Do Farmers Markets Earn a Grocery Bonus?
Why farmers markets miss the grocery bonus
A card’s grocery bonus is tied to the supermarket category code, and independent farmers market vendors rarely carry it. Most use a mobile payment app that registers under a general or miscellaneous category, so even though you are buying food, the charge does not look like a grocery store to your card. The logic is in merchant category codes explained, and it is the same reason meal kits often miss the bonus.
The exceptions
A large, established public market with permanent stalls and its own payment system may code as a grocery store, in which case a grocery card earns its bonus. But the typical weekend market with individual vendors will not. Coding also varies vendor to vendor, so one stall might earn the bonus while the next does not.
The best card for farmers markets
Since the grocery bonus is unreliable here, a strong flat-rate card is the most dependable earner, and many vendors are cash-only anyway. Compare grocery coding at big stores in do Target and Walmart count as groceries, and see flat options in best cash back cards.
Frequently asked questions
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