Best Credit Cards for Groceries in 2025 (Earn More on Every Grocery Run)

The average American household spends $5,700 a year on groceries. If you're putting that on the wrong credit card — or worse, a debit card — you're leaving hundreds of dollars of rewards on the table every year. The right grocery credit card can earn you enough points for a free flight, a hotel night, or straight cash back just from your weekly Trader Joe's run.

This is the definitive 2025 guide to maximizing your grocery spending.

The Top Grocery Credit Cards Compared

Before diving into each card, here's the fast comparison:

Card	Grocery Earn Rate	Annual Fee	Best For
Amex Blue Cash Preferred	6% at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6k/yr)	$95 ($0 first year)	Cash back maximizers
Amex Gold Card	4x points at U.S. supermarkets (no cap)	$325	Travel points, high spenders
Capital One SavorOne	3% on groceries (no cap)	$0	No-fee cash back
Chase Freedom Flex	5% quarterly categories (sometimes groceries)	$0	Rotating bonus hunters
Citi Custom Cash	5% on top spend category (up to $500/mo)	$0	Single-category maximizers
Amazon Prime Visa	5% at Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh	$0 (with Prime)	Whole Foods shoppers

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Best Overall: Amex Blue Cash Preferred

The card: 6% cash back on U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000/year in purchases, then 1%), 6% on select U.S. streaming services, 3% on transit, and 1% on everything else.

The math: If you spend $450/month on groceries ($5,400/year), you earn $324 in cash back — minus the $95 annual fee = $229 net profit from groceries alone. Add the streaming and transit perks and this card pays for itself many times over.

The catch:

• The 6% rate only applies to U.S. supermarkets — not Walmart, Target, Costco, or warehouse clubs. Those are coded differently.
• The $6,000/year cap (about $500/month) limits top earners. If your grocery spend exceeds that, you need a second card.
• Amex is occasionally not accepted at smaller stores

Best for: Households spending $300–$500/month on groceries who want cash back, not points.

Sign-up bonus: Typically $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in the first 6 months — that's essentially a free month of groceries.

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Best for Travel Points: Amex Gold Card

The card: 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (no annual cap), plus 4x at restaurants worldwide, 3x on flights, 1x on everything else.

Why it wins for travelers: Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to 21+ airline and hotel partners — including Delta, British Airways, Air France, Singapore Airlines, and Marriott. When you transfer at peak value, points can be worth 1.5–2+ cents each — meaning your grocery spend earns the equivalent of 6–8% back in travel value.

The math: $5,400/year in groceries = 21,600 Membership Rewards points. At 2 cents/point value (business class transfer): $432 in travel value from groceries alone.

The catch:

• $325 annual fee (though $240 in annual dining credits and $100 in Resy credits effectively offset much of it)
• Only valuable if you actually redeem for travel — cash redemptions are terrible (0.6 cents/point)
• Amex supermarket restriction applies (no Walmart, Costco, wholesale clubs)

Best for: Travel hackers who already use Amex points and want uncapped grocery earning.

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Best No-Annual-Fee Option: Capital One SavorOne

The card: 3% cash back on dining, groceries, and entertainment — no annual fee, no caps.

Why it's excellent: Most competing no-fee grocery cards earn 1.5–2%. The SavorOne's 3% flat rate with no annual fee and no earning cap is genuinely exceptional. For anyone who doesn't want to think about category management, this is the smart pick.

The math: $5,400/year in groceries = $162/year cash back with zero fee drag.

The catch:

• Same grocery exclusion applies (Walmart, Costco, Target not coded as grocery)
• 3% is good but falls short of Amex BCP's 6% for pure grocery maximizers
• Capital One miles are less flexible for premium travel redemptions

Best for: People who want simplicity, no annual fee, and solid rewards without complexity.

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Best for Costco and Wholesale Clubs: Citi Costco Anywhere Visa

Most "grocery" cards specifically exclude Costco, Sam's Club, and warehouse clubs. The Citi Costco Anywhere Visa is the exception.

The card: 2% cash back on Costco.com and at Costco warehouses, 4% on gas (up to $7,000/year), 3% on restaurants and travel, 1% on everything else. No annual fee (Costco membership required).

The catch: Rewards are paid annually in February as a Costco cash coupon — you can't redeem whenever you want. And you must be a Costco member ($65–$130/year).

Best for: Costco regulars who feel burned by other cards ignoring their warehouse club spend.

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Best for Whole Foods Shoppers: Amazon Prime Visa

The card: 5% back at Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, 5% at Amazon.com (with Prime), 2% at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, 1% everywhere else.

No annual fee (requires an Amazon Prime membership at $139/year).

The math: If you shop primarily at Whole Foods, this is the clear winner — 5% beats even the Amex BCP's 6% after accounting for the annual fee math for lower spenders.

The catch:

• Only useful if you're a Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh shopper
• Rewards are Amazon credits — good if you buy on Amazon, annoying if you don't

Best for: Prime members who do most grocery shopping at Whole Foods.

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Best Rotating Category Play: Chase Freedom Flex

The card: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in quarterly rotating categories, 3% on dining and drugstores, 1% on everything else.

Groceries appear as a 5% category roughly once or twice a year (historically Q1 and Q4 sometimes include grocery stores). When that happens, the Freedom Flex earns 5% on up to $1,500 — meaning $75 in cash back for just that quarter.

The strategy: Use the Freedom Flex during grocery category quarters, pair it with a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve to pool points, and convert cash back to Ultimate Rewards points (worth 1.25–1.5 cents each for travel).

Best for: Chase ecosystem users who want to stack cards for maximum value.

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The Citi Custom Cash Hack

The card: 5% cash back on your top eligible spend category each billing cycle (up to $500/month), 1% on everything else. No annual fee.

The grocery play: If groceries are your highest monthly spend category and it's under $500/month, the Citi Custom Cash earns 5% automatically — no rotating categories to activate. Just spend and earn.

Important: The card auto-assigns the 5% to whichever eligible category you spend most on that month. If you suddenly spend more on dining, it shifts. Be intentional.

Best for: Moderate grocery spenders ($200–$500/month) who want a set-it-and-forget-it 5% without annual fees.

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What "U.S. Supermarkets" Actually Means

This trips people up constantly. Here's the definitive breakdown of what counts (and doesn't) for Amex grocery category:

Retailer	Counts as Grocery? (Amex)
Kroger, Safeway, Publix	✅ Yes
Whole Foods	✅ Yes
Trader Joe's	✅ Yes
Sprouts, Fresh Market	✅ Yes
Walmart Grocery	❌ No (general merchandise)
Target	❌ No (general merchandise)
Costco	❌ No (warehouse club)
Sam's Club	❌ No (warehouse club)
Amazon Fresh	❌ No (usually coded as Amazon)

Knowing this is essential before choosing a card. If you primarily shop at Walmart or Costco, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred's headline 6% rate won't apply to most of your grocery spend.

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How to Stack Cards for Maximum Grocery Rewards

The ideal two-card grocery setup:

1. Amex Blue Cash Preferred for traditional supermarket spending (up to $6k/year at 6%)
2. Citi Costco Anywhere Visa for Costco and warehouse clubs (2%)

Or for travel points maximizers:

1. Amex Gold Card for uncapped supermarket 4x (and transferable points)
2. Amazon Prime Visa for Whole Foods at 5%

The key principle: one card rarely wins in every category. A two-card system catches the gaps.

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When You're Ready to Travel with Those Points

Here's the fun part: grocery rewards add up fast. At $5,400/year in supermarket spend, you could be earning:

• 21,600 Amex Gold points → enough for a one-way business class flight to Europe on the right transfer partner
• $324 cash back from the Amex BCP → enough to cover a couple of nights in a European hotel

When you're ready to use those points for a trip, Faroway makes it easy to build an itinerary around where your points can take you. It's an AI trip planner that generates personalized day-by-day itineraries — useful whether you're using points for a flight and need to plan around a destination, or just want to optimize a trip from scratch.

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Bottom Line: Which Card Should You Get?

Your Situation	Best Card
Max cash back, traditional supermarkets	Amex Blue Cash Preferred
Travel hacker, high grocery spender	Amex Gold Card
No annual fee, simple rewards	Capital One SavorOne
Costco/warehouse club shopper	Citi Costco Anywhere Visa
Whole Foods devotee	Amazon Prime Visa
Under $500/month, want 5%	Citi Custom Cash

Don't leave $200–$400/year on the table by swiping the wrong card. The right grocery card is one of the easiest wins in personal finance — you're going to buy groceries anyway.

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Once you've stacked enough points for that dream trip, let Faroway build your itinerary. Tell it where you want to go, your travel style, and your budget — and it'll hand you a complete, personalized plan in minutes.