US Bank is putting the MCC codes in their credit card transaction downloads.
In the credit card Account Activity section, click on Download Transactions
Select the time frame
Change the Download To: field to Microsoft Excel (CSV)
Click Download Transactions.
Its easier if you have Excel. Otherwise you could check with a text editor.
There is a LONG integer followed by a Semicolon, then the MCC code followed by 4 Semicolon+space pairs.
This is how part of the data file looks in notepad. 5732 is MCC for Electronics Stores.
"WWW.NEWEGG.COM 800-390-1119 CA","24692165160000791083512; 05732; ; ; ; ","
That's handy TMWC, easy to import CSV into anything including straight into a database for online searches later 
Probably wind up doing a table for specific retailers though some have to be caveated if they have different MCC's for different locations I guess and some I wouldn't have expected (Starbucks = restaurant for example) might be handy to have a searchable list on. That's a lot more data intensive (read cost) to do it fully but major / common purchase places wouldn't be a problem.
@Anonymous wrote:To play the devil's advocate, why bother! The list will have some inaccuracies( (for example, in the grocery quarter, didn't Freedom specifically exclude Walmart and Target regardless of MCC) and change over time, and no-one may have good data for your particular target for example. Sometimes just easier to make a small transaction on the card of interest and see if it works.
You have something of a point; however, a lot of places aren't small charge friendly. Sure we could rationally see what's what, but realistically if someone were to be looking either for a card in their portfolio, or desiring a card that their spend falls on (vis a vis, I'm looking at $60/week on that 5499 for an indeterminate amount of time, that adds up) and with the vagaries of online shops and merchant codes, as this progresses there's no guaruntee it's going to get easier. You're right this sort of thing changes over time (lenders tidy up MCC's for rewards or shops have multiple MCC's or switch MCC's, rotating rewards, etc) but there's enough folks that might be interested maybe it gets some traction.
When we're talking community sourced information, the information is only as good as the community provides. It's why the credit pulls database for all it's promise, never really lived up to it's potential - just not enough people updating it. Even I haven't been and I'm a avowed user of it personally. Admittedly I suck as a result.
My involvement falls under hobby and possible community benefit - if it doesn't work out, just shut it down or leave it idling on a spare domain forever in hopes the dataset reaches critical mass. My thinking anyway.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Revelate wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:To play the devil's advocate, why bother! The list will have some inaccuracies( (for example, in the grocery quarter, didn't Freedom specifically exclude Walmart and Target regardless of MCC) and change over time, and no-one may have good data for your particular target for example. Sometimes just easier to make a small transaction on the card of interest and see if it works.
You have something of a point; however, a lot of places aren't small charge friendly. Sure we could rationally see what's what, but realistically if someone were to be looking either for a card in their portfolio, or desiring a card that their spend falls on (vis a vis, I'm looking at $60/week on that 5499 for an indeterminate amount of time, that adds up) and with the vagaries of online shops and merchant codes, as this progresses there's no guaruntee it's going to get easier. You're right this sort of thing changes over time (lenders tidy up MCC's for rewards or shops have multiple MCC's or switch MCC's, rotating rewards, etc) but there's enough folks that might be interested maybe it gets some traction.
When we're talking community sourced information, the information is only as good as the community provides. It's why the credit pulls database for all it's promise, never really lived up to it's potential - just not enough people updating it. Even I haven't been and I'm a avowed user of it personally. Admittedly I suck as a result.
My involvement falls under hobby and possible community benefit - if it doesn't work out, just shut it down or leave it idling on a spare domain forever in hopes the dataset reaches critical mass. My thinking anyway.
Oh, as a fellow suckee, I would use this system if/when it exists. I'm just concerned it will generate lots of traffic of the type "YOU said that Amex EDP would earn 2x at ValueStore in Littletown IL. I just spent $10K there and only got 1x" The same can happen with credit pull db, but people who know to use it are (somewhat) aware that YMMV in that issuers can pull anything. I guess they could get used to the same thing here.
Think the standard disclaimers would apply. "Lenders can and do update this" and heck +1 on the need for some timestamp type information. Thanks for that!
@Revelate wrote:
@Themanwhocan wrote:http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2012/11/09/best-category-bonuses/
Hrm close, that has the common ones but doesn't for example have 5499 in it or a tremendous number of other transaction codes. Thank you though for that!
Guess will just toss it out there if we can't find something more detailed: would there be any community interest in compiling a data set which could be turned into a searchable format pretty easily in terms of what MCC triggers rewards bonuses where? Might be able to build an Amex translation table too i.e. I'm trying my apparently 5499-coded transaction on my BCP to see if it's counted under Amex's version of groceries where Sallie just defaults it.
I could sure use a 5% card for MCC 6513 ...
Edit: Other than GM BuyPower card
@Revelate wrote:
@longtime_lurker wrote:Yeah, I think time will be the biggest factor, however I think this is definitely doable! Did not realize Barclay's was 1:1 with the Visa MCCs from the link provided above. However you want to start, let me know.Need a dumb development project to try, this one's simple to start, can pretty it up later. What can people rationally expect for free on a one off haha.
Likely will start with a list of common cards, that won't be hard to find. Then dump the Visa MCC list and import it. Once that's done we can start the real data acquisition of matching things up and tossing up a simple interface for people to either add cards or transaction codes supported with a dirt simple search interface on it either by text description or MCC code explicitly.
Not sure if there's an easy (read as something I could do myself in a short time period) way I could get at the data from the visa supplier link that was suggested, have to try that on a wierd one like Target or Walmart which codes differently based on location for giggles. Can probably just link to the site and let people grab their MCC from there for the end-user facing lookup bit.
Will wait for a bit to see if someone has a better and already available solution heh.
Here is a list of common cards
@TMWC: Yeah I was planning to pillage your rewards card lists that you've posted over time as a starting point .
Since the whole goal of this is to figure out what MCC's are in the rewards bonus category for what card, can flatly ignore all the default 1% and no rewards cards which cuts down on a tremendous amount of the data input.
Come to think of it can likely toss store cards out too since either they're not general purpose, or they're flat percentage for mechants other than the named retailers I believe?
If it got traction to the point of figuring out what best card would be for a given retail location, well that's another ballgame. Isn't there a phone app that already does that at least somewhat automagically?
Interesting, an old Amex conversion map not sure this completely holds for US cards today or helps determine what would get bonus or not in Amex land.
i.e. 5411 (Groceries) and 5499 (Miscellaneous Food) both map to Retail Stores.