Best grocery credit cards

Since almost everyone needs to buy groceries at some time during the week, especially anyone with family responsibilities, it makes sense to have a credit card that rewards this type of expenditure with a cashback to reduce the overall cost.

By   |   Verified by Kwok Zhong Li   |   Updated 15 Sep 2023

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Comparing grocery credit cards

HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card

On website

Featured

HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card

Cashback

Up to 5.00% on dining spend

Cashback cap

$1000.00 on dining spend

Minimum spend

S$600.00 per month, every quarter

Sign up bonus

Get a S$150 cashback or a Samsonite ZELTUS 69cm Spinner Exp with built-in scale when you apply now. Terms and Conditions Apply.

Highlights

  • 5% cash rebate on dining, groceries and fuel.
  • 1 reward point per dollar spent.
  • 2-year annual credit card fee waiver.

Pros

  • Earn up to 5% cashback.
  • Additional 17% instant discount when you fuel up at Caltex or Shell.
  • No annual fee for the first 2 years.
  • Enjoy Visa Platinum credit card privileges.

Cons

  • Cashback is capped at $1,000 per year.
OCBC 365 Credit Card

On website

OCBC 365 Credit Card

Cashback

Up to 6.00% on petrol spend

Cashback cap

$160.00 on any spend

Minimum spend

S$800.00 per month

Sign up bonus

N/A

Highlights

  • Earn 6% cashback on fuel spend and 5% on local and overseas dining.
  • 3% cashback on groceries, travel, land transport, utilities, streaming, and pharmacy.
  • Receive six S$6 vouchers from each of Caltex and Esso and save up to S$72.

Bank promo

  • Earn cashback 7 days a week, 365 days a year, everywhere.

Pros

  • The annual fee is waived for the 1st 2 years.
  • Generous cashback rates.
  • Multiple cashback categories to choose from.
  • Get a complimentary appetizer at Din Tai Fung when you pay using your Card.

Cons

  • Min annual income of $30,000 for citizens/PRs or $45,000 for foreigners
  • After 2 years, the annual fee reverts to $194.40 for the principal card and $97.20 for the supplementary card.
  • If you spend less than $800 each month, you get a reduced rate of 0.25% rebate on all your spending
  • Earn rate is capped at $160 per month.
Citi SMRT Credit Card

Citi SMRT Credit Card

Cashback

Up to 14.00% on petrol spend

Cashback cap

$600.00 on any spend

Minimum spend

S$500.00 per month

Sign up bonus

Get S$300 cash back when you apply and spend with a Citi SMRT Card. Terms and Conditions apply.

Highlights

  • Get up to 5% cashback on selected grocery stores, online purchases, and & public transport rides.
  • Get a 0.3% cashback on all other eligible transactions.
  • Redeem SMRT$ for cash rebate or shopping vouchers

Pros

  • The annual fee for the first 2 years is waived. S$194.40 thereafter.
  • Get deals and discounts with Citi World Privileges.
  • Convert big transactions into installments with Citi PayLite.

Cons

  • There is a required S$500 spend to earn the 5% cashback on select categories.
  • S$600 cap on SMRT$ rebates per year.

A good way to get more value from your shopping is by using grocery credit cards, a class of credit card designed to give cardholders a variety of perks and rewards when they spend on groceries.

Who are grocery credit cards suitable for?

  • Frequent supermarket shoppers. Anyone who spends regularly at supermarkets like NTUC Fairprice, Sheng Siong, and Cold Storage can benefit significantly from these credit cards.
  • Self-caterers. If you prefer cooking at home over dining out, you can rack up points on staples such as rice, noodles, fruit, vegetables, wine, etc.

Grocery credit card features to compare

  • Cashback rate. If the card offers cashback, how much do you stand to earn for grocery purchases?
  • Reward points. How many reward points would you get for every dollar spent on groceries?
  • Discounts at specific outlets. Certain cards offer specific discounts at partner supermarkets, which are no use if you don't shop there.
  • Minimum monthly spend. Many cards require a certain monthly spending amount to unlock maximum benefits (and avoid forefeiture of rewards). Some cards have no minimum spending requirement.
  • Annual fee. Always factor in the annual fee, as it affects the overall value you get from the card.

How to compare grocery credit cards

  1. Establish your spending habits. If you don't already know which supermarket you spend most at, find out by looking at your statements. There are credit cards with rewards for spending at NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage, Sheng Siong, etc.
  2. What rewards do you want? Do you want cashback, reward points, or specific supermarket discounts?
  3. Compare cards. Filter down the cards that interest you and match your spending, then examine their perks side by side.
  4. Check for limits and conditions. If there is a minimum monthly spend requirement, can you comfortably meet it? If there are caps and tiers, work out how they would impact you.
  5. Consider the annual fee. Weigh the annual fee against the potential benefits to ascertain the card's value.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Cashback and rewards can result in significant savings over time.
  • Some cards offer additional benefits like dining, travel, and entertainment rewards.
  • You're spending on food anyway, so might as well earn something in return.

Cons

  • Cards often have a minimum monthly spending requirement.
  • Some cards have high annual fees.
  • You might not find some of the additional benefits relevant or useful.

Learn about grocery credit cards

Our experts share their top tips to save money and earn cashback using a credit card for groceries.

  • FAQs

Are there other benefits available with a grocery cashback card?

Yes. As well as getting cashback on other spending categories besides groceries, you may also receive one or more of the following benefits:

  • Instant discounts on groceries, or petrol, or Grab rides
  • Air miles or other rewards points, possible sign-up bonus points
  • Cash or merchandise gift on sign-up or first spending
  • Waiver of one or more annual fees
  • Extra interest percentage on your savings account at the bank issuing the card

Can I get a cashback on other spending, as well as groceries, with the same card?

Yes. You may be able to select more than one spending category on which to receive rebates, or the card may automatically give the same percentage rebates on two or more categories.

Here are some typical examples of rebate and discount combinations:

  • 8% on groceries plus 8% on dining
  • 8% on groceries and 3% on utility bills
  • 8% on groceries, dining, petrol and Grab rides, 0.25% on everything else
  • 7% groceries and 14% coffee rebates, 14% petrol discount, card doubles as EZ-Reload SMRT card with 2% rebate on auto top-ups
  • 5% flat rate on all purchases in any spending category

Do all grocery cards offer the same cashback percentage?

No. The rebate percentage for groceries can vary from 3% to 8% or more, and you may be able to increase your savings by getting instant discounts of up to 10% on a supermarket’s own-brand products when you pay with your card (making your total savings 18% on part of your shopping).

A single card may also have a range of cashback percentages on groceries, depending on how much you spend. Individual transactions below $10, or total monthly spending below $50, may earn nothing. Spending of up to $400 per month could earn a 3% grocery rebate, while spending over $400 on the same card could see your rebate percentage lift to 5% overall.

Choose the card which gives the best result for your habitual spending pattern and amount, and check the other benefits available with the card, in addition to the grocery cashback.

How can I maximise savings with a grocery credit card?

To get the most out of a grocery cashback credit card, you really need to be across all the details and fine print. From one card to another there will be variations in the rebate percentage given, and within an individual card there may be different cashback rates for different supermarket chains.

As well as this you need to be aware of any monthly, quarterly or annual cap on the amount of cashback you can earn, and whether the cashback percentages are dependent on, or vary with, the amount you spend.

Add to this the extra complications of cash gifts you may receive on sign-up or first purchase (as well as, or instead of, an annual fee waiver) and it quickly becomes apparent that not all grocery cards are created equal. However, it’s almost a certainty that there will be one that suits how often you shop for groceries, where you do your spending and how much you spend.

How much does it cost to have a grocery cashback card?

Annual fees can range from zero to around $195 or more. As usual, higher annual fees normally deliver a higher potential for cashback or other benefits. You need to look at your grocery spending pattern to work out whether you are likely to recover an amount worth more than the annual fee each year.

Watch out for additional costs such as foreign currency transaction fees and high interest charges if you fail to pay off your account balance in full when it falls due.

Is there a limit to the amount of cashback I can receive?

Many cards have an overall limit, or limit by spending category, on the amount of cashback you can earn monthly, quarterly or annually. For example, there could be a monthly limit of $50 cashback, after which the rebate percentage drops to 0.3%.

However, there are cards which have no limit to the amount of cashback you can receive. If your spending on groceries is particularly high, or if it is irregular (i.e. very low in certain months, very high in others), you need to look for a card with no minimum spend and/or no cashback limit.

Is there a minimum amount I must spend to qualify for a cashback?

Yes, with most cards there is a monthly or quarterly spending target to be reached before the cashback is applied to total spending. Some cards will apply a lower rebate percentage to smaller monthly spending (e.g. below $300), while a higher rate applies to all monthly spending if it exceeds the set target.

If there is a target spending level, it will normally need to be maintained during all three months of the quarter in order to qualify for the cashback.

Will I get cashback on groceries no matter where I shop?

It depends on the terms and conditions of the individual card. Some offer cashback for spending at all supermarkets, islandwide. So it doesn’t matter where you shop: at Cold Storage, Sheng Siong, Giant, Jasons, Guardian, FairPrice, or elsewhere.

Other cards may limit cashback to supermarkets in both Singapore and Malaysia, while some apply the rebate globally (though it’s unlikely that you will be spending large amounts on groceries while travelling overseas).

A few cards are very specific about where you can shop in order to qualify for the rebate, for example a card for 12% grocery rebates at FairPrice only, provided you have your salary credit going to the bank issuing the card.