Does Amazon Count as Groceries for Credit Card Rewards?
This guide explains how Amazon purchases code, where Whole Foods fits, and how to earn the most on Amazon grocery spending.
Why Amazon is not a grocery store
Rewards bonuses follow the merchant category code, and Amazon.com is coded as an online retailer, not a supermarket, even when you fill your order with food. So a card that bonuses groceries sees Amazon as general online shopping and pays only its base rate, a common surprise, the same one behind purchases that miss a bonus.
The Whole Foods exception
Whole Foods, which Amazon owns, is a physical grocery store and codes as one, so shopping there does earn the grocery bonus on a grocery card. Amazon Fresh is fuzzier: a standalone Amazon Fresh store may code as a grocery store, while Amazon Fresh delivery placed through Amazon.com often codes as Amazon online shopping. When in doubt, check how a past order posted.
How to earn the most on Amazon
For Amazon.com itself, skip the grocery card and use a card that bonuses Amazon or online shopping, or the co-branded Amazon card, which pays an elevated rate there. Save your grocery card for actual supermarkets and Whole Foods. And check for an Amazon shopping-portal or card-linked offer to stack extra rewards.
Frequently asked questions
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