5 Credit Cards for Foodies Who Love to Travel

Whether you’re a busy professional constantly on the go, a gourmand who seeks out the tastier delicacies in life, or someone who just doesn’t want to cook, dining out or ordering in have become cornerstones of modern life.

Fortunately, credit card issuers have taken note of this, and many cards offer excellent earning rates for food purchased in a variety of ways.

Today, let’s treat our inner foodie and take a look at the ideal credit cards for maximizing points when enjoying haute cuisine, quick-service cafés, and everything else in between.

Maximizing Credit Card Rewards on Food

Before kicking off, let’s take a quick look at the must-know basics of maximizing your credit card rewards when spending on food.

As a reminder, credit cards offer rewards based on the amount of money you spend in different categories, including higher earning rates for purchases at restaurants, gas stations, drugstores, and more, depending on the card.

While these categories may seem obvious and easy to delineate, it’s important to remember that the bonus category of points you’ll gain access to depends on the Merchant Code Category (MCC) of the vendor.

Figuring out the MCC can be a bit of a guessing game, especially if it’s your first time spending at a specific location. This can be particularly tricky at places like combined bakery-cafés that sell coffee and baked goods, but that also sell other foodstuffs or groceries.

One of the more consistent problems that rewards-minded foodies can run into in Canada is when their preferred dining spot doesn’t code as the category offering the maximum reward multiplier on their credit card.

For example, if your credit card only garners 5 points per dollar spent at restaurants but not at grocery stores, it may be best to use that card exclusively at true dine-in locations rather than at a bakery, café, or marketplace that sells hot food.

Another thing to note is that some cards that offer a bonus at restaurants do not provide the same benefit on food that’s been ordered through delivery services, such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, and the like.

Therefore, if you were to order takeout directly from the restaurant, you should earn points at an elevated rate, whereas if you order through a separate food delivery app, you may be out of luck.

Now that…