Grocery shopping is a regular expense, and using the right credit card can help you save money by earning cashback or rewards on your purchases. Whether you’re buying everyday essentials or treating yourself to premium organic items, a credit card that offers top rewards for grocery spending can have a significant impact on your savings. In this article, we’ll explore the best credit cards for grocery shopping, guide you on how to choose the ideal card, and share tips to maximize your rewards.
Why Use a Credit Card for Grocery Purchases?
Using a credit card for grocery shopping can provide several benefits, including:
- Cashback/Rewards: Many credit cards offer cashback or rewards specifically for grocery purchases, allowing you to save money with every transaction, no matter how small.
- Special Promotions: Credit cards often come with exclusive in-store or online offers that provide extra discounts on your grocery shopping, making it even more rewarding.
- Consolidate Spends for Annual Fee Waiver: If your credit card requires a minimum spend to waive the annual fee, using it for grocery shopping can help you reach that target faster.
- Festive Spend Offers: During festive seasons, many credit cards offer cashback or gift vouchers upon meeting a certain spending threshold. Grocery purchases made on these cards can help you meet these targets and earn additional rewards.
Top 9 Best Credit Cards for Grocery Spends in India
HSBC Live+ Credit Card
The HSBC Live+ Credit Card is the ideal choice for earning cashback on both online and offline grocery purchases. We get 10% cashback (up to Rs 1000 per statement) on all grocery spends, whether it’s at DMart, Reliance Fresh, Reliance Smart, or Amazon Fresh. This cashback is determined by the Grocery MCC (Merchant Category Code) used by retailers, so even small grocery stores qualify, as long as they apply the correct MCC at their point of sale.
- Type: Cashback
- Joining Fee: Rs 999+GST
- Annual Fee: Rs 999+GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 2 Lakh spend
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 10% cashback up to Rs 1000/statement
- Rewards on Other Spends: 10% cashback on dining, food delivery and grocery spends, 1.5% cashback on other spends
- Airport Lounge Access: 4 visits/year to domestic airport lounges
Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card
The co-branded Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card is an excellent choice for earning cashback on a variety of spends. It offers 25% cashback on Airtel purchases and 10% cashback on utility bills. Plus, it offers 10% cashback on Swiggy and bigbasket purchases, capped at Rs 500 per statement cycle. This makes it a great card for grocery spending, with cashback on purchases up to Rs 5000 per cycle.
- Type: Cashback
- Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
- Annual Fee: Rs 500+GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 2 Lakh spend
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 10% cashback up to Rs 500/statement on Swiggy and bigbasket spends
- Rewards on Other Spends: 25% cashback on Airtel spends, 10% cashback on utility spends, 1% cashback on other spends
- Bonus Tip: Use Tata Neu app to get 5% NeuCoins via NeuPass for bigbasket orders
- Airport Lounge Access: 4 visits/year to domestic airport lounges
Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card
The co-branded Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card is a must-have for anyone who shops on Instamart for groceries. You can earn 10% cashback on all Swiggy Instamart purchases, up to Rs 1500 per statement cycle.
- Type: Cashback
- Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
- Annual Fee: Rs 500+GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 2 Lakh spend
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 10% cashback up to Rs 1500/statement on Swiggy Instamart spends
- Rewards on Other Spends: 10% cashback on Swiggy spends, 5% on select online spends, 1% on other spends
- Airport Lounge Access: Not Available
Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card
Amazon Fresh offers some of the lowest prices on grocery items, and when you pair it with the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card, you can earn an additional 5% back in rewards on your purchases. Plus, Amazon Fresh frequently runs promotions offering up to 10%-15% back on spends of Rs 1000, Rs 2000, and more. This makes Amazon a great option for your online grocery shopping.
- Type: Cashback as Amazon Pay balance
- Joining Fee: LTF
- Annual Fee: LTF
- Annual Fee Waiver: Not Applicable
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 5% on Amazon Fresh spends for Prime members
- Rewards on Other Spends: 5% on Amazon spends for Prime members, 1% on other spends
- Airport Lounge Access: Not Available
SBI Cashback Card
The SBI Cashback card provides 5% cashback on most online shopping purchases, making it an ideal choice for grocery shopping. You can earn 5% cashback on your grocery spends across websites like DMart, JioMart, Flipkart Grocery, and Amazon Fresh.
- Type: Cashback
- Joining Fee: Rs 999+GST
- Annual Fee: Rs 999+GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 2 Lakh spend
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 5% cashback for online grocery spends
- Rewards on Other Spends: 5% cashback for online spends, 1% cashback for other spends
- Airport Lounge Access: Not Available
Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card
The Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank credit card offers 5% NeuCoins on purchases from Tata Neu partner brands, including bigbasket and bbnow. The ideal time to shop on Tata Neu X bigbasket is during the monthly PayDay sales. You can maximize savings by stacking multiple offers—bonus NeuCoins, a 10% discount with Tata Neu credit cards, and an additional 10% NeuCoins with NeuCard and NeuPass. This allows you to save up 25% or more on the listed prices at bigbasket.
- Type: Rewards as NeuCoins
- Joining Fee: NIL (First Year Free)
- Annual Fee: Rs 1499+GST or LTF
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 3 Lakh spend for paid cards
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 5% for Tata Neu X bigbasket spends
- Rewards on Other Spends: Up to 5% NeuCoins on spends
- Airport Lounge Access: 8 visits/year to domestic airport lounges, 4 visit/year to international airport lounges
HDFC Bank Pixel Play Credit Card
The HDFC Bank Pixel Play credit card is available for applications on the PayZapp platform. It offers flexible rewards, allowing you to select your preferred categories and merchants for cashback. Grocery shopping is one of these categories, with partner merchants like Blinkit and Reliance Smart Bazaar offering 5% cashback.
- Type: Cashback
- Joining Fee: NIL (First Year Free)
- Annual Fee: Rs 500+GST or LTF
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 1 Lakh spend for paid cards
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 5% for Blinkit and Reliance Smart
- Rewards on Other Spends: 1% – 3% cashback
- Airport Lounge Access: Not Available
HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card
The ultra-premium HDFC Bank Infinia credit card offers 5X rewards (16.5% return) on instant vouchers purchased through Gyftr SmartBuy. You can earn this high reward rate on vouchers for popular brands like Reliance Smart, BigBasket, Amazon, and many others. This makes the Infinia card the top choice for those lucky enough to have access to it.
- Type: Rewards
- Joining Fee: NIL (First Year Free)
- Annual Fee: Rs 12,500+GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 10 Lakh spend for paid cards
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 16.5% for grocery vouchers on SmartBuy
- Rewards on Other Spends: 3.3% to 33% RP on spends
- Airport Lounge Access: Unlimited access to domestic and international airport lounges
HDFC Bank Diners Club Metal Edition Credit Card
The ultra-premium HDFC Bank Diners Club Metal Edition credit card offers 3X rewards (9.9% return) on instant vouchers purchased through Gyftr SmartBuy. You can earn this high reward rate on vouchers for popular brands like Reliance Smart, BigBasket, Amazon, and many others. The DCB Metal Edition also has a milestone benefit where we can earn an extra return on 2.5% on target spends.
- Type: Rewards
- Joining Fee: NIL (First Year Free)
- Annual Fee: Rs 10,500+GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: On Rs 8 Lakh spend for paid cards
- Reward Rate on Groceries: 9.9% for grocery vouchers on SmartBuy + 2.5% as milestone benefit
- Rewards on Other Spends: 3.3% to 33% RP on spends
- Airport Lounge Access: Unlimited access to domestic and international airport lounges
Key Features to Consider When Choosing a Credit Card for Grocery Purchases
When evaluating the best credit cards for grocery spends, consider the following factors:
- Rewards Rate on Groceries: Look for cards that offer high cashback or reward points on grocery spends.
- Annual fee: Some cards come with an annual fee, while others are free. Weigh the benefits of rewards against the fee to determine if the card is worth it.
- Additional Benefits: Consider other perks like fuel surcharge waivers, cashback on utility bills, and discounts on dining or online shopping.
