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Best credit cards for your coronavirus stockpiling

News reports are circulating that people around the world are rushing stores to stock up on dry goods, toiletries, medicine, water, etc. I’m not going to comment one way or another on whether this activity is hysteria or prudence, but a lot of people are partaking. Being the points nerd that I am, I thought to myself ” I hope they’re using the right cards.” Since I’m based in the States, I thought it’d be helpful to detail the 3 cards I think offer the best return on your purchases. This way you can not only stockpile for an possible quarantine, but if armageddon doesn’t strike, you can also stockpile some points for your next vacation – let’s be honest…the travel industry has been badly bruised and if/when this finally clears up, I’d guess we will see quite a bit of award availability. Without further adieu…here are the best credit cards to use for coronavirus stockpiling.

Also…none of the links in the post generate income for the blog – they link to posts detailing referral offers that often have readers links in them.

American Express Gold 4x on U.S. Groceries

The American Express Gold card is already my most used card. It earns 4x on dining worldwide and 4x on US grocery stores, up to $25k annually.  If you’re coronavirus stockpiling at a grocery store…this card should be in your wallet.

Learn More about the American Express Gold Card

American Express Everyday Preferred up to 4.5x on U.S. Groceries

The American Express Everyday Preferred card comes with a guaranteed 3x on purchases at U.S. Grocery Stores. The $6k annual cap is much lower than the Amex Gold, but the Everyday Preferred card comes with a hidden feature. If you make more than 30 purchases in a month ( at any vendor, separate purchases, not items ) you earn a 50% bonus on all purchases that month. Meaning…that 3x suddenly turns into 4.5x.  The Amex Everyday Preferred card comes with a $95 annual fee, and has been on list of cards to pick up for quite some time. If you’re coronavirus stockpiling at US grocery stores and want a lower annual fee…this is a good option

Learn more about the American Express Everyday Preferred

Chase Ink Business Cash for 5x + 2.5x stack via Rakuten

The Chase Ink Business Cash is a fantastic card that earns 5x at Office Supply Stores. Why is that so great? Because you can purchase gift cards for your favorite retailers and earn 5x points on them. For instance…if you’re looking to pick up water, cleaning supplies, filters, garbage bags, etc – Lowe’s and Home Depot can hook you up. If you can find masks…they’d be there as well. But don’t go straight to the store…buy a gift card via Office Max/Office Depot and earn 5x points on them. If you’re coronavirus stockpiling and willing to use a portal to access gift cards to use at your favorite retailers that aren’t grocery stores…this could be a great NO ANNUAL FEE business card to use.

Learn more about the Chase Ink Business Cash

Rakuten:

Currently Rakuten is offering 2.5% back. You know how much we love Rakuten because they offer the option to earn American Express points instead of cashback:  1% = 1 Membership Rewards.  That means that you’ll earn 5x via Chase and another 2.5x on Amex for the same purchases.

Use our referral to earn $10 back on a $25 purchase.

Lowe’s and Home Depot

You can purchase these gift cards on the Office Max/Depot website and even have them delivered to your house. Again…if you use Rakuten to populate the officedepot.com website, you’ll earn an additional 2.5x on your purchases.

 

Costco, Sam’s Club, Grocery Stores, etc.

Another great option is to straight up buy Visa gift cards that can then be used for purchases at Costco, Sam’s Club, Grocery Stores, etc. You will pay a fee to activate Visa gift cards so you need to factor that into the cost. As you can see below, they’re currently running $5.95 which is a bit over 1% fee.  I added some extra images to show you what to select and the option that allows for free shipping. I’m assuming the 2.5x Rakuten bonus works on non-3rd party gift cards, but I could be wrong. Please let me know if this doesn’t work. Either way…it’s still a great option to earn bonus points on Costco purchases, etc.

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Recap

These are all techniques you should be taking advantage of during normal times, but many people are buying volumes more than usual and I’d hate to see anyone leave valuable points on the table. Also…none of the links in the post generate income for the blog – they link to posts detailing referral offers that often have reader’s links in them.