🛒 Grocery Offers

Amex Gold Grocery Stores List: Which Supermarkets Qualify for 4x Points (2026)

Earn 4x Membership Rewards points at qualifying US supermarkets on up to $25,000 per year. See the full list of which stores count — and which don’t — plus active Amex Offers at grocery merchants in 2026.

4x
Points at Supermarkets
$25k
Annual Cap
12+
Active Offers
$0
Enrollment Needed
MC
mycarddeals Editorial Team
Credit Card Offers Specialists
Last Updated: June 2026 Verified: americanexpress.com Active Offers: 12+

The Amex Gold grocery benefit is one of the most valuable everyday earning rates of any rewards card — 4x Membership Rewards points at qualifying US supermarkets, automatically, with no activation required. The key question most cardholders have: which stores actually qualify? This page has the definitive answer, plus active Amex Offers you can stack on top of your 4x earnings.

The 4x Supermarket Benefit — Explained

🛒
4x at US Supermarkets
Automatic — no enrollment, no opt-in required
4x per $1
On up to $25,000 in US supermarket purchases per calendar year, then 1x
✅ Qualifies for 4x
Kroger, Safeway, Publix, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Meijer, H-E-B, Wegmans, regional chains
❌ Does NOT qualify for 4x
Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, CVS, Walgreens, convenience stores
💡 Pro tip: At $25,000/year cap (≈ $2,083/month), most households never hit the limit. If you do, consider the Amex Blue Cash Preferred for grocery overflow — it earns 6% cash back at US supermarkets.
📊 What 4x Points Are Worth at the Grocery Store
~8%
Back in travel
Points transferred to airlines (~$0.02/pt)
~4%
Back as statement credit
Points redeemed via Amex Travel (~$0.01/pt)
100k
Max annual bonus pts
4x on $25,000 cap = 100,000 pts/year

Which Grocery Stores Qualify for Amex Gold 4x Points?

American Express determines qualifying merchants by Merchant Category Code (MCC). A store must be coded as MCC 5411 (Grocery Stores and Supermarkets) to earn 4x. General merchandise stores (Walmart, Target) and warehouse clubs (Costco) use different codes and earn only 1x. Below is the definitive qualifying store list for 2026.

Store Qualifies for 4x? Notes
Whole Foods Market ✅ Coded as grocery — in-store and Amazon Fresh delivery qualify
Kroger ✅ All Kroger banner stores qualify: Fred Meyer, Ralphs, King Soopers, Harris Teeter, Fry’s, Smith’s
Publix ✅ All Publix locations qualify, including Publix GreenWise stores
H-E-B ✅ H-E-B, Central Market, and H-E-B Plus all qualify as supermarkets
Trader Joe’s ✅ All Trader Joe’s locations coded as grocery stores
Safeway / Albertsons ✅ Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s all qualify
Wegmans ✅ All Wegmans locations qualify as supermarkets
Aldi ✅ All Aldi US locations coded as grocery stores — earns 4x
Meijer ✅ Meijer qualifies as a supermarket despite also selling general merchandise
Sprouts Farmers Market ✅ Qualifies as grocery — all in-store purchases earn 4x
Instacart ✅ Qualifies when order is fulfilled by a qualifying grocery merchant (e.g., Kroger, Publix via Instacart)
Amazon Fresh ✅ Amazon Fresh grocery orders coded as grocery — earns 4x (not all Amazon purchases)
Walmart ❌ Coded as general merchandise (superstore) — earns only 1x. Walmart Grocery and Walmart+ also 1x.
Target ❌ Coded as general merchandise — earns 1x even when buying groceries. Target Circle 360 does not help.
Costco ❌ Warehouse club (MCC 5300) — earns 1x. Also: Costco warehouses don’t accept Amex in-store (Visa only).
Sam’s Club ❌ Warehouse club — earns 1x. Online Sam’s Club purchases via Amex also earn 1x.
BJ’s Wholesale ❌ Warehouse club — earns 1x, not 4x. BJ’s does accept Amex in-store, but still earns 1x.
⚠️ Note: MCC classifications can vary by individual store location in rare cases. If you’re unsure whether a specific purchase earned 4x, check your Amex account statement — the points rate for each transaction is shown.

Active Amex Gold Grocery Offers — June 2026

Merchant Offer Category Expires Action
Whole Foods MarketIn-store & Prime delivery Spend $75+, get $15 back Grocery Jun 30, 2026 Activate
Sprouts Farmers MarketNatural & organic grocery Spend $40+, get $8 back Grocery Jul 15, 2026 Activate
InstacartGrocery delivery Spend $50+, get $10 back Delivery Jul 31, 2026 Activate
FreshDirectOnline grocery delivery Spend $100+, get $20 back Delivery Jul 31, 2026 Activate
ShiptSame-day grocery delivery First month membership free Delivery Aug 31, 2026 Activate
HelloFreshMeal kit delivery Spend $60+, get $15 back Meal Kits Aug 15, 2026 Activate
Green ChefOrganic meal kits 60% off first box Meal Kits Jun 30, 2026 Activate
Daily HarvestFrozen smoothies & meals Spend $40+, get $10 back Meal Kits Sep 15, 2026 Activate
Thrive MarketOnline organic grocery 3 months free + 20% off first order Organic Dec 31, 2026 Activate
Misfits MarketAffordable organic produce 25% off first order Organic Jul 31, 2026 Activate
Imperfect FoodsSustainable grocery delivery $20 off first 3 orders Organic Sep 30, 2026 Activate
Sam’s ClubWholesale grocery (online only for Amex) Spend $50+, get $10 back Grocery Jun 30, 2026 Activate
Showing 12 of 12 offers ⚠️ Offers are personalized — log in to americanexpress.com to see your exact offers

How to Stack 4x Points + Amex Offers

1
Add Grocery Offers to Card
Log in to americanexpress.com → Amex Offers → add any grocery merchant offer to your card before shopping.
2
Shop at a Qualifying Supermarket
Pay with your Amex Gold card at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, or any qualifying US supermarket.
3
Earn 4x Points Automatically
4x Membership Rewards points post automatically — no receipt upload, no form, no activation needed for the points.
4
Collect the Offer Credit Too
If the merchant has an active Amex Offer, the statement credit posts within 3–5 business days. Points and credits stack.
💡
Example stack: Whole Foods offer — Spend $75, get $15 back + earn 4x points (300 pts ≈ $6 in travel value). Effective return: ~28% back on that $75 grocery run.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions — Amex Gold Grocery Stores

Amex Gold earns 4x at US supermarkets — stores coded with Merchant Category Code 5411. This includes Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, H-E-B, Wegmans, Meijer, and most regional grocery chains. Stores coded as general merchandise (Walmart, Target) or warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club) do not qualify and earn only 1x — even if you’re buying food there.
No. Target is classified by American Express as a general merchandise store — not a supermarket. Even when buying groceries at Target, you earn only 1x Membership Rewards points. For 4x, use a traditional grocery store like Kroger, Publix, or Whole Foods instead. The same rule applies to Walmart — 1x only.
Yes. H-E-B qualifies as a supermarket for the Amex Gold 4x bonus. H-E-B stores are coded as grocery stores (MCC 5411), so all in-store H-E-B purchases earn 4x Membership Rewards points, up to the $25,000 annual cap. This also applies to Central Market and H-E-B Plus locations.
No — Costco is classified as a warehouse club, not a supermarket. Purchases earn 1x points, not 4x. Additionally, Costco warehouses only accept Visa in-store, so you can’t use Amex Gold there at all. Amex Gold can be used on Costco.com, but still earns only 1x.
Yes — the 4x bonus applies to the first $25,000 in US supermarket purchases per calendar year. After that, you earn 1x. At $25,000/year, that’s roughly $2,083/month in grocery spending, which is well above average. The cap essentially never affects typical cardholders.
Yes, absolutely. Amex Offers and the 4x earning rate are fully stackable. For example, if Whole Foods has an Amex Offer for $15 back on $75+, you’d receive the $15 statement credit AND earn 300 Membership Rewards points (4x on $75) — worth roughly $6 in travel. Combined that’s about $21 in value on a $75 purchase.
Limited Time Offer

Get up to 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points

New Amex Gold cardholders can earn a welcome bonus worth up to $2,000 in travel — plus 4x at qualifying supermarkets and the $120 dining credit from day one.

Apply Now — See Bonus Offer

Rates & fees apply. $325 annual fee. Terms apply.

More Amex Gold Offer Pages

🍽️ Dining Offers

$120 annual dining credit, $100 Resy credit, and active Amex dining offers.

See dining offers →
✈️ Travel Offers

$120 Uber Cash, CLEAR+ credit, and active Amex travel offers.

See travel offers →
🏆 Full Card Review

All Amex Gold benefits, earning rates, credits and the full 2026 breakdown.

See full card page →
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