What does your grocery run look like? Do you hop into a car to hunt for bargains at discount grocers, opt for convenience by shopping from the store located closest to home, or actively seek out premium outlets for their better food selection and brighter-lit aisles? Regardless of how (and where) you choose to restock your fridge, you have likely noticed that your grocery bill is more expensive lately. According to Statistics Canada, the price of food increase by 10.8% in August 2022, the fastest pace since 1981.
You can save a considerable chunk of change on your grocery bill by using a rewards credit card that offers points or cash back. Since not all credit cards are accepted at every grocery, we’ve broken down our list of the best credit cards in Canada for groceries by store – so you can maximize your savings without having to compromise on where you shop.
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Best credit cards for groceries in Canada – by grocery store
- Foodbasics, Longo’s, Mcewan, Metro, Pusateri’s, Rabba, Safeway, Sobeys, Whole Foods: American Express Cobalt and Scotiabank Gold American Express
- Frescho, Loblaws, Superstore: CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite and Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite
- Costco: Tangerine Money-Back Card
- No Frills: Tangerine Money-Back Card
- Walmart Supercentres: Walmart Rewards Mastercard and Tangerine Money-Back Card
American Express Cobalt
Ratehub.ca's Take
For the third year in a row, we have selected the American Express Cobalt as the Best Overall Rewards Credit Card in Canada. The American Express Cobalt is the perfect choice for a rewards card that delivers for both everyday spending and travel. The card offers a flexible point redemption system, strong travel insurance policy, and a generous welcome bonus. With its top-notch rewards system, cardholders earn 5 times the points on eligible restaurants and food delivery purchases, 3 times the points on eligible streaming services, and 2 times the points on travel and daily transit. This works out to a whopping 5% return on all your food bills!
Pros
- Generous welcome bonus - earn 2,500 points for each month you spend $500, up to a maximum of 30,000 points.
- Flexible point redemption options for travel, gift cards, merchandise, or purchases
- High earning potential for restaurants and takeout compared to other cards
- Front of the Line Presale and Reserved ticket access to events and special offers
- Strong travel insurance with up to $5,000,000 in travel emergency medical coverage
- No fee for additional authorized users (an average fee of $30 - 50 on other comparable cards)
Cons
- Monthly fee of $12.99 (coming to an annual fee of $156, which is higher than most other rewards cards)
- American Express isn’t as widely accepted in Canada compared to Visa and Mastercard
- Travel insurance package does not cover trip cancellation or medical coverage for cardholders over the age of 65
- Airport lounge access isn’t provided, which may be disappointing to frequent travels
Scotiabank Gold American Express
Ratehub.ca's take
The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has a best in class return on spending due to the 5 times multiplier for every $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, food delivery and entertainment and 3 times multiplier on gas and transit. This adds up to a ton of points on your everyday purchases. On top of that, cardholders will not have to pay a foreign transaction fee on foreign currency purchases and have access to a cohesive travel insurance package.
A caveat of both these above mentioned cards is that – as American Express Cards – they’re not as universally accepted at all grocery chains including most discount grocers and all Loblaw-owned stores. However, if you make your food runs at groceries where American Express is accepted, the Cobalt or Scotiabank Gold should be your top consideration.
Pros
- High average % return on spending (5 points per $1 on purchases) - best in class multipliers across groceries, restaurants, entertainment, gas and transit
- No foreign exchange fee on any foreign currency purchases while traveling abroad or shopping online (typically a 2.5% fee)
- Extensive insurance coverage - The $1 million travel medical insurance lasts for 25 days, which is one of the longer coverage periods you’ll get
- Great welcome bonus with the opportunity to earn up to $850 in value in the first 12 months, including up to 45,000 bonus Scene+ points. Must apply by April 30, 2023.
- Access to VIP airport lounges and around the clock concierge services
Cons
- Points will expire if they are not used with 12 months of the purchase date
- American Express isn’t as widely accepted in Canada compared to Visa and Mastercard
- Annual Fee $120
CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite
Ratehub.ca's take
The biggest selling point of the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* is its impressive rewards on everyday essentials. On top of the 1% earn rate for all purchases, this card earns an industry-leading 4% cash back on both groceries and gas purchases – two of the most common spending categories for Canadian households. Thanks to CIBC’s new Cash Back on demand feature, cardholders can choose to redeem rewards at any time as a statement credit starting in increments of $25.
Pros
- Significantly higher earn rates on groceries and gas than most other cards (4% cash back)
- Flexible cash back redemption option allowing users to redeem their cash back at any time in increments of $25
- Access to CIBC’s Pace It program, allowing you to pay off large purchases in monthly increments
- Features an excellent digital-only welcome bonus, where new users who apply online can earn 15% cash back welcome bonus of up to $300 (first 4 statements).
- Access to the Visa Infinite Program, entitling you to attend special dining events and hotel perks at participating hotels and restaurants
Cons
- Annual fee ($120) and personal income requirements ($60,0000) may be prohibitive
- Insurance coverage isn’t as comprehensive as other similar rewards cards (if insurance is a priority for you, consider the cards featured on our list of best credit cards for travel insurance)
Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite
Ratehub.ca's take
Similar to the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite credit card, the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite card offers impressive rewards on everyday purchases. This card earns 4% back on groceries, recurring bill payments, and subscriptions like Netflix, 2% on gas, local transit and transportation costs and 1% on everything else. This card can help offset rising household expenses and is considered to be one of the best cash back credit cards.
Pros
- Welcome bonus - Earn 10% cash back on all purchases for the first 3 months (up to $2,000 in total purchases).
- Significantly higher earn rates on groceries and gas than most other cards (4% cash back)
- Strong insurance coverage which typically is reserved for travel credit cards
- Annual fee is waived for the first year
Cons
- Limit of an annual total spend of $25,000 on the 4% and 2% spending categories; where after the earn rate drops to 1%
- Cash back reward is only offered as a statement credit once per year in November and cannot be redeemed in smaller amounts or any other time of year
Tangerine Money-Back
Ratehub.ca's take
While the fact that the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is a no annual fee card is a big reason behind its popularity, what really sets this card apart is the customizability and flexibility. With this card, you can choose your own bonus categories (which will earn you a strong cash back rate of 2% per dollar spent). This is rare in the credit card market and means you can avoid being locked into a bonus category that you can’t take full advantage of or that doesn’t align with your spending habits. On top of that, your cash back is refunded on a monthly basis (instead of the standard annual reimbursement).
Pros
- Flexibility to pick up to three bonus categories to earn 2% cash back on (out of a total of 10 options), which is in sharp contrast to most other cards where you have fixed bonus categories that you have no control over
- 2% cash back per dollar on bonus categories is one of the richest earn rates for a no-fee card
- Cash back is refunded monthly (instead of the standard annual reimbursement), allowing you to enjoy the benefits of your cash back faster
- Freedom to change up your bonus categories at any time (changes will take up to 90 days to come into effect)
- Widely accepted almost everywhere including No Frills and Costco as it is a Mastercard credit card
- Extended warranty and purchase protection
- Free supplementary cards for authorized users
Cons
- For all purchases that aren’t categorized under one of your chosen bonus categories, you’ll earn just 0.5% cash back
- No travel medical insurance or any substantial side perks
Walmart Rewards Mastercard
Ratehub.ca's take
If you are a frequent shopper at Walmart, the Walmart Rewards Mastercard lets you earn Walmart Rewards on purchases everywhere and use them to save when shopping at Walmart. With this card you can earn 1.25% back pre-tax in Walmart Rewards for all your Walmart purchases and 1% back in Walmart Rewards on all other purchases. While it is believed that the earn rate at Walmart doesn't stand out to competitors, the 1% cash back for all other purchases is quite competitive for a no fee credit card.
Pros
- No annual fee and low income requirements
- Welcome bonus - null
Cons
- Does not include a lot of flexibility in rewards redemption as rewards can only be redeemed at Walmart (either in-store or online)
- No additional insurance or any substantial side perks
- Earn rate only applies to the pre-tax spend (which can be a bit misleading when compared to other cards)