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If your spending habits were radically altered by the coronavirus, your current go-to credit card may no longer be optimized to give you the best rewards.
Travel, gas and restaurant spending — typically some of the biggest credit card rewards categories — have taken a hit. Shopping for groceries and household essentials, on the other hand, continues as Americans spend more time at home.
While you don’t necessarily want to close your travel card just because you’re no longer hitting the road (or the skies), you might want to at least consider pulling out a different card as you order items. Store cards can help you optimize the money you’re getting back at a time when many household and grocery purchases come from the same go-to store.
See: You had big plans for that travel rewards credit card. Should you cancel it?
Here are some of the best store cards to help you optimize your rewards during this pandemic:
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
During the pandemic, so many people have been ordering groceries and household essentials from Amazon that the online megastore had to hire 175,000 more employees to meet demand.
The good news for Amazon AMZN, +1.71% shoppers is that using the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa V, +0.50% Signature Card to pay for all of those orders of toilet paper and snacks makes it easier to stretch your budget: The card offers 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods, and that includes grocery delivery orders. (The card also offers 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores and 1% back on all other purchases.)
While the card doesn’t charge an annual fee, you must have a Prime membership to apply.
The numbers: If you spend $800 a month on your groceries and household items at Amazon using the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, you’ll earn $40 back in rewards each month.
Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi
As with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, you will need a Costco COST, -0.35% membership to get this card, but there is no additional annual fee. Cardholders earn 2% back on Costco and Costco.com purchases (as well as 4% back on eligible gas purchases up to $7,000 a year, 3% back on restaurants and eligible travel and 1% back on everything else).
Also read: If you have a side gig, there might be a better credit card for you
The numbers: If you spend $800 a month on groceries and household items at Costco, you will get $16 back in your pocket. (The Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi CIT, -5.61% provides the rewards in the form of an annual certificate.)
Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard
With the Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard MA, -0.46% , cardholders earn 5% back on Walmart.com WMT, +0.29% and Walmart app purchases, and that includes Walmart Grocery Pickup and Delivery. You also earn 2% back for in-store purchases at Walmart (and 5% back on in-store purchases if you use the Walmart Pay digital wallet during your first 12 months). (The card also offers 2% back on travel and restaurants and 1% back on everything else.)
The numbers: With a rewards rate that matches the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, ordering $800 on Walmart.com or through the app using the Capital One COF, -0.73% Walmart Rewards Mastercard will earn you $40 back.
Target REDcard Credit Card
For Target TGT, +3.29% shoppers, Target REDcard Credit Card provides a great deal: a 5% discount on all eligible Target purchases, a 10% discount coupon each year on your card anniversary, and free shipping on most Target.com items.
The numbers: As with Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card and Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercard, the 5% discount rate adds up to $40 in savings per $800 spent.
The information related to the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
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Kimberly Palmer is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.
