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If you’re finding yourself frequently visiting the pharmacy or drugstore to make purchases, you should think twice before swiping any random credit card in your wallet.
The truth is that it’s possible to earn lots of generous rewards by using the right credit card for these purchases.
Whether you’re purchasing over-the-counter medications, getting your prescriptions filled, or are just frequently buying wellness-related supplies, having the right credit card in your hand could get you closer to your dream vacation!
In this post, we’ll show you how to pick the best credit card for your pharmacy and drugstore purchases. We’ll then walk you through the best choices that we’ve identified with the best rewards.
Credit card rewards are a complex topic. One of the biggest misconceptions about earning bonus points is that you’ll earn extra points wherever you shop just because you think your purchase qualifies.
The truth is that merchants and stores categorize themselves as a certain type of seller, and this decision is finalized way before you make your purchase.
For example, many consumers consider Costco to be a grocery store and/or supermarket, but in the eyes of credit card companies, Costco is almost always a warehouse club, which automatically excludes Costco purchases from earning bonus points under the grocery store category.
The same principle applies to pharmacies and drugstores — to max out your rewards, you’ll need to make sure that the credit card issuer you’re using (e.g. Visa) considers your local pharmacy or drugstore as an actual pharmacy or drugstore in its system.
For example, if you look at purchases made with a Visa credit card, one of the easiest ways to confirm that your purchase will code correctly is to use the Visa Supplier Locator.
Once you’ve confirmed that your purchase is an eligible pharmacy or drugstore transaction, you’ll need to figure out which credit cards offer the best possible rewards for these purchases.
| Card | Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee | Benefits at Pharmacies and Drugstores |
| Chase Freedom Flex℠ |
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| Citi Custom Cash® Card |
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| Chase Freedom Unlimited® |
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| Citi Double Cash® Card |
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| AARP® Essential Rewards Mastercard® from Barclays |
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| Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card |
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| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card |
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| Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express |
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The Freedom Flex card is an excellent no-annual-fee card that still earns big with 5% cash-back on travel and other bonus categories.
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ sure does pack quite a punch — especially for a no-annual-fee card.
The Freedom Flex card is an incredible option for those looking for a well-rounded cash-back card, or a powerful point-earner when paired with a premium card in the Ultimate Rewards family.
The Freedom Flex card is one of Chase’s newest credit cards, and this phenomenal no-annual-fee credit card is built with the consumer in mind.
To start, you’ll earn a cash-back welcome bonus on this credit card. Then, you will earn according to this accrual structure:
As you can tell, this immensely attractive card is marketed as offering cash-back rewards, but the story actually gets even better. If you also have an Ultimate Rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can actually convert your cash-back rewards into transferable Ultimate Rewards points.
And when you convert your cash-back into Ultimate Rewards points, you open up a completely new world of possibilities to redeem your points, which is why you’d double your return on spending.
Your 5%, 3%, and 1% cash-back would then be equal to 5x, 3x, and 1x Ultimate Rewards points earned, respectively. 3% cash-back at drugstores is convertible to 3x Ultimate Rewards points, which, by our valuations, is equal to a return on spend of 6%!
When you hold this credit card, you also get access to fantastic benefits like cell phone protection (up to $800 per claim, up to 2 claims every 12-month period, with a $50 deductible per claim, and up to $1,000 per year), trip cancellation and interruption insurance, secondary rental car coverage, extended warranty, purchase protection, zero liability protection, and fraud alerts.
By itself, the Freedom Flex card does not earn Ultimate Rewards points. Therefore, your rewards would only be redeemable at a 1 cent per point value for cash-back, gift cards, travel through the Chase travel portal, and for Shop at Amazon.
But if you pair the Freedom Flex card with an Ultimate Rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you can then increase the value of your points by making use of the Chase airline and hotel transfer partners for luxury travel experiences.
Earn big on purchases in your top eligible spend category, up to the first $500 each billing cycle, with no annual fee!
The Citi Custom Cash® Card is inventive when it comes to cash-back credit cards. Instead of earning a set amount of cash-back on predetermined bonus categories, the Citi Custom Cash card earns 5% cash-back on your highest eligible spend category each billing cycle, without an annual fee.
Thanks to that unique perk, you’ll never need to worry about whether you’re using the right card for the right purchase, as your Citi Custom Cash card will always pay you 5% back on whichever category you end up spending the most on each month.
The Citi Custom Cash card is our runner-up because it allows you to earn up to 5x points on drugstore purchases!
Although this no-annual-fee card is marketed as earning 5% cash-back on your top eligible spending category, your rewards can actually be converted to Citi ThankYou Points.
Before we get into that, though, let’s talk about the card’s features. To begin, you can get a welcome bonus by signing up for this product. But on an ongoing basis, you’ll earn 5% cash-back on purchases in your top eligible spending category, up to the first $500 spent (1% cash-back thereafter).
Citi’s eligible spending categories are:
Also, this card doesn’t have any rotating bonus categories you need to sign up for — your highest-spending bonus categories are adjusted each billing cycle automatically!
So if you spend up to $500 on drugstores every billing cycle, you could earn 5% cash-back or even 5x Citi ThankYou Rewards Points, which is equal to a maximum of $25 or 2,500 points every month — an 8% return on spending!
As we mentioned above, we are big fans of Citi ThankYou Points because these transferable points are some of the most valuable and useful available.
But if you didn’t have a ThankYou Rewards credit card, your rewards would be redeemable for cash-back, direct deposit payments, checks, gift cards, and extremely limited redemption options with ThankYou Points.
However, if you also have a ThankYou Rewards card like the Citi Premier® Card or the Citi Prestige® Card, you can transfer your rewards to travel partners and book incredible award travel using these points.
This all-purpose cash-back card offers great bonus categories, including bonus points for every purchase you make!
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is easily one of the best cash-back credit cards on the market. There aren’t many no-annual-fee credit cards that offer multiple great bonus categories like 5% back on travel purchased through Chase, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.
When paired with other Chase cards in the Ultimate Rewards family, you can transfer that cash back into points if you wish – making it one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet.
The Freedom Unlimited card is our third-favorite option because it shares a lot of the same characteristics as the Freedom Flex card with a few notable differences between the 2.
A decently-sized welcome bonus is currently offered on the Freedom Unlimited card to help you jumpstart your rewards.
You’ll also notice a very similar rewards structure:
Both the Freedom Unlimited card and the Freedom Flex card earn 3% cash-back on drugstore purchases. There are 2 main differences in rewards between these 2 cards:
Just like the Freedom Flex card, the Freedom Unlimited card earns rewards that are convertible to Ultimate Rewards points if you have an eligible Ultimate Rewards card, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, Chase Sapphire Reserve card, or Ink Business Preferred card.
That means your drugstore purchases earn 3% cash-back is convertible to 3x Ultimate Rewards points, and with a value of 2 cents apiece, your drugstore purchases will earn you a return on spend of 6%.
Other crucial perks you’ll have by holding this card are secondary rental car coverage, travel insurance including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, zero liability protection, purchase protection, extended warranty protection, and fraud alerts.
Hot Tip: We offer a detailed comparison of the Freedom Flex card and the Freedom Unlimited card to help you decide which card might be best for your situation.
Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!
The Citi Double Cash® Card has long been one of the top cash-back credit cards on the market, and the card now has the ability to earn Citi ThankYou Points!
This means that cardholders of the Double Cash card will now earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou Points. This means each billing cycle, you will earn 1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on purchases and an additional ThankYou point for every $1 paid on your purchase balance as long as there is a corresponding balance in your Purchase Tracker.
Citi has turned the Double Cash card into a top choice for those who are looking for an everyday, no-fuss credit card.
The no-annual-fee Double Cash card is issued by Citibank, and it happens to be one of our favorite credit cards for everyday purchases.
Unlike many of the most popular rewards credit cards, this product doesn’t currently offer a welcome bonus in terms of points.
However, it does offer the ability to earn up to 2% cash-back on purchases — 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay off your bills (earned as ThankYou Points). There are no caps on earning rewards. These points can be redeemed for cash-back, travel through the Citi travel portal, or they can be transferred to Choice, JetBlue, or Wyndham.
But, if you have a card like the Citi Premier card or the Citi Prestige card, you can access Citi’s full list of transfer partners.
When you can transfer your points, your 2x points can get a return on spending that’s equal to an estimated 3.2%!
You may also find an introductory 0% balance transfer offer when you open this card.
Other benefits of this credit card include zero liability for unauthorized purchases, fraud protection, flexible pay dates, a late fee pass, and access to Citi Private Pass for event tickets.
The AARP Essential Rewards card is one of Barclays’ newest credit cards available, and it’s an incredibly relevant option for this article.
To start with, this credit card offers a small welcome bonus when you sign up for the card. You can then earn unlimited cash-back on the following purchases:
There’s also usually a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers offered upon sign-up. This credit card offers fraud liability protection, complimentary online access to your FICO credit score, rewards that never expire, and more.
Your rewards are redeemable for cash-back, an AARP membership, and more at BarclaysUS.com.
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card allows you to maximize your cash-back in your choice category each month.
If you’re looking to the rake in the cash-back rewards, then the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great option. Not only do you get to choose the 3% category for the card, but you can also boost the cash-back you earn by being a member of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program.
One of Bank of America’s best cash-back rewards credit cards is the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card, which offers you the ability to earn cash-back rewards without an annual fee.
In addition, you can earn up to 3% cash-back as follows:
In total, you can earn 3% and 2% cash-back on the first $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter.
You can make changes to your chosen category once each calendar month, too.
And if you pair this with Bank of America Preferred Rewards, you can actually earn up to 75% more cash-back on every purchase! If you’re a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25% to 75% more cash back on every purchase. That means you could earn 3.75% to 5.25% cash back on purchases in your chosen category.
Other card features include access to your FICO score online, contactless chip technology, zero fraud liability, overdraft protection, and more.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesGet 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great welcome offer, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.
Frequent travelers with excellent credit may benefit from this credit card that offers a lot of bells and whistles. And it offers easy-to-understand rewards earning and redemption.
The Capital One Venture card is one of Capital One’s flagship credit cards.
This credit card offers the highest welcome bonus of all the cards on the list, as well as access to a transferable rewards program in Capital One Miles, and the ability to earn an unlimited 2x Capital One miles on purchases.
Earning 2x Capital One miles on your spending is equal to a return on spend of approximately 3.6%, according to our valuations.
This card offers more travel benefits than the other options on this list, including a $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee statement credit, secondary car rental coverage, lost baggage insurance, travel accident insurance, roadside dispatch, and more.
Shopping-related perks include zero liability fraud protection, purchase security, extended warranty, and no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).
Capital One Miles is one of the main transferable currencies available — according to our valuations of around 1.8 cents per point, earning 2x Capital One miles is equal to a return on spend of 3.6%.
Capital One miles can be redeemed for luxury award travel or statement credits, gift cards, travel purchases booked via Capital One Travel, and more.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis cash-back card offers a capped 3% at U.S. supermarkets, 3% at U.S. gas stations, and 3% on U.S. online retail purchases!
When it comes to cash-back credit cards, there are dozens of options to choose from. So what sets the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express apart from the rest?
This card is excellent at earning cash-back on your everyday purchases at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and on U.S. online retail purchases. So if you regularly spend money on everyday purchases, this could be the perfect card to add to your wallet.
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card may often go overlooked since it’s a simple cash-back card, but it’s got a bonus category that makes it a powerful earner — online retailers! This card earns 3% cash-back at U.S. online retailers, including drugstores, on up to $6,000 in purchases each year.
Additionally, it also earns 3% cash-back in the following categories:
Other benefits of this card include monthly credits for Home Chef and Disney Bundle subscriptions:
All of our recommendations so far were focused on spending at merchants classified as pharmacies or drugstores.
But what if you get your prescriptions filled at Walmart, Whole Foods, or even supermarkets like Kroger or ShopRite?
If your pharmaceutical purchases are made at Amazon or Whole Foods, the Prime Visa Card is a great option, as it earns 5% cash-back.
Similarly, the Capital One Walmart Rewards™ card will fulfill your pharmacy needs with 5% back as long as you make your purchase at walmart.com or the Walmart app.
Lastly, if your pharmacy shopping occurs at a grocery store or supermarket, the absolute best card is the American Express® Gold Card which earns:
It also offers a slew of different benefits that make this card a no-brainer!
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!
The American Express® Gold Card is a game-changer.
With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x.
There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are several other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.
When it comes to the best credit cards for pharmacy and drugstore purchases, it’s impossible to make a general recommendation without understanding your shopping tendencies.
For example, if you make your purchases at a traditional drugstore like CVS or Rite-Aid, the best cards to use are the Freedom Flex card, Citi Custom Cash card, and Freedom Unlimited card.
If you are interested strictly in cash-back rewards, you would probably benefit from the AARP Essential Rewards card, Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card, or Amex Blue Cash Everyday card.
But on the off-chance that you can put these purchases at a grocery store or supermarket like Kroger, the best card beyond a shadow of a doubt is the Amex Gold card.
Whatever the case, there’s a terrific choice for you!
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
The information regarding the AARP® Essential Rewards Mastercard® from Barclays and Capital One Walmart Rewards™ card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information for the Citi Prestige® Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
We believe that the Freedom Flex card, the Freedom Unlimited card, and the Citi Custom Cash card provide the best rewards for purchases at drugstores.
With the Chase cards, you’ll earn 3% cash-back with the option to convert your rewards to 3x Ultimate Rewards points, which is equal to a return on spend of 6%.
With the Citi Custom Cash card, you’ll earn 5% cash-back with the option to convert your rewards to 5x ThankYou Rewards Points, which is equal to a return on spend of 8%!
The credit card that gives the most cash-back on drugstore purchases is the Citi Custom Cash card.
The Citi Custom Cash card offers 5% cash-back on your first $500 in purchases on your top eligible spending category every billing cycle (of which drugstores are an eligible spending category).
According to Chase, “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. 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.”
Yes! You can almost always pay for your prescriptions using a credit card. However, the final say is given by your specific pharmacy.
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Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
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