@Anonymouswrote:It's the store, not the product that counts. At a pure grocery store, every purchase should count at 5% (except, as has been noted, cash-over).
An open question is whether Walmart stores (and Target, Meijer, etc.) will count as grocery stores for the Discover 5%. The terms of the deal certainly give them leeway to exclude all such stores: "Grocery purchases made at convenience stores, gas stations, warehouse clubs, supercenters, discount stores (or at grocery stores associated with supercenters or discount stores) are not eligible." But even with similar language on other cards, I've had mixed results. From what I've heard, AmEx strictly treats Walmart and the like as *not* grocery. For Visa/MC, my general experience has always been that it follows the MCC coding for the store; if the store codes as MCC 5411, it will count as grocery, otherwise it will not. For Walmart and Target, that's a store-by-store issue. Typically the traditional (going back over 10 years now) Walmart/Target which was a discount store with just a couple aisles devoted to snacks and limited grocery items, those stores code as discount. The Walmart/Target stores which were built from the ground up as complete grocery stores (as most are now) typically code as grocery (5411), and thus do count as grocery for Visa/MC cards which offer extra cashback for grocery. The exception to that rule has been Chase, which specifically excludes Walmart and Target from the grocery category, no matter how it codes.
As for Discover, the only grocery bonus experience I've had with them dates back to 2011, and in that case, at least the Walmart stores I went to, did not count for 5%.
You can bet I'll be hitting Walmart with my Discover card tomorrow for some test transactions.
Chris.
I use my Discover at Wal-mart all the time and i'm letting you know now that at least in my area, Wal-Mart is categorized as a Discount Store which is one of the exclusions in their Grocery 5% Cashback.
Per the disclosure on Discover's website:
Grocery purchases made at convenience stores, gas stations, warehouse clubs, supercenters, discount stores (or at grocery stores associated with supercenters or discount stores) are not eligible. Purchases made using tap-and-pay, mobile or wireless card readers, virtual wallets or similar technology may not be eligible. Rewards are added to your Cashback Bonus account within two billing periods. See Cashback Bonus Program Terms and Conditions for more information about your rewards.
