About a year ago, I stood at my local grocery store holding a single can of enchilada sauce, and it was four, FOUR, dollars a can. I swear prices quietly doubled while I wasn't looking. I stood there doing the mental math on a Tuesday taco night for a family of six and thought, okay, if grocery prices are going to be this astronomical, I might as well make the very best of every single dollar. So I doubled down, and now I make sure I am smart about how I am buying my groceries.

I cannot make the enchilada sauce cheaper. But I can make sure that every grocery run is quietly earning me points and miles that fly my family around the world. With celiac disease in the mix and gluten-free everything costing what it costs, trust me, I have a lot of motivation to squeeze value out of the cart.

So here are the best credit cards for groceries in 2026, starting with my top picks, then the other strong options worth comparing, and finally my favorite little trick for stacking additional rewards through Instacart if you're a busy parent like me and sometimes the idea of an in-person grocery run feels like dread 😝.

My top pick for groceries: The American Express® Gold Card

If you take nothing else from this post, take this. The American Express® Gold Card earns 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X after that. Four points per dollar on groceries is the strongest earning rate you will find on a travel rewards card, and Membership Rewards points are some of the most flexible in the game. You can transfer them to a long list of airline and hotel partners and turn a taco-night grocery run into a lie-flat seat.

The card carries a $325 annual fee, which I know makes people flinch. But it also comes loaded with monthly statement credits that quietly chip away at that fee, and if your household spends real money on groceries and dining the way most families do, the 4X earning on U.S. supermarkets and online groceries makes this card an incredible option.

If groceries are a top-three line item in your budget (and for most of us, they absolutely are), the math just works.

🔥 ELEVATED OFFER ALERT!
New American Express® Gold Card applicants may be eligible for an initial bonus of as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer. You can apply with confidence and see your exact offer with no impact to your credit score through the link below.
→ Compare our favorite cards for groceries here!

One small note: American Express counts U.S. supermarkets in this category, which does not include Walmart, Target, or wholesale clubs like Costco. Keep that in mind, because it matters for the next card too. If you are a Walmart or Costco shopper, keep reading!

My second pick: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the card I recommend more than any other to people just getting started, and it earns 3X points on online grocery purchases. That is groceries you order for delivery or pickup, which honestly is how a lot of us shop now anyway.

Two things to know. First, the 3X online grocery category excludes Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs, so it rewards the everyday online grocery order, not the big-box haul. Second, at a $95 annual fee, this card is one of the best cards in the entire points world for the price. It earns flexible Chase points, it comes with real travel protections, and its welcome offer is consistently generous.

If the Amex Gold is my grocery workhorse, the Sapphire Preferred is my reliable, low-fee, do-everything card that also happens to reward the online grocery orders I place on repeat.

For Costco and Walmart shoppers: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Here is where I lose some of you, because a huge chunk of my readers do their real grocery shopping at Costco, Walmart, and other wholesale clubs. And as we just covered, most grocery bonus categories specifically exclude those stores. Frustrating.

This is exactly where the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card shines. It earns 2X miles on every single everyday purchase, everywhere, with no bonus categories to track and no exclusions. So when you fill your cart at Costco or run through Walmart, you are still earning a flat 2X on all of it. It is also a Visa, which matters because Costco only accepts Visa in store.

Yes, the annual fee is $395, which is not small. But it comes with a $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles, plus lounge access, and for a family that spends heavily at warehouse clubs those credits tend to bring the real cost way down. If the bulk of your grocery budget lives at Costco or Walmart, this is the card that finally rewards it.

Other great grocery cards worth comparing

The three above are my headliners, but they are not the only strong options. Depending on where and how you shop, one of these might fit your household even better.

Citi Strata Premier® Card. This one is quietly one of the best grocery store rewards cards on the market. It earns 3X points at supermarkets with no annual cap, and it works overseas too, which most grocery cards do not. It earns transferable ThankYou® points, has a $95 annual fee, and includes an annual hotel credit. If you spend a lot at the supermarket and want no cap to worry about, put this on your compare list.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. If you would rather earn straight cash back than travel points, this is the highest grocery rate out there: 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%. Cash back comes as Reward Dollars, so just know these are not transferable travel points the way Membership Rewards are. It has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. Same category rules apply, so Costco and Walmart are excluded.

The right credit card really does come down to your spending habits, your favorite grocery stores, and whether you want cash back or travel points. That is exactly why I always tell people to line them up side by side before applying for a new card.

→ Check out and compare our favorite cards for groceries here!

How to earn 5x on every dollar spent on groceries with Instacart + Rakuten

Now for my favorite little grocery secret, and the reason I regularly earn around 5x on every dollar I spend on groceries.

I use Instacart faithfully. With four kids, a business, homeschooling, and a body that reacts to gluten, the hours Instacart gives me back are worth their weight in gold. I will not pretend it is free, though. Be aware that Instacart prices can run higher than in-store, and there are fees and markups, so it is not the move if you are pinching every penny and you want to watch those fees. But for the time and energy it saves me, I have made peace with it, and I make the rewards work as hard as possible. (And to be honest, I think I am saving money down the line by avoiding the checkout lane that I am an absolute sucker for!)

Here is the stack. Instead of going straight to Instacart, I start at Rakuten first, then click through to Instacart from there. Rakuten pays cash back, or points for shopping you were already going to do, and I have my account set to earn American Express Membership Rewards® points instead of cash. That Rakuten earning sits right on top of the points my credit card already earns on the order. Between the two layers, my everyday grocery delivery regularly lands me right around 5x on every dollar. Same groceries. Same delivery. Just far more rewards. Plus, I can add my loyalty info for my favorite grocery stores, so I am earning fuel and grocery rewards too. It takes an extra 5 seconds and earns me so many points.

How Rakuten works (and my sign-up link)

If you have never used Rakuten, it is beautifully simple. Rakuten partners with thousands of retailers for online shopping, including Instacart. When you start your shopping trip at Rakuten and click through to the store, the store pays Rakuten a commission, and Rakuten shares a cut back with you. You are earning that on top of your credit card rewards on the exact same purchase. Download the browser extension, and it will even remind you so you never forget to click through. Rates change often and vary by store, so it is always worth a peek before you check out.

Right now, new members who sign up through my referral link can earn a $50 bonus, or 5,000 Amex or Bilt points, after spending $50 through Rakuten. Bonuses do change, so check my link for the current offer, but this has been the best I have ever seen.

To earn Amex Membership Rewards, you DO need a card that earns them, like the Amex Gold, which you can link to your account. You don't actually have to check out with the card to use Rakuten, but you do need one to link your account.

Sign up for Rakuten with my link and grab your bonus here!

An easy way to hit that $50 or 5,000 points to unlock the bonus: place a grocery order through Instacart. You were going to spend the money regardless, so you might as well get paid to do it.

The bottom line

I cannot bring back the two-dollar can of enchilada sauce. Those days are gone. But if we are all paying these grocery prices anyway, we might as well let every cart earn its keep. The right grocery card, stacked with Rakuten and a little Instacart strategy, turns the most ordinary Tuesday grocery run into free flights and hotel nights for the whole family.

Take a few minutes, compare your options, and pick the card that actually fits how you shop.

→ Check out and compare our favorite cards for groceries here!

Hugs, Kam

Frequently Asked Questions

Does using Instacart mean I pay a surcharge for my groceries?

Sometimes, yes, and it really depends on the store. Some retailers build a small markup into their Instacart prices, and delivery and service fees stack on top of that. I keep an eye on it, but here is my honest math. Even with a small surcharge here and there, not dragging my four kids through a grocery store and avoiding the classic checkout-line impulse buys still leaves me ahead most weeks. If surcharges make you nervous, here is my workaround: use the Capital One Venture X for your in-person runs at Walmart and Costco, and save the American Express Gold for the supermarkets you walk into yourself, places like Kroger, Harris Teeter, or Whole Foods.

When do Rakuten points post to my account?

Rakuten points are deposited to your account quarterly. If you are earning cash back, the cash is put into your PayPal account once a quarter as well. There is nothing better than seeing a nice chunk of points hit thanks to groceries I already had to buy.

How do I earn Membership Rewards points through Rakuten instead of cash back?

In your Rakuten account settings, there is an option that controls how you get paid out. Instead of the default cash back to PayPal or a check, you can choose to convert your earnings into American Express Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 rate. Flip that setting once and every future purchase routes there automatically. That is the whole trick behind stacking Rakuten on top of my Amex Gold grocery orders.

Why do credit card companies exclude Walmart, Costco, and Target from grocery bonus categories?

This trips up almost everyone. Card issuers technically code these stores as "superstores" or "wholesale clubs" in their merchant category codes, not supermarkets, even though you are buying groceries there. That is why a card that earns big at U.S. supermarkets can pay you just 1X at Walmart. It is annoying, but it is also exactly why I recommend a flat-rate card like the Venture X for warehouse and big-box shopping.

What about co-branded credit cards, like airline or hotel cards, for groceries?

Most co-branded cards, the ones tied directly to a single airline or hotel, are not my first pick for groceries. Co-branded credit cards usually save their best bonus categories for spending directly with that airline or hotel. I would rather see your grocery spend land on a card like the Amex Gold or Sapphire Preferred, then transfer those flexible points to whichever airline or hotel program you actually need when it is time to book.

Do any of these grocery cards charge foreign transaction fees?

Nope, every card on this list waives foreign transaction fees, so you are safe to use them while traveling too. The Citi Strata Premier Card is worth calling out here because it also earns its 3X supermarket rate at grocery stores abroad, not just in the U.S., which is unusual for this category.

Are other food delivery services worth stacking rewards with besides Instacart?

Absolutely. The same Rakuten trick works with other food services on the platform, so check your Rakuten dashboard before you order from any of them. Rates and available retailers change often, so it is worth a quick look each time rather than assuming Instacart is always the best option.