Groceries are always a popular spending category for Canadians, and it can be a big bill each month. In 2020, experts predicted that the total household food expenditure will be around $12,667 annually — a hefty chunk of change.
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If you’re looking to maximize every dollar that you spend on food, you’ve come to the right place.
From welcome bonuses to annual fees to rewards offerings, we have compared the options and compiled our top choices to help you choose the best credit card for groceries.
| Credit Card | Best For |
|---|---|
| CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card | Earning Cash Back |
| PC Financial® Mastercard® | Loblaws Shoppers |
| BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* | Costco Shoppers |
| BMO CashBack® Mastercard®* | No Annual Fee |
| American Express Cobalt® Card | Dining Out & Food Delivery |
| BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card | Lifestyle Rewards |
| TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card | Earning Aeroplan points |
| BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* Mastercard®* | Earning AIR MILES |
| Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card | Earning Scene+ points |
CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card
If cash is king, the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card is a strong option for earning cash back on your grocery expenses.
After the Welcome Offer ends, get 4% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases; 2% cash back on eligible transportation, dining purchases and recurring payments†; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
That gives you a ton of flexibility to reap the rewards of your grocery purchases, and there’s no limit on the total cash back you can earn.
The welcome offer also adds a nice little incentive: Get a first-year annual fee rebate and earn a 10% cash back welcome bonus of up to $300!†Get a first-year annual fee rebate and earn a 10% cash back welcome bonus of up to $300!
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $120 (first-year annual fee rebate)†
- Purchase Annual Interest Rate: 20.99%†
- Balance Transfer Annual Interest Rate: 22.99%† (21.99% QC only)
- Cash Advance Annual Interest Rate: 22.99%† (21.99% QC only)
- Income Eligibility: $60,000 individual, or $100,000 household
- Credit Score Required: Good;Excellent
- Welcome Offer: Get a first-year annual fee rebate and earn a 10% cash back welcome bonus of up to $300!†
- Additional Benefits: Earn cash back on every dollar you spend†, includes travel insurance, and access to Visa Infinite benefits†
†Conditions apply
This is a digital-exclusive offer.† To be eligible for this offer, you must apply for a new eligible card using the “Apply Now” link available on this webpage.
PC Financial® Mastercard®
Loblaws is Canada’s largest food distributor with dozens of subsidiary companies including Real Canadian Superstore, No-Frills, and Fortino’s, as well as clothing brand Joe Fresh. In other words, it’s not hard to shop at some sort of Loblaws store, so why not get rewarded for it?
The PC Financial® Mastercard® is designed with Loblaws shoppers in mind and allows you to earn PC Optimum points up to three times faster than just being a PC loyalty program member.
With this card, you earn 10 points per $1 on card purchases in Loblaws-affiliate grocery stores and 25 points per $1 spent at Shoppers Drug Mart. You’ll also earn 30 points per $1 spent at Esso, and 20 points per $1 on travel booked through PC Travel.
All other card purchases will fetch you 10 points per $1, so it’s dead simple to accumulate. You can also earn extra points by taking advantage of special promotions at participating stores (e.g. Shoppers Drug Mart’s “20x the Points” events). Did we mention that this card has no annual fee?
More good news—redemption is easy. Once you accumulate a minimum of 10,000 PC Optimum Points, you can redeem them for up to $10 worth of free groceries or merchandise at any participating stores — which works out to about 1% cash back.
At PC-affiliated retailers, simply ask the cashier to redeem your rewards, and get the value instantly deducted from your bill. Or you can redeem PC points when shopping online at Beauty Boutique, Joe Fresh and PC Express websites.
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $0
- Minimum Income Eligibility: None
- Credit Score Required: Good to Excellent
- Welcome Offer: None
- Additional Benefits: Purchase assurance and extended warranty; Mastercard Global Service
- Interest on Purchases: 20.97% | Interest on Cash Advances: 22.97%
BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®*
Costco is famous for its supersized products that appeal to large families and preppers alike. Whatever your reasons, if you’re looking for 4 litres of dill pickles, a 60-roll pack of toilet paper, or even an entire set of patio furniture, Costco has you covered.
Buying in bulk is a great strategy to save time and money but with big purchases come big bills, and that’s where you’ve got an opportunity to earn serious cash back.
Costco is a bit of a puzzle for shoppers looking to cash in on their grocery purchases. First, they only accept Mastercard so that narrows the field, but also, Costco is not considered a grocery store according to the issuer’s spending categories.
This means that other Mastercards with accelerated earns in the grocery category won’t net you returns at Costco. Enter your secret weapon: the BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®*.
As a Mastercard, it’s accepted at Costco and it gets around the other issue by offering an earn rate of 1% cash back on all other purchases*. This means that on a $500 grocery shop at Costco, you’ll get back $5.
And it gets even better for new applicants: as a welcome offer, you get the first year annual fee waived and receive 10% back for the first three months, up to $2,600 in purchases (so, a maximum of $260)*. That’s a lot of Peanut Butter-Filled Pretzel Nuggets.
The BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* is also a decent travel credit card, offering benefits like eight days of Out-of-Province/Out-of-Country Emergency Medical benefits up to $2 million, collision damage waiver on rental cars, and discounts at National and Alamo Car Rental*.
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $120 (first year waived)
- Minimum Income Eligibility: $80,000 (individual) or $150,000 (household) annual income required
- Credit Score Required: Good to Excellent
- Welcome Offer: Get up to 10% cash back in your first 3 months and the $120 annual fee waived in the first year*
- Additional Benefits: Insurance benefits, purchase protection plus and extended warranty, complimentary membership in Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey*
- Interest on Purchases: 20.99% | Interest on Cash Advances: 23.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents)
BMO CashBack® Mastercard®
It’s hard to argue with a no annual fee credit card with cash back rewards. Our top choice pairs a great earn rate with a tempting welcome bonus—and even gets you a few discounts.
The BMO CashBack® Mastercard®* offers 3% cash back on grocery purchases —the highest cash back on groceries in Canada for no annual fee credit cards.† Recurring bill payments earn 1% and everything else, 0.5%*.
As a new cardholder, you also get a welcome offer of 5% cash back on all card purchases for the first three months, up to a maximum of $2,500 in spending*. That’s worth up to $125, and with no annual fee, you’re basically getting paid to use this credit card.
As a no annual fee card, it’s not surprising that there aren’t many extra perks, but there are discounts on car rentals and purchase protection and extended warranty on purchases are included*.
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $0
- Income Eligibility: $15,000
- Credit Score Required: Good to Excellent
- Welcome Offer: 5% cash back bonus for the first 3 months on all purchases and 1.99% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for 9 months (with a 1% transfer fee)*
- Additional Benefits: Up to 25% off rentals at participating National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car locations, purchase protection and extended warranty*
- Other Card Info: Purchase APR: 19.99% | Cash Advance APR: 22.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents)
The American Express Cobalt® Card
In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in purchases on your Card. This could add up to 30,000 points in a year. Terms and conditions apply.
Everybody’s got to eat but some folks like to eat out as much as in.
We searched for the card that offers excellent rewards on all sorts of food and drink categories and came up with a winner: The American Express Cobalt® Card.
Also enticing: new cardholders can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in purchases on your card. Earn up to 30,000 Membership Rewards® points in the first year (conditions apply).
Points can be redeemed for travel, events, merchandise, and more. But if dining out is your thing, we recommend saving some bucks and redeeming your rewards for restaurant gift cards such as The Keg, Bymark, Swiss Chalet, and more.
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $155.88 ($12.99 monthly fee)
- Minimum Income Eligibility: N/A
- Credit Score Required: Fair;Good
- Welcome Bonus: Earn up to 30,000 Membership Rewards® points in the first year (conditions apply)
- Additional Perks: Insurance, exclusive entertainment access, access to VIP benefits at the Hotel Collection from American Express®
- Purchase APR: 20.99% | Cash Advance APR: 21.99%
BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card
If your life is more Mini Cooper than a minivan, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card may well be the grocery card for you.
Offering 5 BMO Rewards points per $1 spent on groceries, dining, gas, and transit*, and 1 point per dollar on everything else*, you can easily rack up easy-to-redeem rewards on your everyday spending. And if you add an additional user to your card, you can boost your rewards by 10%*.
With this card, you’ll receive comprehensive travel insurance* (including up to $5M of out-of-province/country emergency medical insurance), purchase protection*, and extended warranty benefits, plus up to $1,000 in new mobile device coverage*—insurance designed specifically to protect your investment in cutting edge tech.
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card also comes with a fun and unusual perk: every year you’ll receive a $50 “lifestyle credit”* – money that you can spend however you like.
People who enjoy high-end experiences and events will want to make the most of the included Visa Infinite privileges like upgrades and perks at their luxury hotel collection, exclusive access to their dining and wine country events and a complimentary concierge.
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $120 (first-year annual fee waiver)
- Minimum Income Eligibility: $60,000 ($100,000 household)
- Credit Score Required: Very Good
- Welcome Bonus: Get up to 60,000 points worth $400 in travel rewards, a $50 lifestyle credit and the $120 annual fee waived in the first year – that’s a $570 value in your first year!*
- Additional Perks: Travel insurance*, new mobile device coverage*, annual $50 lifestyle credit*, Visa Infinite privileges*
- Purchase APR: 20.99% | Cash Advance APR: 23.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents)
TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
A top loyalty program for those who fly with Air Canada and on Star Alliance partners, Aeroplan lets you turn your credit card spends into travel rewards, like flights and upgrades.
Now with the Aeroplan program changes, Aeroplan co-branded cards are getting a makeover that goes more than skin deep with the introduction of new features and benefits.
If you’re looking for the best grocery card to help you collect Aeroplan points now and into the future, look no further than the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card.
The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card offers a solid rewards program: Earn 1.5 points† for every $1 on eligible gas, grocery and Air Canada® purchases. Earn 1 Aeroplan point† for every $1 spent on all other purchases made with your card.
That means that a $500 grocery shop will get you 750 Aeroplan points. The value of a single point depends on how it’s redeemed but an economy short-haul roundtrip flight starts at around 15,000.
When it comes to features and benefits, the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card has a terrific portfolio. With Aeroplan flight rewards you’ll get your first bag checked for free and priority boarding.
Also included is travel insurance like travel medical, trip cancellation or interruption, travel accident, and lost or delayed baggage. And car rentals are protected by a collision/loss damage waiver.
The Details:
- Annual Fee: $139 (first-year annual fee rebate)†
- Income Eligibility: $60,000 personal or $100,000 household annual income
- Credit Score Requirement: Good;Excellent
- Welcome Offer: Online exclusive: Earn up to 50,000 Aeroplan points†. Plus, first year no Annual Fee†. Conditions Apply.
- Additional Perks: Travel insurance, VIP benefits when travelling on Aeroplan flight rewards operated by Air Canada, and no Aeroplan points expiry for cardholders
- Purchase APR: 19.99% | Cash Advance APR: 22.99%
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