at U.S. supermarkets with the card earns $360 — a 6 percent return for the $6,000 spent. However, when you subtract the annual fee from your earnings, you’re left with $265 — a 4.4 percent return on $6,000 spent.

The further you are from spending $6,000 with the Blue Cash Preferred, the lower the overall return you’ll see, no matter how high the card’s cash back rate is.

If you spend exactly $500 in your top eligible spend category on the Citi Custom Cash each billing cycle for groceries, you’d spend $6,000 (the yearly cap on the Blue Cash Preferred) and earn $300 in cash back before the earning rate drops to 1 percent. That beats the Blue Cash Preferred, which would earn a net of $265 in cash back after paying the $95 annual fee.

*The quotes and citations included on this page have been verified by our editorial team and are accurate as of the posting date. Be sure to check the issuer's website/terms and conditions for all up to date content. Outlinked content may contain views and opinions that do not reflect the views and opinions of Bankrate.

Yes. If your store offers it, you can purchase groceries online for pickup or delivery using a credit card. Online purchases made directly through a grocery store typically earn the same rewards rate as when shopping in-store. Third-party delivery services like Instacart may also count as grocery store purchases and should earn rewards at the same rate as in-store purchases.

Yes. In addition to helping you earn rewards on grocery store purchases, these cards can also help you build credit. Just make sure you’re making on-time payments and keeping your monthly balances low, though paying in full can help you avoid interest charges and enjoy the full value of the rewards you earn. 

Whether an issuer considers a purchase a “grocery purchase” depends on what four-digit merchant category code (MCC) is listed next to the purchase on your card statement. 

Each major credit card network has its own MCC list, but the main Visa or Mastercard MCC you’ll want to look for is “5411: Grocery Stores and supermarkets.” Purchases on a Visa or Mastercard credit card that are assigned this MCC should be eligible for rewards as part of a grocery store or supermarket bonus category. Products bought at supermarkets, orders from certain grocery delivery services and bakery or deli purchases could all meet the criteria for this distinction. However, not all grocery store purchases earn rewards.

The primary criteria for a rewards-earning card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits. In other words, we assess whether the card earns rewards at a high rate in the most popular spending categories. 

We use consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to get a reliable third-party measure of people’s spending habits. The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. From here, we determine a “chargeable” spend (which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards). After subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases, education and healthcare, we get a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $25,400.  

This includes the following spending by category:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we are able to assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. 

We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.

Here’s a deeper look at the factors considered as part of a rewards card’s “Value” rating:

We also score cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards cards. However, the latter rating only has a slight influence on the card’s score and whether the card is included in our list, since rewards card users generally try to avoid carrying a balance.

More important to both a card’s score and its inclusion in our list is how its annual fee influences its overall value. We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. 

Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee. After all, the highest rewards rates and most valuable perks are often found on cards with annual fees. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against those of other cards in the category when you subtract annual fees.

That said, we strive to include as many no-annual-fee options in our list as possible since many people would rather not worry about offsetting fees, even if a card carries impressive rewards and perks.

Rewards cards may make it easy to earn a lot of points, miles or cash back, but how easy is it to use those rewards? After all, if it takes a ton of effort to redeem rewards or you can only redeem rewards in a couple of ways, a card may be more trouble than it’s worth. 

As such, we rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards. We factor this rating into a card’s overall score and consider it when deciding on a card’s inclusion in our list. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on only a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to travel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 includes fewer features than even standard credit cards (for example, an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits). 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

In evaluating the best cards, we tend to favor cards that offer at least Tier 3 benefits, unless they include other unique features that could make up for less-impressive perks.