Which is the best card for pet expenses?

The best credit card for purchasing pet supplies will depend on where you purchase your supplies. If you purchase your pet supplies from grocery stores, a card that rewards this bonus category would be a good choice. Cards that earn well at grocery stores include the Freedom Flex card (when grocery stores are a quarterly bonus category), the Amex Gold card that earns 4x Membership Rewards points, and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card that earns 6% cash-back on up to $6,000 in purchases each calendar year. The card that is best for you, however, will be the one that matches your overall spending profile, has redemption options you find valuable, and offers benefits you can use… all for an annual fee you’re willing to pay.

Does Petco or Petsmart have a credit card?

Neither Petco nor Petsmart offers a store-branded credit card. The stores do, however, accept all leading credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. You can also use a debit card for your purchases.

How do Amex Offers work?

Amex Offers are cash-back, savings, or bonus rewards-earning offers that are featured in your Amex online card account. Simply log into your online card account and select the Amex Offers and Benefits option mid-page. You’ll find a list of offers from which to select. Once you’ve found an offer you’ll use, click on Add to Card. Read the description of the offer closely. Once you’ve made the purchase, you will receive a discount, cash-back, or bonus points, usually within days after the purchase posts. Normally you can use an offer just once, even if you have the offer on multiple cards.

How do Chase Offers work?

When you log into your Chase online account, you will find Chase Offers listed for most credit and debit card accounts. The offers listed will differ on each account. To be eligible for the offers, you must add the offer to your card by selecting the offer from a list under Account Benefits. Complete the required purchase using your eligible card and you should receive a statement credit within a few days of the transaction.

The 9 Best Credit Cards for Pet Expenses [2023 Guide]

Pets can be just like family, for a variety of reasons. We love them, they love us (except for some cats), and we can spend a lot of money making sure they’re raised well. Like every other purchase we make, it’s a real bonus when those pet-related expenses can also be earning rewards.

Whether it’s cash-back, miles, or redeemable points, every purchase you make for your pet has the potential to accumulate earnings.

That’s the topic on our mind today. We’re going to look closely at how we can purchase pet-related items and services and uncover the best ways to reap as much benefit from those expenses as possible.

There are many variables when it comes to earning on pet-related purchases. Where you purchase the items or services and, of course, which credit card you use, can make a huge difference.

In our article, we’ll uncover which credit cards are the best to use for pet-related purchases and discuss additional options for elevated earnings and savings using special card offers.

If you’re ready to earn more on your pet purchases, let’s get started.

Table of contents

The 9 Best Credit Cards for Pet Expenses
Additional Ways To Earn More on Pet Expenses
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

The 9 Best Credit Cards for Pet Expenses
Additional Ways To Earn More on Pet Expenses
Final Thoughts

The 9 Best Credit Cards for Pet Expenses

Let’s take a moment and preview our featured cards with a summary of how each card earns on pet expenses.

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Offer and Annual Fee	Benefits for Pet Expenses
Chase Freedom Flex℠	Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months. Annual fee of $0	5% cash-back at quarterly bonus merchants
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	INTRO OFFER: 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 of $0	1.5% cash-back on every purchase 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.74% - 28.49%
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. Annual fee of $250 (rates and fees)	4x points at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 in per calendar year
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card	Limited Time Offer: Earn 130,000 bonus points plus a Free Night Reward after spending $2,000 in purchases within your first 3 months. Offer ends 7/19/23. Annual fee of $95	6x points at U.S. supermarkets, no limit
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express	Earn a $200 statement credit after spending $2,000 in purchases in the first 6 months Annual fee of $0 (rates and fees)	3% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per calendar year 3% cash-back at U.S. online retailers, up to $6,000 per calendar year
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express	Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months. Annual fee of $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 (rates and fees)	6% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per calendar year
Citi® Double Cash Card	No welcome offer available. Annual fee of $0	2% cash-back unlimited on all purchases (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay)
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	2x miles on every non-bonused purchase
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card	Earn $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. Annual fee of $0	3% cash back in the category of your choice, plus 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined quarterly purchases)

Chase Freedom Flex℠

You’ll earn the highest rewards on pet expenses when you use your Freedom Flex card at quarterly bonus-category merchants. Purchases made at these merchants will earn 5% cash-back in the form of valuable Ultimate Rewards points.

Freedom Flex Q3 2022 5x categories — Examples of Freedom Flex card bonus categories. Image Credit: Chase

Common quarterly merchants that have been known to offer bonus earnings include these stores and payment methods which can facilitate making pet-related purchases:

Amazon
Drugstores
Grocery stores
Home improvement stores
Mobile wallets: Chase Pay, Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay
PayPal
Target and Target.com
Walmart.com
Wholesale clubs

Simply activate your quarterly bonus earnings each quarter and you will earn 5% cash-back, up to $1,500 in purchases, at specific quarterly bonus merchants with your Freedom Flex card.

Hot Tip: Many quarterly bonus merchants sell gift cards you can use to purchase pet supplies. For example, home improvement stores could sell Petco or Petsmart gift cards. Gift card availability will differ by merchant and by location.

Why We Like the Freedom Flex Card Overall

5% cash-back on Lyft rides through March 2025
Points can be transferred to premium Chase credit cards to redeem for up to 50% more in value for travel
Complimentary 3-month DoorDash DashPass subscription and option for 50% off for 9 months
Purchase protection and extended warranty

Bottom Line: If you’re flexible as to where you purchase your pet supplies, you may be able to earn 5% cash-back in most quarters by using your Freedom Flex card.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

The Freedom Unlimited card earns 5% back on travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 5% back on Lyft purchases, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, plus 1.5% back on all other purchases you make. For this reason, you can use it for pet supplies, pet-related services, veterinarian bills, and any other purchases you would need to make for your pet.

Why We Like the Freedom Unlimited Card Overall

Transfer cash-back earned as Ultimate Rewards points to premium Chase cards for up to 50% more value when redeemed for travel
No quarterly promotions to register for
Travel insurance including trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance
Roadside dispatch
Purchase protection and extended warranty

American Express® Gold Card

Pet supplies purchased at U.S. supermarkets using your Amex Gold card will earn 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent. There is a maximum of $25,000 in 4x supermarket purchases each calendar year. After that, earnings are just 1 point per dollar spent.

Why We Like the Amex Gold Card Overall

4x earnings at restaurants
3x earnings on flights purchased directly from the airlines or Amex Travel
The Hotel Collection benefits such as room upgrades and $100 in amenity credits per 2-night stay
Up to $10 monthly dining credit with participating dining partners
Travel benefits and protections such as secondary car rental insurance, trip cancellation and interruption, and baggage insurance
Purchase protection and extended warranty

Hot Tip: Grocery stores often sell gift cards you can use for pet-related expenses. Receive bonus earnings when using a credit card that offers elevated earnings at supermarkets, plus earn any additional store reward offerings (such as fuel rewards).

Kroger Gift Cards Pets — Double dip on rewards by using a credit card that offers elevated earnings at supermarkets, plus you’ll receive any merchant-offered bonus earnings. Image Credit: Kroger

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

Although you’ll be earning on 6x Hilton Honors points when you purchase pet supplies (or any other purchase) at U.S. supermarkets, you’ll also earn 3x points on every other purchase you make with your Hilton Surpass card.

Why We Like the Hilton Surpass Card Overall

Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold elite status (spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year for Diamond status)
10 single-use passes to Priority Pass lounges worldwide each year
Free weekend hotel night after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year
12x points at Hilton properties
6x points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. restaurants
3x points on all other purchases (including pet supplies outside of grocery stores and services)
Secondary car rental insurance and the option to purchase Amex Premium Protection for 1 low fee that covers the entire rental period
Baggage insurance
Purchase protection and extended warranty on eligible purchases

If you’re a Hilton loyalist, you’ll want to check out the entire collection of very rewarding Hilton-branded credit cards.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Everyday card is another good Amex card for earning rewards on your everyday purchases, including pet-related expenses. You’ll receive 3% cash-back on all purchases made at U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 in purchases each calendar year, then just 1%. In addition, when you purchase pet supplies via U.S. online retailers (like Chewy.com), you’ll earn 3% cash-back on up to $6,000 in purchases per year.

Why We Like the Blue Cash Everyday Card Overall

Redeem cash-back for statement credits, gift cards, and shopping
Secondary car rental insurance with the option to purchase premium coverage for 1 low rate that covers the entire rental period
Purchase protection, up to $1,000 per item

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Preferred card offers excellent rewards earning on all your U.S. supermarket purchases, including pet supplies.

Why We Like the Blue Cash Preferred Card Overall

Secondary car rental insurance, option to purchase Amex Premium Protection for 1 low fee that covers the entire rental period
Shopping benefits such as purchase protection, extended warranty, and return protection

Meijer Pet Food — Grocery stores are a popular bonus-category merchant that sells pet supplies. Image Credit: Meijer

Not sure which one of these cards is best? Check out our side-by-side comparison of the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card.

Additional Cards for Pet Expenses

Any card that earns 2x earnings or better may be a good card to use for pet-related expenses, including veterinary bills. Here are a few to consider.

Citi® Double Cash Card — Earn 2% cash-back on every purchase you make; 1% at the time of purchase and another 1% when you pay for those purchases (earned as ThankYou Points). Points can be redeemed for cash-back or travel.
Capital One Venture Rewards Card — Earn 2x miles on every non-bonused purchase you make.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card — Earn 2% cash-back at supermarkets and wholesale clubs, and 3% cash-back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings (bonus earning capped at $2,500 in purchases per quarter)

It’s easy to understand how much cash-back rewards are worth, but if you’re interested in the value of other rewards you might earn on your cards, such as miles and points, you’ll find our article on the topic quite interesting.

Additional Ways To Earn More on Pet Expenses

Dog with view — We all try to make sure our pets have the best of everything, even the best view. Image Credit: Callie Paige

Shop through Chase

The Chase shopping portal offers additional opportunities to earn multiple Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent using your Chase-issued credit card. The increased earnings listed in the Chase Shopping Portal offer are in addition to the amount you would earn on the card normally.

In addition to earning bonus Ultimate Rewards points for your purchases, you’ll find special bonus earning offers or savings specific to each card. For example, Chase recently posted 30% off your first delivery subscription at Barkbox.

Chase Offers

When you log into your Chase credit card account, you’ll find a list of Chase Offers for each participating card.

Most Chase-issued credit cards, even debit cards and co-branded cards, come with Chase Offers you can use to earn more cash-back/Ultimate Rewards points on your purchases. Often you’ll find merchants that sell pet supplies within these offers.

Bottom Line: Most Chase credit cards have the potential to earn bonus rewards on pet-related purchases by either paying the bonus-category merchant directly, using a card that offers a fixed percentage of cash-back on all purchases and/or when utilizing the Chase shopping portal and Chase Offers.

Amex Offers

American Express-issued cards come with very special savings and reward-earning offers. Amex Offers are located within your online card account and can be added to your card for savings and elevated earnings.

It is common to find merchants selling pet-related supplies and services in the list of offers.

Amex Offers Pets — Amex cards often offer statement credits or bonus Membership Rewards points for pet purchases. Image Credit: Amex

Hot Tip: Check your Amex Offers prior to making any pet-related purchases as you may find savings or bonus-earning offers.

Gift Cards at Bonus Category Merchants

Access your credit card account online to determine which merchants/spending categories earn bonus rewards. Purchase pet-related products at those merchants or purchase pet store gift cards and earn elevated rewards.

Utilize Cash-back Websites

Utilizing cash-back sites, such as Rakuten, TopCashback, and BeFrugal, can allow you to stack cash-back with both Chase Offers and Amex Offers for the potential to earn even more. Sign in to a cash-back site such as Rakuten, use the site’s link to access the store at which you’re making the purchase, then use the eligible Chase or Amex card that has the spending offer.

Final Thoughts

If you spend a lot on pet-related expenses, it’s worthwhile to determine which credit cards are the best at earning rewards on those purchases.

It’s also prudent to look at how a particular credit card matches your overall spending mix, your preferences for redeeming those rewards, and whether you’ll use any of the benefits that come with the card.

If you shop at grocery stores but don’t purchase your pet supplies there, it can also make economic sense to purchase pet-related store gift cards at bonus category supermarkets to ensure you’ll earn rewards. For example, if your credit card earns 4x earnings at the grocery store, pet store gift cards purchased there will normally earn those same 4x earnings versus possible 1x earnings when making your purchase directly with the pet store.

No single card solution works for everyone, but we’re confident you’ll find enough information here to make sure all of your future pet purchases earn rewards.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® from American Express, click here.

Earn Points

Use Points

Business Credit Card Reviews

Business Guides

Air Travel Guides

Airline Points

Earn & Use Hotel Points

Hotel Loyalty Program Reviews

The 9 Best Credit Cards for Pet Expenses [2023]