The 9 Best Credit Cards for Groceries in Canada
Is the cost of groceries killing your budget? We the jury find inflation guilty of money-murder in the first degree. Luckily, getting the right credit card for groceries can help restore justice at the checkout counter.
To save your bacon, we’ve put together a list of some of the best credit cards in Canada. It’s time to arm yourself with plastic. Always do your research – paying attention to annual fees, minimum spend amounts and other restrictions – to find the best card for your needs and goals.
1. Scotiabank Gold American Express – Best Grocery Credit Card Overall
The Scotiabank Gold American Express is a great credit card for groceries to earn rewards. The Scene+ program offers redemption flexibility if you’re a traveller, a movie buff and sometimes just want a credit to your account too.
On grocery purchases, this card earns 6 Scene+ points per $1 spent at participating grocery stores like Sobeys, Safeway and more. Then, you earn 5 points per $1 at other eligible grocery stores. Granted, I have a soft spot for Scotiabank because they own Tangerine, but they’re also killing it in the credit card rewards department.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express also earns 5 Scene+ points for every $1 you spend on dining and in eligible entertainment such as movies, theatre, and ticket agencies, plus 3 points for every $1 you spend on gas and daily transit options (rideshare, buses, taxis, subway, etc.) and streaming services. Finally, you get earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other eligible everyday purchases. Again, if you love to eat, travel and go to the movies, you can use one passion to feed the others, pun intended.
Redeeming your Scene+ points on Cineplex movie tickets will get you the best return on your grocery purchases. The second best redemption value is on travel expenses, like flights and hotels, booked through the Scene+ Travel portal. Once abroad, this card waives foreign transaction fees, meaning you won’t have to pay a 2.5% to 3% mark-up on currency conversion.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 700 |
| Annual income | None disclosed |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. Minimum credit limit of $5,000. |
2. BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard – Best for Reaching your Financial Goals
[Offer productType=”CreditCard” api_id=”5f31593392ec22115033b2b6″]The BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard is an excellent credit card for groceries that gives you a whopping 5% cash back when you spend up to $500 per month at qualifying grocery stores. That’s the highest grocery-specific cash back rate in Canada. This secret weapon will make you the Walker Texas Ranger of inflation; roundhouse-kicking crazy food prices right in the face!
This credit card also offers 4% cash back on transit including ride sharing, taxis and public transportation, 3% on gas and electric vehicle charging, 2% on recurring bill payments and 1% on all other purchases.
Here’s the real kicker, though. Your cash back points are free money you can use to generate more free money! You can redeem your points as a cash deposit to your BMO bank account, a credit on your credit card account, or as a deposit into your BMO Investorline account! If you really want to show inflation who’s boss, nothing compares to investing all that free money and letting stock market returns work their magic on your net worth.
I love the choice that the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard gives you. You have the freedom to use your cash back balance on whatever you need when money is tight, or invest it to secure your future. BMO gets heart-eyes from me because of their focus on financial independence; my love language. There’s a reason this card made our list of best cash back credit cards in Canada.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 725 |
| Annual income | $80,000 personal or $150,000 household |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. |
3. MBNA Smart Cash World Mastercard – Best Credit Card for Adding an Authorized User
[Offer productType=”CreditCard” api_id=”5f4535be4726ce7207266a6f”]Accelerate cash back on groceries by adding an authorized user to your MBNA Smart Cash World account. Authorized user cards allow you to extend your purchasing power to your spouse, another family member or a close friend. You’ll earn cash back much faster.
You will earn 5% back on gas and grocery purchases for the first 6 months after opening your account. However, there is a $500/month spend limit in these categories. After this initial period, you will get 2% cash back on your groceries and gas. The MBNA Smart Cash World also earns 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 670 |
| Annual income | $60,000 personal or $100,000 household |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. |
4. Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite – Best Premium Cash Back Card
The Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite card is one of the best credit cards for groceries in Canada. It gives you 4% cash back on a total annual spend of up to $25,000. If you like dining, know that you also have access to the Visa Infinite Dining and Wine Country program. This program allows you to dine with some of the biggest names in the food and wine industry.
The Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite consistently ranks as one of the best overall cash back cards on the market. You also get 2% cash back on gas and daily transit as well as 1% on everything else.
The Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite also gives you 4% cash back on recurring automatic bill payments and monthly subscription services, like your favourite music and streaming apps. Basically, they’ll pay you to listen to your favourite personal finance podcast. Heads up though, money spent in these categories counts toward your total annual spend for the 4% cash back perk.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 700 |
| Annual income | $60,000 personal or $100,000 household or $250,000 assets under management |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. Minimum credit limit of $5,000. |
5. RBC ION+ Credit Card – Best for Meal Delivery
[Offer productType=”CreditCard” api_id=”6324a8b757179a4644cb8b42″]The RBC ION+ Visa card offers a range of flexible benefits on everyday purchases. You can earn 3 Avion points on groceries, dining and food delivery. The same accumulation rate applies to transportation, fuel and streaming services. For all other purchases, you’ll earn one point for each dollar spent.
On top of getting 3 Avion points for every 1$ spent on food deliveries, if you choose DoorDash to get your food, you will get a 3-month complimentary DashPass subscription. This pass will allow you to enjoy unlimited deliveries at $0 on qualifying orders of $15 or more. Additionally, every time you refuel, you’ll save 3 cents per liter on gas, and when you link your Petro-Points card to your new RBC credit card, you’ll earn 20% more Petro-Points.
In terms of redeeming Avion points, you have a plethora of options to maximize their value. These choices encompass credits on your statement, gift cards, travel bookings through Avion Rewards, transfers to airline partners, and more. This flexibility empowers you to redeem your points in the manner that best suits your preferences.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 700 |
| Annual income | None |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. |
6. Walmart Rewards World Mastercard – Best for Shopping Online at Walmart.ca
[Offer productType=”CreditCard” api_id=”5f71f58881f6fa1c4f972c0e”]Calling all Walmart Shoppers! Walmart is a grocery store of choice among Canadians because of their consistently low prices. Unfortunately, it’s not considered a grocery store by some major credit cards. In order to earn points for grocery shopping at Walmart, you should get one of the Walmart credit cards.
The Walmart Rewards World Mastercard offers benefits and rewards in the form of Walmart Reward Dollars. These rewards can be used for purchases made at Walmart, whether online or in-store.
This card presents an appealing 3% cash back value in Walmart Reward Dollars for online purchases made at Walmart.ca. However, it’s important to note that this attractive rate is only applicable to online transactions. In-store Walmart purchases and purchases at gas stations yield a lesser rate of 1.25% cash back in Walmart Reward Dollars, while all other purchases earn 1% Walmart Reward Dollars.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 660 |
| Annual income | $100,000 household |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. |
7. PC World Elite Mastercard – Best Credit Card for Groceries at Maxi, Provigo and Wholesale Club
[Offer productType=”CreditCard” api_id=”5f638718ba713057455d88e9″]The PC Financial World Elite Mastercard is famous for being “the” credit card for groceries. It might not yield the highest return on rewards in terms of cash value when you redeem, but the PC Optimum points program available through grocery shopping, Shoppers Drug Mart, and select gas stations can help you save a ton of money on food. You’ll earn 45 points per dollar spent at Shoppers Drug Mart, 30 points per dollar spent at any Maxi, Provigo and Wholesale Club as well as Esso, Mobil, and PC Travel. You can redeem your points for groceries at those same stores and for trips booked through the PC Travel website. Yes, you read that right. You can now redeem your PC Optimum points for travel expenses!
Plus, there are incredible ways to hack the PC Optimum program to stack your points. A few times a year, Shoppers Drug Mart runs a “20x the points” promotion on in-store purchases, so you want to capitalize on those events. You’ll boost your points that you can turn around and use for grocery purchases. And make sure you take advantage of the personal offers in your email and on the PC Optimum mobile app, since you’ll get bonus-point offers for items based on your shopping habits.
The minimum redemption is 10,000 points which are worth $10. Not super aggressive, but the bonus-point offers and events help you earn significantly more points without spending more of your own bacon.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 700 |
| Annual income | $80,000 personal or $150,000 household |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. |
8. CIBC Costco Mastercard – Best for Shopping at Costco
Annual Fee: $0.00
Interest Rate: 19.75% on purchases, 21.49% on cash advances
Rewards Rate: Up to 3%
If you don’t get dizzy as soon as you set foot in this very large surface store, the CIBC Costco Mastercard might be right for you. You have to be a Costco member to be able to get it.
With this credit card, you earn 3% cash back at restaurants and Costco gas, 2% cash back at other gas stations and at Costco.ca as well as 1% on all other purchases including in physical Costco stores. What does this mean for buying groceries at Costco? It means you get 1% on groceries bought at a physical store and 2% online.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 630 |
| Annual income | $15,000 |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. Be a Costco member. |
9. Tangerine World Mastercard – Best No-Fee Cash Back Card
[Offer productType=”CreditCard” api_id=”5f344d1b92ec22115033b303″]The Tangerine World Mastercard has no annual fee and gives you 2% cash back on 2 spending categories of your choice, and there is no cap on the amount of cash back you can earn. You also get 0.5% on all other purchases. The Tangerine World Mastercard is a great credit card for groceries because on of the spending categories is, you guessed it, groceries! If you choose to deposit the cash back you earn into your Tangerine savings account every month, you can pick third category to get a 2% cash back. And then, you can spend it however you want!
If you’re thinking that 2% cash back rate doesn’t seem like a lot, there is no spending cap on that purchase category, which is a not-so-obvious perk. There are other no-fee cash back cards on the market that offer a higher cash back rate on groceries, but the catch is that once you hit the monthly or annual spend limit in that category, the cash back rate drops to 1% or less. If you spend a lot on groceries per month, you actually come out ahead with a card that offers a lower cash back rate, but with unlimited spending in that category and no limit on the amount of cash back you can earn. Now you can buy food without feeling like Sylvester Stalone at the end of Rocky, the first one.
| Eligibility | Description |
| Credit score (estimated) | 680 |
| Annual income | $60,000 personal or $100,000 household |
| Other | Be a Canadian resident. Have reached the age of majority in your province or territory. |
