Best for grocery
Best Grocery Credit Cards
Big grocery bills? These cards could reward you more.
Pick a card that fits how you spend—and how you like to earn rewards.
Cash-back alternative
Blue Cash Preferred
6x on groceries (first $6,000/yr).
$395/year on the sample profile
Annual fee
$95
Welcome offer
$300 · Spend $3,000 in 6 monthsOther cards worth a look
Highest modeled value
Citi Strata Premier
$521/year on the sample profile · $95 annual fee
View card details →
For points lovers
American Express Gold
$409/year on the sample profile · $325 annual fee
View card details →Current offer shown; issuer determines eligibility.
Things to know
The highest grocery rate is only useful inside its cap. Blue Cash Preferred earns 6% — but only on the first $6,000/year, then 1%. Amex Gold's 4x runs to $25,000/year, but we charge its full $325 fee — its Uber/dining/Resy/Dunkin' credits are opt-in upside, never a fee discount — and on this wallet the capped 6% card nets more until roughly $780/month of groceries. That's why the winners here are uncapped 3x all-rounders with small fees: they reward the whole wallet and never run out of bonus rate. Note: warehouse clubs (Costco) and superstores (Walmart, Target) don't code as supermarkets and won't trigger most grocery bonuses.
See the full trade-offOur sample spending
groceries: $800/mo · dining: $120/mo · gas: $80/mo · travel: $50/mo · streaming: $20/mo · everything else: $250/mo · total $1,320/mo
Enter your numbers above and every pick recalculates. Rank every card for this spending in the finder →
See full ranking
Which one is right for the kind of person you are —
Other strong options
Same ranking, same spending — the next cards after the picks above.
Best if you also spend heavily on dining: Citi Strata Premier — still the pick with dining doubled. ($693/yr net with dining doubled.)
Best long-term value: Citi Strata Premier ($521/yr ongoing) · Best first-year opportunity: Blue Cash Preferred ($695 first year, $395/yr after year one). A one-time bonus never changes the ongoing ranking.
Show rewards math
- Cash-back alternative — Blue Cash Preferred: The best value among cash-back cards.
- For points lovers — American Express Gold: The best value among transferable-points cards.
- Highest modeled value — Citi Strata Premier: The highest net value on this spending. Money determines rank.
Guide text reviewed August 17, 2026 · figures computed at build from cards verified November 4, 2026 or later · Methodology v2026.09.4 · Ranked by net annual value (rewards minus the full annual fee — credits count only if you use them), not by who pays us.
Points valued at typical value (1.5¢ for transferable points). A different redemption style can change this order — switch yours in the finder and watch it change.
Groceries are where a good card quietly pays for itself — but the headline rate is only half the story. The cap is the other half.
Blue Cash Preferred — where the monthly rewards come from on the sample profile
| Category | Monthly | Rate | Rewards per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| groceries (6x on first $500/mo of this category, 1x after) | $800 | 6x | $33 |
| other spending | $250 | 1x | $3 |
| dining | $120 | 1x | $1 |
| gas | $80 | 3x | $2 |
| travel | $50 | 1x | $1 |
| streaming | $20 | 6x | $1 |
Where the winner changes —
Net value vs monthly grocery spend
View this chart as a table
| Monthly grocery spend | Citi Strata Premier | American Express Gold | Blue Cash Preferred |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0/mo | $89 | $-167 | $-1 |
| $100/mo | $143 | $-95 | $71 |
| $200/mo | $197 | $-23 | $143 |
| $300/mo | $251 | $49 | $215 |
| $400/mo | $305 | $121 | $287 |
| $500/mo | $359 | $193 | $359 |
| $600/mo | $413 | $265 | $371 |
| $700/mo | $467 | $337 | $383 |
| $800/mo | $521 | $409 | $395 |
| $900/mo | $575 | $481 | $407 |
| $1,000/mo | $629 | $553 | $419 |
| $1,100/mo | $683 | $625 | $431 |
| $1,200/mo | $737 | $697 | $443 |
| $1,300/mo | $791 | $769 | $455 |
| $1,400/mo | $845 | $841 | $467 |
| $1,500/mo | $899 | $913 | $479 |
Check bonus requirements
Blue Cash Preferred
Requirement: Spend $3,000 in 6 months
Welcome bonus progress
Your regular spending appears sufficient.
Estimated eligible spending: $1,320 × 6 = $7,920 against the $3,000 requirement.
Spending here means this profile’s spending.
Citi Strata Premier
Welcome offer: 60,000 points≈ $900 at our typical valuation
Requirement: Spend $4,000 in 3 months
Welcome bonus progress
Estimated shortfall $40
Below the $4,000 requirement based on the spending entered. Estimated eligible spending: $1,320 × 3 = $3,960.
Check whether ordinary eligible expenses are missing from your estimate. Don't make unnecessary purchases just to earn a bonus.
Spending here means this profile’s spending.
American Express Gold
Welcome offer: 100,000 points≈ $1,500 at our typical valuation
Requirement: Spend $8,000 in 6 months
Welcome bonus progress
Estimated shortfall $80
Below the $8,000 requirement based on the spending entered. Estimated eligible spending: $1,320 × 6 = $7,920.
Check whether ordinary eligible expenses are missing from your estimate. Don't make unnecessary purchases just to earn a bonus.
Spending here means this profile’s spending.
Best first-year opportunity
Big welcome offer. See what you need to earn it.
Blue Cash Preferred
$695 first year
- $395/year ongoing
- + $300 one-time welcome offer
- $95 annual fee, charged in full
$300 is one-time. $395/year is ongoing.
Requirement: Spend $3,000 in 6 months
Welcome bonus progress
Your regular spending appears sufficient.
Estimated eligible spending: $1,320 × 6 = $7,920 against the $3,000 requirement.
Spending here means this profile’s spending.
- Why it stands out
- Large first-year value, still ahead after the $95 annual fee — every figure here already subtracts it.
- After year one
- Approximately $395/year at this profile’s spending. Citi Strata Premier produces $521/year ongoing.
- Our take
- Excellent signup opportunity if you can naturally meet the requirement, but Citi Strata Premier is stronger for long-term use.
Worth considering if you already want this type of card.
How we value points
Figures use typical point values — the same values as Find a Card, read from one table, never typed on a page.
- Cash back: 1¢ per point typical · 1¢ cash floor
- Citi ThankYou Points: 1.5¢ per point typical · 1¢ cash floor
- American Express Membership Rewards: 1.5¢ per point typical · 0.6¢ cash floor
More card details
Best grocery card on sample spending
Best overall
Best ongoing personalized math.
Citi Strata Premier
$521/year at $800/month grocery spending +$132 vs best $0-fee alternative (Citi Strata® Card)
- Why it wins:
- Strong groceries earning (3x) plus useful dining and gas categories (3x and 3x).
- Standout benefit:
- 3x groceries — no annual cap + 3x dining
- Annual fee:
- $95
- Trade-off:
- $95 annual fee — already subtracted from every figure here. Beats the best $0-fee alternative (Citi Strata) once you spend about $250/mo on groceries + dining — you're at $920/mo.
+2 more benefits
- — $100 Hotel Savings (annual)
- — No Foreign Transaction Fees
Listed, not priced: perks never become dollars here, and credits count only if you tell us you use them.
Our take — The fee earns its keep. Citi Strata Premier nets $132 more per year than the best $0-fee option (Citi Strata), after its fee. Already hold a card? Run your numbers →
Why not the runner-up or the $0-fee option?
Why not Amex Gold? It earns $119/yr more in raw rewards, but its $325 fee eats the difference at your spending — $111/yr behind.
Why not the $0-fee option (Citi Strata)? Your groceries + dining spending earns $227/yr more here — enough to come out $132/yr ahead after the $95 fee.
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Run my full numbersFigures are estimates from our net-value model on a sample grocery-weighted profile unless you enter your own, with fees counted category-aware (credits count where you'd realize them). See our methodology page. Rates and fees change — verify on the issuer's site before applying.