How can I determine which stores are regarded as supermarkets for a rewards credit card?
Credit card companies organize types of businesses into different categories. (They charge different types of businesses different fees.) When a business first sets up their credit card processing merchant account, they need to specify the category.  Here is a list of categories that Visa uses. Grocery stores and supermarkets are category number 5411. Other types of businesses, such as the examples you provided in your question, have a different category number. American Express simply looks at the merchant category code for each of your transactions and only gives you rewards for the ones in the grocery store category. It's all automated. They likely don't have a list of every grocery store in the US, and even if they did, they would probably not provide it to the public, for proprietary reasons. If you are in doubt about whether or not a particular store is in the grocery category, you'll just have to charge it to your card and see what happens. Often, the category of transaction will be shown for each transaction on your credit card's website. Each company that has an account with the credit card network has to classify themselves as a particular type of business.  The credit card company uses that classification to catagorize the transaction on your statement. If you buy a T-shirt at a grocery, amusement park, gas station, or resturant; the transaction will be labeled by the vendor type.  Look at recent credit card statements, even if they are from different cards, to see how the stores you want to know about are classified. Looks like a user-contributed list is the only good solution to this question, so I'll start one by making this answer community wiki, meaning anyone can edit it. We only aim to add major chain, not every mom&pop store (which probably don't qualify). The rewards details page looks like this:  The lists are in alphabetical order. Contact AmEx. They are the only ones who might have a current list.
If his ATM card is operational and (assuming it is Visa/Mastercard), he can use it at grocery stores and get cashback. Typically, there is no charge for this service. Thanks for the info! It seems the consolidation option is the best; switching to the new merchant services provider and getting the discount from our POS on gift card software  Can you give me a but more info about the customer loyalty/marketing info? Department store cards will appear on your credit report and is often much easier to get approved for. All my friends that have applied for a Macy's card have always been approved. If you are new to the country, department store cards are a great way to build history. Target and Nordstroms are two other department stores to look at. Target is my first suggestion since they carry every day items and will be easy to consistently put charges on the card to build credit history. I am not sure but probably it depends upon the cut the credit card company receives from the merchant. For Hotels such as dining etc. the cut could be more. Again, periodically, many merchants join with the card company to launch promotions. It could be part of such promotions. Apart from class of merchants, these points also differ on class of cards e.g a premium card will earn more rewards than a simple classic card. "Some features to be aware of are: How you prioritize these features will depend on your specific circumstances.  For instance, if your credit score is poor, you may have to choose among cards you can get with that score, and not have much choice on other dimensions.  If you frequently travel abroad, a low or zero foreign transaction fee may be important; if you never do, it probably doesn't matter.  If you always pay the balance in full, interest rate is less important than it is if you carry a balance.  If you frequently travel by air, an airline card may be useful to you; if you don't, you may prefer some other kind of rewards, or cash back. Cards differ along numerous dimensions, especially in the ""extra benefits"" area, which is often the most difficult area to assess, because in many cases you can't get a full description of these extra benefits until after you get the card.  A lot of the choice depends on your personal preferences (e.g., whether you want airline miles, rewards points of some sort, or cash back).  Lower fees and interest rates are always better, but it's up to you to decide if a higher fee of some sort outweighs the accompanying benefits (e.g., a better rewards rate).  A useful site for finding good offers is NerdWallet." "##Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is a German privately held  chain of grocery stores based in Monrovia, California. As of May 19, 2017, Trader Joe's had 464 stores nationwide in 41 states and in Washington, D.C. By 2015, it was a competitor in ""fresh format"" grocery stores in the United States.  Trader Joe's was founded by Joseph ""Joe"" Coulombe. From 1979, it was owned by Aldi Nord's German owner Theo Albrecht until his death in 2010, when ownership passed to his heirs. Aldi Nord entirely owns and operates Trader Joe's through an Albrecht family trust.  ***  ^[ [^PM](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=kittens_from_space) ^| [^Exclude ^me](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiTextBot&amp;message=Excludeme&amp;subject=Excludeme) ^| [^Exclude ^from ^subreddit](https://np.reddit.com/r/business/about/banned) ^| [^FAQ ^/ ^Information](https://np.reddit.com/r/WikiTextBot/wiki/index)   ^] ^Downvote ^to ^remove ^| ^v0.2" The store keeps track of what you buy. It is all part of their big data. The knowledge of what you buy helps them project future sales. It allows them to target their marketing. But maybe even more importantly they can sell this knowledge to outside companies. They aren't going to give away that information to another company that would love to have that data, just so they could sell it. Stores use those loyalty cards to be able to link your household to those purchases. Those discounts, or free products, are what they use to entice you to give up your privacy.  The fact that in your town young adults love caramel apples, even more than the town next door, makes them confident that your town will love caramel apple scented shampoo. Thus they send you coupons when it become available. They will also sell this knowledge to the shampoo companies. Do some stores make it possible for you to download the data? Yes they do. Apple stores send all receipts via email. Kohls allows me to see detail information about my transactions on line. There must be others. I don't know if any are grocery stores. "I've been a member for over 15 years and do most of my shopping there.  But it isn't a myth.  While some items are singles/normal such as clothing, many are larger/bulk.  The price per unit is a heck of a lot lower as a result, but the price is still higher.  For example ketchup is a 1.25kg two pack while my local supermarket sells them as smaller singles.  Toilet paper is twice the price of a local Target but you get almost 4 times as much.  Bacon comes as a two pack of a pound each (one pack at supermarket).  Milk comes as two one gallon containers.  Fruit and vegetables come in containers that are typically twice the size of my local supermarket.  Bleach comes in a huge box containing 3 large containers.  Shrimp comes in a two pound bag - local supermarket is 1lb pound bags at their largest.  Halloween candy comes in huge bags - the local supermarket has some that big, but the vast majority are a lot smaller.  Bread is in two packs - local supermarket is a one pack.  The rotisserie chicken is a single just like my local supermarket and is cheaper.  Costco is undoubtedly value for money, but a typical family shopping list will cost more upfront (and then last longer).  But not everyone can afford the membership and higher initial ""investment""." As a previous employee at Target the cashier's were all doing things wrong...you cannot buy AMEX or Visa prepaid cards with target giftcards or you get in big shit.    You are also not supposed to sell giftcards for giftcards.    This should all pop up automatically when the cashier rings it up...so i'm confused. We have machines in several grocery store chains that will take your coins, sort them, and give you two ways to get your money back: I've seen these many places, but, of course, I cannot say for sure if there are any near you. Additionally, is grocery even a major profit center for Wal-Mart? It wasn't even a major feature of their stores 15+ years ago IIRC. I guess it has decent halo effects today, but I'd be surprised if they wouldn't be fine treating it like a loss leader as well. Each of those is a network. Merchants displaying their logos - participate in their network and will accept cards that bear the same logo. Most merchants participate in more than one network. Discover is mostly used in the US, while Visa, Mastercard and American Express are more widely spread in the world (Amex less, Visa and MC are much more widely spread). In addition to being widely spread in the US, Discover is accepted everywhere where UnionPay is accepted (mostly in China) and Diners Club (mostly in EMEA). Advantages/disadvantages? You'll have to compare specific cards, but if you're a traveler in the world - then Discover will probably not be as appealing as Visa or Mastercard. "There are hidden costs to using rewards cards for everything. The credit card company charges fees to the merchant every time you make a purchase.  These fees are a small amount per transaction, plus a portion of the transaction amount.  These fees are higher for rewards cards.  (For example, the fees might be 35 cents for a PIN-transaction on a debit card, or 35 cents plus 2 percent for an ordinary credit card or signature transaction on a debit card, or 35 cents plus 3.5 percent on a rewards card.) After considering all of their expenses, merchant profit margins are often quite small.  To make the same amount of profit by serving a rewards-card customer as a cash customer, the merchant needs to sell higher profit-margin items and/or more items to the rewards-card customer. People who ""pay with plastic"" tend to spend more than people who ""pay with cash"".  If you pay with a rewards card, will you spend even more?" Yes, an overall $500 loss on the stock can be claimed. Since the day trader sold both lots she acquired, the Wash Sale rule has no net impact on her taxes. The Wash Sale rule would come into play if within thirty days of second sale, she purchased the stock a third time. Then she would have to amend her taxes because claiming the $500 loss would no longer be a valid under the Wash Sale rule. It would have to be added to the cost basis of the most recent purchase. "I can't imagine how a company that has all the proof it needs of its existence and business dealings is able to be challenged in this way. Fact is, they were doing business first. The insurance company has no claim to make. (I'm not a lawyer, my observation there is based on what's right and logical...perhaps the law disagrees and if so, that law is as crooked as the judge who thinks the request for the insurance company's business dealings off ""frivolous"").  They may have messed up. That's because the evidence looks pretty ""open and shut"".   Too bad for them they're getting pushed around on the basis of ""I'm bigger"" I guess, huh? I don't see why this means they're on their own.  Edit: I didn't see the part about the dillusion suit. Definitely brought it on themselves, still being harassed; and insurance company has no right to shut them or their site down."