Info about Convenience Stores
What’s an Everyday Purchase?
Some cash-back cards offer a higher rebate when you shop at such places as supermarkets, gas stations, and drug stores. The precise definition of these “everyday purchases” (as the issuers often call them) should be defined in a card’s fine print, its “terms and conditions.” Read them!
The extra money you can earn will be worth a few minutes of your time.
For example, the Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard offers up to a 5% rebate at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations:
Supermarkets are defined as stand-alone merchants that primarily sell a complete line of food merchandise for home consumption. Drugstores are standalone merchants that sell prescription and proprietary drugs and nonprescription medicines. Gas stations are stand-alone merchants that sell vehicle fuel for consumer use.
In other words, supermarkets aren’t departments of superstores (such as Wal-Mart) or warehouse clubs (such as Costco).
Typically, it’s up to the merchant to make sure a purchase is coded correctly to qualify for an enhanced rebate. But you need to read the fine print to know exactly which merchants qualify and who is responsible for making sure transactions are coded properly.
Here’s a great way to find out if the store where you shop currently qualifies for an enhanced rebate and to get the real 411 from people who are maximizing their rebates:
• Other Qualifying Merchants It Pays to Know
Sometimes lenders send out a list of specific merchants where you can earn a higher rebate and/or where there won’t be a “cap” (a limit) on the amount you can earn. If you shop often with the merchants on this list, your earnings will quickly mount up. For the most part, they’re usually online retailers, so if you often shop online, definitely consider this option.