AMEX Rewards Retail Categories "Complete List"???

[Anonymous]

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@staticvoidmain wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't see why Fred Meyer wouldn't be included since they are part of the Kroger family of stores.

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I believe it is considered the same category as Walmart superstores (not just grocery). I'll just check out a QFC, sometimes they have the same or better prices. Kroger is usually smaller than Fred Meyer, and more "grocery"-ish in their inventory. Conversely, smaller Walmart marketplaces code as grocery.

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You're probably right. I am by no means an authority

The Kroger I frequent has a Fred Meyer's Jeweler in it, clothing selection, and full housewares department. All of which (possibly excepting  the Fred Meyer's Jeweler as I am not sure if they ring it up separately), qualifies for grocery on my BCP. I just assumed the Fred Meyer grocery chain would be similar. Guess that will teach me to assume

[Anonymous]

From my personal experience, Fred Meyer does not code as Grocery. So Amex cards do not earn that bonus category. 

[Anonymous]

My local mom-and-pop grocery store got coded as a "supermarket" for the 3% back on my BCE, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

From my personal experience, Fred Meyer does not code as Grocery. So Amex cards do not earn that bonus category. 

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That is very sad news 

[HeavenOhio]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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Note that some merchants will be broadly categorized as "grocery" and yet not get bonus points. This may include convenience stores, liquor stores, etc. So check your rewards statement to see whether the purchases actually qualify for bonus points/cash.

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This is important. Coding as grocery isn't enough. The merchant has to qualify as a "supermarket."

There are two ways to know for sure. One is to look at your Bonus Details list, which unfortunately isn't available until a second statement has cut after making your transaction. To see it, hit the Statements % Activity link. In the Recent Activity dropdown, choose one of your previous statements. Scroll to the bottom of that page, where you'll see a Rewards Dollars box. In that box, hit Bonus Details. The list will pop up.

A new way to do this is from the main account page. Scroll to your Account Activity (recent transactions). Clicking on them will pop up more information. On some of them, you'll see the rewards dollars earned for that transaction in the bottom right corner. The rewards information generally appears after the transaction has been posted (out of pending) for a couple of days.

The flaw in this situation is that if you use the card a lot, transactions might be crowded out of that area before the rewards information appears. But the bottom line is that it's possible to check a merchant like Fred Meyer without having to wait several weeks.

[UpperNwGuy]

Your best method is trial and error, not the building of lists.  Test the card at a new store with a small purchase.  Check your statement to see how it codes.  Then you have proof positive one way or the other.

It has been discussed extensively on this forum that big box stores do not code for groceries even when they have the equivalent of a full sized grocery store inside.

[dlister70]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

The CSR told me all I have to do is ask the merchant if they are a registered U.S. Supermarket. This is 2018 though, right? What is so hard about making a list? I'm driving up and down the west coast on a schedule, it would be completely ridiculous to have to stop at every market and ask if they are a registered u.s. supermarket.

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This is an example where the CSR doesn't understand the world outside!  Amex frequently tells people this sort of thing, but imagine asking a busy clerk at checkout, are you a registered US supermarket?    Probably not going to get a quality answer, especially as the real question is "Do you code for Amex as a supermarket?" and I guarantee that the people who know this per store is very low!

I thought the same thing.  If a customer asked what my store coded as, then I would know because I'm into credit card rewards and have tested my cards.  But I don't think that there's a single other person in the store who would have that information, unless they just know it from trying themselves.  That stuff is set up by corporate from when the store was first built (or first started accepting credit cards if the store is old enough to have started without them). 

I'm not even confident that I would be able to get the correct answer by calling our internal helpline.  Perhaps after the email had been forwarded 5 times in order to get to the appropriate person, I may be able to get a response via email after a few days. 

As others have said, one Walmart may count as grocery while another doesn't, so it's not even like you can completely trust that a certain chain will always be the same.  In the same vein, some gas stations at supermarket chains actually code as supermarket, while others code as gas.  I guess it's up to the whim of whoever registered with the credit card companies when the store opened and what code they picked out of the list?  You would think at least everyone at the same chain would be the same, but maybe that person was on vacation when this particular store got registered, and the backup person registered it under a different code? 

You can use the Visa lookup website, but even that has steered me wrong before.  I bought $300 worth of stuff from somewhere that said it was a sporting goods store on the Visa lookup, so I used my sporting goods category card, and ended up with 1% instead of 5% cashback because it coded as some other type of retailer.

There is no way for us to know why they picked the code that they did, and all we can do is test our card to find out what kind of rewards we get.

[Anonymous]

There's definitely some homework involved, and further complicates it when you have to wait so long for Amex to post the earnings. I don't know about most folks, but I shop more often than every 45 days. lol

Once you get things hammerd out it's fine, you know where to go consistenty for the bonus. However, as it does change you may need to check on it periodically. To ensure you're still getting the bonus at that merchant. 

For some people it simply doesn't matter, as we only have one or two places to shop. It's just like any other bonus that not everyone can utilize.

Which can lead to a switch to using other cards by the consumer, creating less swipes for Amex.

[Anonymous]

There is no reason to wait for Amex to post the earnings or even wait for the statement. As soon as the charge posts simply click on the business name. Doing so will give you a list of info such as the name and address and how the business codes. Look for "Merchandise & Supplies - Groceries"
Also (just found this out) if you do the same for a pending charge you have the option to receive an email or text when the charge posts...no need to log in to track when a charge posts.

[Anonymous]

Great answers everyone, thank you so much for your insight