These are the 8 best cards to use for your next pharmacy run
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With more than 62,000 retail pharmacies across the country, the U.S. spends the most per capita on prescription medicines in the world. With all those dollars being spent, what credit card should you be using for pharmacy purchases? Well, the key to the right card isn't what you buy, but where you buy it.
If that pharmacy is in, let's say a grocery store, warehouse club or drugstore, then you'll be able to reap the benefits of a particular rewards credit card bonus category.
From prescription to over-the-counter medications, let's take a deep dive into which credit card to use for your pharmacy-related purchases.
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Best cards for pharmacy purchases
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Best for Ultimate Rewards points at drugstore pharmacies
- Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: Best for flexible earning at drugstore pharmacies
- American Express® Gold Card: Best for earning points at pharmacies at U.S. supermarkets
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Best for cash back at U.S. supermarkets pharmacies
- Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card: Best for Amazon and Whole Foods pharmacy purchases
- Capital One Walmart Rewards® Card: Best for Walmart pharmacies
- Target REDcard: Best for over-the-counter Target purchases
- Costco Anywhere Visa® by Citi: Best for the in-store Costco pharmacy
The information for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature and Capital One Walmart Rewards Card have been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Where do you make your pharmacy purchases?
This is the big question to ask yourself. There are a number of options -- from in-store pickup to at-home delivery -- when it comes to how you get your pharmacy items. For the sake of simplicity, here are the various ways that I am categorizing where you can buy from a pharmacy:
- Drugstore: CVS, Walgreens, an independent pharmacy, etc.
- Grocery store: Kroger, Shoprite, Stop & Shop, etc.
- Superstore: Target, Walmart, etc.
- Warehouse club: Costco, Sam's Club, etc.
There can be a variety of nuances to each of these retail categories that affect how you may -- or may not -- earn a category bonus. Sometimes it's simple. If you buy from the pharmacy at Walmart and know that your card always earns a bonus at Walmart, your points would easily come through.
However, transactions are not always so straightforward. For instance, many brick-and-mortar stores, such as Costco, offer some type of pharmacy delivery service. Costco partners with Instacart to fulfill deliveries so your card statement may reflect this. Typically, Instacart has a merchant code that labels it as a grocery purchase -- and not a warehouse club purchase.
Related: How to ensure you earn bonus points for grocery purchases
Best for a drugstore pharmacy
There are more than 23,000 independent pharmacies in the U.S. and thousands more that are part of larger chains. Here are my top picks for cards to use at a drugstore pharmacy.
Chase Freedom Unlimited: Best for digital pharmacies earning Chase points
Earlier this year, Chase updated the Freedom Unlimited with new bonus categories.
You now earn 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% back on dining and importantly, 3% back on drugstore purchases.
This card earns 1.5% cash back (1.5 points per dollar) spent on just about everything else. Points earned from the Chase Freedom Unlimited can be used for cash back, or converted into fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points if you have a premium Chase credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
Sign-up bonus: : Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
Annual fee: None
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card: Best for flexible earning at drugstore pharmacies
If you want flexibility with your drugstore purchases and combine it with other bonus categories, this card may be the way to go. You'll get 3% back in the category of your choice (gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or home improvement and furnishings) and 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs on the first $2,500 in combined bonus category purchases each quarter (then 1%). You can change your 3% category once a month.
Sign-up bonus: $200 bonus after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening.
Annual fee: None
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature: Best for Amazon, Whole Foods and drugstore pharmacies
Besides an impressive 5% cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, you'll get 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores and 1% back on all other purchases. This is how Chase categories drugstores, directly from their website:
Merchants in the drugstores category specialize in selling prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines, supplements and various health-related items. These merchants may also sell cosmetics, toiletries, greeting cards, and various household items such as cleaning supplies and packaged foods and drinks. Please note that some merchants that sell a wide variety of goods including these items, and which may contain an onsite pharmacy, for example, warehouse clubs, discount stores, or grocery stores, are not included in this category.
Sign-up bonus: $100 gift card automatically loaded into your Amazon.com account
Annual fee: None, but must be Amazon Prime member ($119 a year)
Best for a grocery store pharmacy
Generally speaking, pharmacies that are within a grocery store will earn you the most bonus points per dollar spent.
If you're buying pharmacy goods in a grocery store -- whether that be prescription or over-the-counter, -- then you should earn the category bonus that the specific retailer falls under. Here are two of my favorite high-earning cards for grocery purchases at U.S. supermarkets.
American Express® Gold Card: Best for earning points at U.S. supermarket pharmacies
If you want to earn transferable points, my go-to card for groceries at U.S. supermarkets and pharmacies within U.S. supermarkets would be the Amex Gold card. You can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases (then 1x). According to TPG valuations, that's an 8% return on your spending. Besides groceries, you'll earn 4x points on dining at restaurants, as well as 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com.
Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you make $4,000 in purchases in your first six months.
Annual fee: $250 (see rates and fees).
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Best for cash back at U.S. supermarkets pharmacies
This is my ideal pick for a cash-back credit card for anything within the walls of a U.S. supermarkets. With this card, you'll earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases — then 1%).
You'll also earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services (perfect for at-home entertainment), 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, 3% cash back on transit and 1% back on other purchases.
Welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first six months.
Annual fee:$0 intro annual fee for first year, then $95 (see rates and fees).
Note: Neither of these two cards above would earn bonuses at drugstores, superstores, or warehouse clubs. For more options, here is a full list of the best cards at grocery stores.
Best for a superstore pharmacy
Capital One Walmart Rewards Card: Best for Walmart pharmacies
If your neighborhood Walmart or Walmart.com is your go-to pharmacy destination, then this card could very well be a fit for you. The big-box behemoth — the world's largest retailer — sells nearly else everything too.
A major caveat is that to receive the full 5% back benefit on Walmart purchases after the first year, you have to shop at Walmart.com.
Sign-up bonus: New cardholders will get a $50 bonus after spending $300 in the first three months after approval. This offer is valid for applicants at Walmart stores beginning Nov. 1, 2020, through Dec. 26, 2020, and for those who apply online from Nov. 17, 2020, through Dec. 1, 2020.
Annual fee: None
Target REDcard: Best for over-the-counter Target purchases
This is the card to get for non-pharmacy, over-the-counter drug purchases at a Target store. Unfortunately, prescriptions will not trigger the 5% back benefit on this card -- a major caveat of this card.
Keep in mind you can only use this card at Target and the card is offered as either a debit or credit card. The debit version can often make more sense as it won't add to your 5/24 count with Chase.
Sign-up bonus: None
Annual fee: None
Best for a warehouse club pharmacy
Costco Anywhere Visa® by Citi: Best for the in-store Costco pharmacy
Pharmacy purchases at Costco will earn 2% back with this card. Here are the full earnings: You'll earn 4% cash back on eligible gas (on up to $7,000 per year; then 1%), 3% back at restaurants and on eligible travel purchases, 2% back on in-store and online Costco purchases and 1% on everything else.
Keep in mind that if you get your prescriptions or other over-the-counter medications delivered with Costco, you'll likely trigger the grocery category bonus since the delivery is fulfilled by Instacart.
Sign-up bonus: None
Annual fee: None (but you must be a Costco member; $60 a year for a Gold Star membership)
Honorable mention: Rotating category cards
Both the Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back cards offer quarterly rotating category bonuses where you can earn 5% cash back (up to $1,500 in purchases per quarter when you activate). For instance, one quarter could be 5x on drugstores, and the next quarter could be 5x on grocery stores. The current 4Q rotating categories for the Freedom Flex are PayPal and Walmart; for Discover, it's Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com.
If you don't mind keeping track of quarterly categories and spending caps, you can get a lot out of the Chase Freedom Flex. The bonus categories chosen are typically seasonally relevant and easy to maximize. The information for the Discover it Cash Back cards have been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best cash back credit cards
What about pharmacy delivery from brick-and-mortar stores?
If you don't want to go into a retailer -- whether for the sake of convenience or health and safety -- some companies may offer a delivery service. Depending on the service, you may still earn a bonus for the purchase.
For instance, Instacart delivers pharmacy items, medications, and groceries from thousands of local grocery stores and both Amex and Chase typically code these purchases as groceries.
Related reading: Your definitive guide to online grocery delivery services
For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred, please click here.