Hi folks.
In our last episode, we covered dining.
Today, let's focus on groceries.
I'm currently using the Amex BCP, because it offered one year fee-free. When that expires, I'll likely change back to the BCE (unless the other bonus categories compensate -- I'll have to actually read up) because, factoring in the fee, my cash back remains around 3%.
I believe that my 5% on the Flex has about run its course.
And. of course, there's the Disco Q1 at 5%.
So ... what else?
Citi Custom Cash has 5% on groceries up to $500 in purchases per month.
The Affinity Cash Rewards has 5% quarterly rotators which includes grocery right now. This card gets 2% back on groceries normally and apparently the rotators stack on top of that for 7% currently.
I think that is about it for 5% cards...
UMB Simply Rewards is unlimited 3% back on both groceries and discount stores. So no having to figure out what your favorite store codes as there, which is nice.
The Citi Shop Your Way/Sears Card is 5% on gas and 3% on both groceries and restuarants up to a combined $10,000 per year. That one puts out lots of targeted offers too.
I, too, have the Amex BCP and is what I use for groceries unless and until I hit the $6k cap for the year. I don't think I will though. But in case I do, I have the Navy MoreRewards Amex as a backup. Bonus is that the Navy MR Amex counts Target as supermarkets, so I get 3% back. 
@wasCB14 wrote:BofA CR for Costco...haven't made the leap for USB AR yet.
I'd have an Amex Business Platinum, anyway...so Amex Gold gives me a little more than 6% towards a chosen airline (Delta for me) without needing to look for award space. And through a bug I get $320 in Uber/dining credits instead of $240.
EDP/BCP are just for upgrades. No interest in bothering with 30 transactions for 4.5x instead of 4x.
Pretty sure the forums did the math awhile back, and Custom Cash comes in just under the BCP for max cash back due to the AF. So if you don't think the BCP is better than the Everyday Cash AmEx for you, the Custom Cash should still be (this is unless it's an active category for Affinity of course, at 7%). Make sure you really do your math though... I ran the numbers for my 70-something parents and they definitely get more out of the BCP with the fee than half the Cashback for no fee. They're one of those households that will spend over the 6k cap, however... but I'm not even going to make the attempt to get them to put some of that grocery spending on a different card, it's a massive win to have gotten them using one card for groceries/gas and one for everything else (CFU)!
Groceries is a "hard to find 5%" for category. Tons and tons of 3% out there though.
I'll be using AmEx Gold (while meeting the SUB), then back to BCP primarily, Affinity at Costco (for Q3, then the BofA CCR at 3.5%), and Savor for the random food stores that AmEx doesn't recognize as groceries (bakeries etc).
Biz - 
@wasCB14 wrote:
@unsungivy wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:BofA CR for Costco...haven't made the leap for USB AR yet.
I'd have an Amex Business Platinum, anyway...so Amex Gold gives me a little more than 6% towards a chosen airline (Delta for me) without needing to look for award space. And through a bug I get $320 in Uber/dining credits instead of $240.
EDP/BCP are just for upgrades. No interest in bothering with 30 transactions for 4.5x instead of 4x.
Pretty sure the forums did the math awhile back, and Custom Cash comes in just under the BCP for max cash back due to the AF. So if you don't think the BCP is better than the Everyday Cash AmEx for you, the Custom Cash should still be (this is unless it's an active category for Affinity of course, at 7%). Make sure you really do your math though... I ran the numbers for my 70-something parents and they definitely get more out of the BCP with the fee than half the Cashback for no fee. They're one of those households that will spend over the 6k cap, however... but I'm not even going to make the attempt to get them to put some of that grocery spending on a different card, it's a massive win to have gotten them using one card for groceries/gas and one for everything else (CFU)!
Groceries is a "hard to find 5%" for category. Tons and tons of 3% out there though.
I'll be using AmEx Gold (while meeting the SUB), then back to BCP primarily, Affinity at Costco (for Q3, then the BofA CCR at 3.5%), and Savor for the random food stores that AmEx doesn't recognize as groceries (bakeries etc).
CC may beat BCP, but for me Gold beats both. There's a simplicity to having one main card for groceries as well as restaurants (with a Visa backup or two).
What I meant by the bolded part is that I use those cards to play upgrade/downgrade games. Amex offers me 40k MR points to upgrade my ED to EDP and spend $2k. So I do so...and then downgrade a year or so later back to ED. Then Amex eventually sends me another upgrade offer and I upgrade for another year.
The value isn't in the rewards from regular spend...it's from effectively earning multiple SUBs on one account.
Oh, I know. It's a thing that's a thing around here 
I haven't even had my BCP a year yet though, and I get AFs waived from P2's military... so I'm not quite at the upgrade downgrade game yet, since they're currently free anyways. Up until a year ago when i started adding a ton more cards EDP was good daily driver... 30 swipes can be done easily with a little patience at self checkout at the grocery store once a month.
I get that you like the simplicity of the Gold, but I'm guessing for me it won't be a permanent wallet resident. I'm finding it annoying the number of restaurants that are not coded properly for AmEx, but are for Visa/MC. It's actually quite stressful to try to remember which ones I can't use my current restaurant card at (including my weekly sushi place... codes right for CSP and Savor, but not for Gold). Depending on P2's active duty cycle, I might end up with two platinums and all the credits that go along with them instead at the end of the year.