What is the difference between grocery store and supermarket gratuities?
One of the most important factors in choosing the right credit card is comparing bonus types to see which one fits your spending habits. This process can be confusing because each issuer has its own definition of what falls under a particular category. For example, take the bonus category of groceries. Some issuers label this category as US supermarket, while others call it grocery. Is there a difference?
Unfortunately that’s true. Each card issuer offers this bonus category has its own parameters, which can help figure out exactly which purchases will earn rewards with each card being a guessing game. Bonuses are often determined by where you shop, not by what you buy.
Today, let’s take a look at some of the definitions and differences in the grocery bonus category.
American Express
First, let’s look at different Amex cards with bonus categories for grocery spending.
“American supermarket”
American Express has several cards that earn rewards on grocery purchases, and this category is listed as “US supermarkets.” Amex has one standardized list about what stores often activate the bonus category on its cards.
According to Amex, this category includes stores that offer “a wide variety of food and household products such as meat, fresh produce, dairy, canned and packaged goods, household cleaners, pharmaceutical products and pet supplies.” Examples of qualified sellers include:
- ALDI
- FreshLive
- Gelson’s
- Hy-Vee
- Kings Food Market
- Meijer
- ShopRite
- Smart & Ultimate
- Stop & Shop
- Name of the Trader Joe’s chain of stores
- Von
- Whole foods
- Winn-Dixie
This category does not include specialty stores (such as fish markets and liquor stores), supermarkets (such as Target and Walmart), and warehouse clubs (such as BJ’s Wholesale Club).
However, as we’ll explain later, there’s still a way to shop at some of these stores and trigger the “US supermarket” bonus.
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The list provided by Amex is not exhaustive. I’ve used American Express® Gold Card for example, at my local Harris Teeter and it’s always coded as a supermarket purchase on both cards. If you shop at a supermarket chain similar to those on the Amex list, you can still earn rewards with your eligible Amex card.
Amex card offers rewards at US supermarkets:
Information about the Amex EveryDay card and the Amex EveryDay Preferred card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Choose the best American Express credit card for you
Capital One Card
Capital One only has two cards that offer groceries as a specific bonus category, and the standard is different from that of Amex. Let’s take a look.
“Grocery”
According to Capital One, the grocery store category includes:
- Supermarket
- Specialty market
- Dairy products store
- Larder
- Freezer
Exclusions are clearly mentioned above Capital One website are supermarkets like Walmart® and Target®.
Capital One offers a little more flexibility when it comes to what rewards are earned in this category.
Unlike Amex, you can get cash back at smaller specialty stores. I like to use a local butcher, which never codes as a supermarket (predictably) for Amex. However, the Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card will count as a grocery store for rewards.
The Capital One card offers rewards at grocery stores:
Information about Capital One Savor has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best Capital One credit cards
US bank card
Bank of America categorizes grocery stores the same way as Capital One but with some notable additions.
“Grocery”
According to Bank of America, the following purchases are included in their grocery catalog:
- Grocery store/supermarket
- Freezer/meat cabinet
- Candy, nut or confectionery shop
- Dairy products store
- bakery
- Wholesale Club
The reward that rewards your candy cravings? Yes, please.
As for wholesale clubs, Bank of America is the only issuer to include them in the grocery rewards category.
That’s a huge and notable exception, since wholesale clubs often sell more than just regular groceries. That means you can easily get bonus rewards from Bank of America for things like clothes, furniture, or even computers and tablets.
Bank of America has just one card that offers rewards at grocery stores:
Related: Bank of America’s best credit cards
Chase
“Grocery”
Chase does not include supermarkets or warehouse clubs in its “grocery store” bonus category. This is complete list about what Chase said Are not count:
- Walmart
- Target
- Larger stores that sell a variety of goods and groceries, such as warehouse clubs and discount stores, and some smaller stores, such as pharmacies and stores that specialize in only a few grocery items
- Purchases were made at gas stations run by merchants who also operated grocery stores
- Seller of delivery services, unless the seller has set up those purchases to be classified in the grocery category
The Chase card offers rewards at grocery stores:
Chase doesn’t have any cards with fixed grocery store bonus categories, but it does have two cards that help you earn money at the grocery store:
Related: Chase Freedom Quarterly Bonus Categories
Retailers typically do not code as grocery stores
- Walmart (One notable exception is Walmart Neighborhood Markets, which are often coded as grocery stores)
- Target
- Costco (One notable exception is the Bank of America card)
- BJ’s (One notable exception is the Bank of America card)
- Sam’s Club (One notable exception is the Bank of America card)
Grocery delivery service
There are several grocery delivery services that partner with merchants. For example, Instacart delivers groceries from thousands of local grocery stores. Most issuers, such as Amex and Chase, code Instacart orders as grocery/supermarket.
That means even if you buy from a merchant like Costco, which is typically excluded from category rewards (with the exception of Bank of America), you can still earn rewards if you use Instacart or the service other delivery.
Related: Your definitive guide to online grocery delivery services
Bottom line
This isn’t a complete survey of every card that offers rewards for grocery spending, but it does give you an idea of what top issuers consider qualifying purchases for their grocery shopping bonus category.
It’s helpful for publishers to publish detailed terms and conditions about what will or won’t count towards a certain bonus category, but sometimes it’s still just a guessing game. If you’re not 100% sure that a particular merchant will earn rewards with your card, try it out. The worst case scenario is that you don’t earn a bonus reward on your $30 grocery bill and you’ll know to use another credit card next time.
