Why I love using my Chase Sapphire Preferred for grocery shopping — and you might, too

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is well known for its extensive slate of perks and benefits, including the 3 points per dollar it earns on dining out and the 2 points per dollar it earns on travel purchases.

But there's one benefit that tends to fly under the radar when people sing the Sapphire Preferred's praises. (Seriously — it's so under the radar that it didn't even make our list of the card's lesser-known benefits.)

That's the 3 points per dollar it earns on online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs).

When I tell people that the online grocery benefit is low-key the main reason why I keep this card in my wallet year after year, on top of the baffled stares, I tend to get the same responses. "It costs more to order groceries online," "I like picking out my own produce" and "I'd rather use another card that earns more points on groceries" are popular refrains.

If you'll hang with me for a few minutes, I can debunk the cost myth and address how the Sapphire Preferred can help you match American Express® Gold Card's 4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar).

As for the produce preferences, I share them. I am religious about my weekly trip to the farmers market, my favorite place in my home city of Portland, Oregon, is arguably the specialty foods store and I would never, ever let someone else choose my avocados.

If any of that resonates, allow me to explain why online grocery shopping might just fit into your rewards strategy, too.

The convenience of online grocery shopping with the Chase Sapphire Preferred

While I do love going to the grocery store sometimes, the convenience of online shopping is impossible to ignore.

There are times when I have too much going on or simply don't feel like leaving my apartment, as well as times when I'm out of town altogether. If you've never come back from a trip and had groceries sitting on your doorstep waiting for you, I can assure you it's a magical feeling.

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Most Sundays, I do go grocery shopping, but I still save a ton of time by placing an online order to supplement what I buy at the store. It takes between five and 10 minutes for me to fill an Amazon Fresh cart with items such as tomato sauce, olive oil and vegetable broth, which, unlike my avocados, will look and taste exactly the same whether or not I take the time to get to the store and wander through the aisles collecting them.

Speaking of wandering through the aisles, shopping online also keeps my purchases more focused and, if I'm being honest, healthier. (Stores keep the chocolate peanut butter cups near checkout for a reason. It works.)

While I love leaving room to let inspiration strike at the farmers market, I know I'm better off cutting out the vast majority of the processed food I used to buy on a whim at Trader Joe's, and buying only what I know I'll need for the week helps me waste less, too.

Lastly, many of the items I order online tend to be heavy or awkward to carry. Lugging a grocery bag full of canned beans and cartons of sparkling water back to my apartment brings me zero joy.

Related: Why I love my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card — and will always keep it in my wallet

Avoiding fees on online grocery purchases

While there are certainly some online grocery services that charge extra fees, it's possible to avoid them in many cases.

For example, I do much of my online grocery shopping through Amazon Fresh, which will deliver your order for no extra charge if you spend a minimum of $35. My household easily meets that threshold every week, considering a single canister of my daughter's baby formula costs around $45.

If you can't meet it, however, you still have a great option to shop online and earn 3 points per dollar with the Chase Sapphire Preferred: Whole Foods pickup.

Placing an order at Whole Foods through Amazon and picking it up at the store is always free, no matter the order size. While doing pickup obviously isn't quite as convenient or time-saving as delivery, I still find it vastly more efficient and convenient than shopping for an entire grocery haul in person.

Since I nearly always use one of the above options, I find I actually save money buying my groceries online, considering it keeps most of my would-be impulse purchases off the receipt. (Did someone say seasonal candles? Or, for that matter — seasonal anything?)

Related: 6 foolproof ways to maximize rewards on grocery spending

Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points on grocery spending

When buying groceries online with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you'll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, an ultravaluable currency that you can transfer to Chase's extensive list of airline and hotel partners.

I've used Chase points earned through online grocery shopping to book business-class flights to Tahiti, Japan and beyond.

It's true that the Amex Gold offers 4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar). But there are a couple of reasons why I won't be switching my grocery spending to Amex anytime soon.

For starters, I prefer Chase's list of transfer partners to Amex's. Chase counts World of Hyatt among its partners, and I love sending my Ultimate Rewards points to the program to book high-end hotel stays at properties like the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort in Hawaii, the Park Hyatt Sydney and Alila Ventana Big Sur in California.

Not to mention, holding the Chase Sapphire Preferred transforms one of my other Chase cards into a grocery powerhouse.

The Chase Freedom Flex® (see rates and fees) is marketed as a cash-back card, meaning it doesn't offer the ability to transfer points to Chase's airline and hotel partners. But holding a card that earns Ultimate Rewards points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, unlocks the ability to move points between accounts and instantly transform your cash-back earnings into much more valuable transferable points.

Why does that matter? The Freedom Flex doesn't have an annual fee, and it nets 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases made in rotating quarterly bonus categories (after activation). While the bonus categories for each quarter aren't revealed very far in advance, grocery stores have been on the list at least once every year since 2015.

It gets better: This year, after groceries were part of the Q1 bonus, Amazon (where I do my online grocery shopping) is part of the Q2 bonus.

In other words, just having the Chase Sapphire Preferred in my wallet has allowed me to earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on online groceries for six months of the year. Averaging that out with the 3 points per dollar the card will earn on online groceries the rest of the year, the earn rate over 2025 matches what I would have gotten had I used the Amex Gold on these purchases.

Related: The best Chase credit cards to add to your wallet

Bottom line

There are many reasons to love online grocery shopping, but even if you're not sold on it as your only method for food sourcing, it can still play a part in your rewards strategy.

With a high earning rate on online groceries and the ability to unlock earning Ultimate Rewards points with the Freedom Flex, the Chase Sapphire Preferred can net you plenty of points on food shopping, even if you only use it for a portion of your groceries, like I do.

Considering its stellar 75,000-point welcome offer (after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening), other useful bonus categories and relatively modest $95 annual fee, you won't have any trouble getting value from the card — even if you insist on getting your avocados in person.

To learn more, read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Apply now: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card