I have a rewards Discover card that currently offers 5% bonus for 'grocery store" purchases, but when I checked my recent statement, no points for shopping at Aldi’s, Whole Foods and Giant Eagle. When I called, they said they’re considered 'supermarkets" which does not qualify as “grocery”–huh? That to me is misleading or deceptive advertising: who of us doesn’t think of Aldi’s as “grocery”? Of course, if they only think of corner mom-and-pop stores as “groceries”, then it sounds to me that they’re being sneaky cheap, since they would have to give more points to "supermarkets (we spend more there than small stores), but now they want you to use heir card not knowing you’re not getting rewards expected.
Yep. I have a Chase card that does that sometimes. Once the category was “Lawn and Garden” so I bought a wood chipper. That’s a “Lawn and Garden” item, right? They said Tractor Supply was “Gas and Oil.” I whined a bit and they gave me the 5% back, but I now know to check their list of stores before buying anything big.
Too bad you didn’t get that in writing, you could have spent a bunch of money there the next time Chase does 5% on gas.
I forgot to add in my OP that unlike Discover, my Capital One card offers 4% for 'entertainment" which includes not only Groceries but also bars; their categories are constant, not seasonally(?) like Discover
From Discover
Activate to earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Grocery Stores (stand-alone) , Walgreens (stand-alone) and CVS (stand-alone) from 1/1/21 (or the date on which you activate 5%, whichever is later) through 3/31/21, on up to $1,500 in purchases. Grocery Store purchases now also includes Walmart Grocery Pickup and Delivery purchases only; other purchases at Walmart are not eligible. Purchases made at convenience stores, gas stations, warehouse clubs, discount stores, supercenters (or at grocery stores associated with supercenters or discount stores) are not eligible. Target purchases are not eligible.
April 1 starts their 5% CB at wholesale clubs.
I don’t bother with it anymore pita turning on rewards etc etc
if you review my posting, on my statement the stores were listed as “supermarkets”; customer service stated that Discover classified them as non-Grocery, hence no reward
I get it, supermarkets imo are just like grocery stores, yet Discover doesn’t see it that way. Aldis is a discount store, Whole Foods now owned by Amazon is a supercenter, Giant Eagle a discount grocery store?
Just guessing as to why they didn’t apply rewards.
A scam is a scam no matter what they call it. Sounds like they’re a deceptive company maybe you shouldn’t do business with.
Best card I know of for groceries (and for the type of spending I do in general) is the American Express Blue Cash Preferred. 6% back all the time for groceries. I don’t go to Walmart, so can’t tell you there and have a Target credit card because 5% off is better than rewards back, especially if it’s 1%. More importantly, I don’t have to play the “what’s active this quarter” game like with Discover.
You will earn a reward of 6% on the first $6,000 of eligible purchases in a calendar year (then 1%) at supermarkets located in the U.S. (superstores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets); 6% on eligible purchases of U.S. streaming subscriptions from select providers (the current list of select providers is available at americanexpress.com/rewards-info). If your subscription is bundled with another product or service or billed by a third party (such as a digital platform, a cable, telecommunications, or internet provider, or a car manufacturer), your purchase may not be eligible; 3% on eligible purchases on transit, including trains, taxicabs, ride share services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways (airfare, car rental and cruises are not considered transit); 3% on eligible purchases of gasoline at gas stations located in the U.S. (superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations); and 1% on all other eligible purchases.
What makes one store a “supermarket” and another a “superstore”? Or is it a superstore when I’m buying groceries at Target or Walmart?
I suspect it’s range of merchandise. If the store carries enough non-grocery items, someone’s decided to classify it differently. It all does sound rather weaselly, however.
I had a similar situation where a chain pizza place (Dominos) wasn’t considered “Fast food” but rather as a “sit down restaurant” despite not having any place to sit down.
This is why I use a straight cash-back card. No time periods when you should shop-for-what, no weirdo point systems, no definitional issues (“oh, buying Premium isn’t Gasoline, Ha!”), no expiring airline miles on an airline you somehow couldn’t use that month. Just spend money, cash back @ whatever% (in my case 1.5%; I used to have a 2% cash back, but Citicard is a bunch of horrid assholes and I abandoned ship; it cost me probably $60/year – worth it). You can just use that cash back to buy whatever you want. My current 1.5% is a Chase card, but there’s others.
Not particularly defending Discover here, but that is what I use. 1% on everything, 5% on the flavor of the quarter. They send a reminder to sign up (of course, they could just activate the damn thing themselves). I don’t pay a lot of attention to it - it’s the only card we use, so whatever definition they use throws some additional cash in our pocket. It’s not like I’m going to start using more gas just because it is spring.