While banks generally prefer to reward lifestyle expenditure like dining out and overseas holidays, grocery shopping is one area where they make an exception. For whatever reason, this essential category is one where you can earn upsized credit card rewards of up to 4 mpd- not that I’m complaining, mind you!
In this post, we’ll cover the best cards to use for supermarkets, as well as some potential pitfalls to take note of.
| ๐ณ What’s the Best Card for… | ||
| โ Overall Guide |
||
| โ๏ธ Air Tickets |
๐ Amaze | ๐ Car Rental |
| ๐ Charity | ๐ฝ๏ธ Dining |
๐ซ Education |
| ๐ฅก Food Delivery | ๐จ Hotels | โ๏ธ Insurance |
| ๐ฑ Kris+ | โ๏ธ Medical | ๐๏ธ Overseas |
| โฝ Petrol | ๐ Public Transport | ๐ Supermarkets |
| ๐ฐ Utilities | ||
How do supermarkets code?
All major supermarkets in Singapore will code as MCC 5411: Grocery Stores, Supermarkets, including:
- Cold Storage
- Don Don Donki
- Giant
- Hao Mart
- Jasons Deli
- Little Farms
- Market Place
- Meidi-Ya
- NTUC FairPrice (and subsidiary brands like FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra)
- Prime Supermarket
- Ryan’s Grocery
- Sheng Siong
If in doubt, you can easily look up the MCC before making a purchase with the following tools:
| Method | Ease of Use | Reliability |
| โHeyMax | โโโ | โ |
| ๐ฑ Instarem app | โโ | โโ |
| ๐ค DBS digibot | โ |
โโโ |
Buying groceries online
If you do your grocery shopping online, the following cards will earn you 4 mpd, subject to the caps shown below.
| ๐ Best Cards for Groceries (Online) |
||
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 Citi RewardsApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per s. month Review |
 DBS WWMCApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1.5K per c. month Review |
 UOB Lady’s CardApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Family as bonus category Review |
 UOB Lady’s SolitaireApply |
4 mpd | Max S$2K per c. month. Must choose Family as bonus category Review |
 UOB Pref. Plat. VisaApply |
4 mpd | S$1.1K per c. month Review |
 SC Journey CardApply |
3 mpd | S$1K per s. month Review |
Buying groceries in-store
If you do your grocery shopping in-store, the following cards will earn you 4 mpd, subject to the caps shown below.
| ๐ Best Cards for Groceries (In-Store) |
||
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 Amaze + Citi RewardsApply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per s. month Review |
| UOB Lady’s Card Apply |
4 mpd | Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Family as bonus category Review |
| UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply |
4 mpd | Max S$2K per c. month. Must choose Family as bonus category Review |
| UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply |
4 mpd^ | S$1.1K per c. month Review |
 UOB Visa SignatureApply |
4 mpd* |
S$1-2K per s. month on contactless spending Review |
| *Must use contactless (tap card or use mobile payments) ^Must use mobile contactless (mobile payments) |
||
Do note that the HSBC Revolution is no longer an option for this category, following its May 2024 nerf which removed MCC 5411, among others.
UOB$ merchants
If you’re spending with a UOB credit card at Cold Storage, Giant, Jasons Deli or Market Place, then some special caveats apply.
These supermarkets are part of the UOB$ programme, which awards cashback in lieu of UNI$. What this means is that you won’t earn any miles here, or only a reduced number of miles, depending on which card you have.
| Card | Earn Rate at Cold Storage, Giant, Jasons Deli, Market Place |
| UOB Lady’s Card Apply |
3.6 mpd |
| UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply |
3.6 mpd |
| UOB Pref. Plat. Visa Apply |
None |
| UOB Visa Signature Apply |
3.6 mpd |
| Assumes you select Family as your quarterly bonus category (UOB Lady’s Card, UOB Lady’s Solitaire), or use contactless payments (UOB Visa Signature) | |
For a full explanation of why this is, refer to the post below.
Confirmed: UOB$ merchants qualify for bonus miles with UOB cards
Fortunately, there are some easy workarounds that will allow you to earn the full amount of miles, such as pairing your UOB Lady’s Card or UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card with Amaze, or shopping online.
Workarounds: How to earn miles at UOB$ merchants with UOB cards
DBS yuu alternative
Even though we’re focusing on miles in this article, it’d be strangely amiss not to give a shout out to the DBS yuu Card and its 36 yuu Points per S$1 spent at Cold Storage and Giant, equivalent to an 18% rebate.
| Points | Remarks |
| Base 10 points per S$1 spent |
|
| Bonus 26 points per S$1 spent |
|
This requires a minimum spend of S$600 (which can be on any retail transactions, not just Cold Storage and Giant), and the 18% rebate is capped at S$78 per calendar month. For avoidance of doubt, both the DBS yuu AMEX and yuu Visa have their own monthly caps, so you can apply for both cards if you’re a big spender.
So should you take 4 mpd, or 18% rebates? Well, for you to choose miles, you’d need to value a mile at 4.5 cents each, which I think is a bit on the high side. Assuming the minimum spend isn’t an issue, I’d side with yuu on this one.
Conclusion
By using the right credit cards at supermarkets, you could earn up to 4 mpd on your grocery bill each month. UOB cards offer the highest return, but do take care because of the unique circumstances surrounding UOB$ merchants like Cold Storage or Giant.
There’s also an opportunity to earn up to 18% rebates with the DBS yuu AMEX and DBS yuu Visa, which may prove even more attractive than miles for some.
How about the trust card used in NTUC?
Are payments made through the Fairprice app (scan QR at supermarket and kopitiam) considered online spend for the DBS WWMC?
yes.
Trust Fairprice not there
Doesnโt the (Amaze +) Citibank Rewards card also belong under online grocery options?
if the transaction is already online, what do you need the amaze for?
Trust card easily beats the competition for grocery shopping with its 21% rebate. The only drawback is that you need to clock $350 (NTUC member) of non Fairprice transactions per month which pays very low rebates.
obviously that is not 21%
If I chose family and food categories for Ladies card, and I made groceries purchases at NTUC and food purchases at Kopitiam but use the Fairprice app to scan QR code for payment linked to Ladies card. Do I get 6mpd?
i have the same question, does an in-app purchase clock under the same categories for UOB ladyโs?
Does paying at cashier via the Fairprice app linked to Citi Cashback qualify for the 8% cashback for groceries?
if your favorite grocery is Cold Storage, you have to reserve Citi Rewards + Amaze for this because of the Revolution nerf. If you hit the cap, you need to use Visa Signature and make sure you are hitting the contactless minimum spend. The UOB Krisflyer or general spend card.
Is this right?
For me nothing beats Yuu at CS. It’s not just the 18% on $600. It’s the no-minimum uncapped 5% as well. Valuing a mile at 1.5 cents, 5% cashback is just 1 cent less than a 4mpd card. And unlike miles, Yuu points: can be spent straight away without waiting for award space, are awarded in fractions (!!), can be spent on any small purchase, and are valid for 2 years. I don’t even bother to tally my excess spend > $600 at CS since I just pull out Yuu for convenience. Even when I exceed $600pm, the bonus 13%… Read more »
Groceries – 8% @ Maybank Family & Friends MC
Groceries (Online Only) – 5% @ Citi SMRT VISA
Groceries (Overseas) – Near No FCY Fee – 8% @ Instarem + Maybank Family & Friends MC
This is a miles-centric page hence these cashback cards are unlikely ever going to get a shoutout at MileLion
well, yuu aside…
Also covered HSBC Live+ which makes me think you jumped on the bandwagon cos itโs new to direct more traffic to your webpage
don’t forget Trust, uob evol, uob absolute, AMEX True Cashback, SC Simply Cash and many more!
Does buying supermarkets vouchers earn still earn miles?
If I clock >$1000 FCY spend using UOB Visa Signature stored in Apple Pay does tapping the physical card in Singapore earn 4mpd? Have I’ve reached the $1000 min spend for both FCY and contactless mobile? Or only one category? Guess I should try on a small local contactless payment and see if I get the bonus.