Instacart Mastercard® Review: Possibly the Best Grocery Credit Card (with a Major Caveat)

• Welcome offer. Get a free year of Instacart+ and $100 Instacart credit upon approval. Terms apply.
• Cash back rates. Earns 1% to 5% cash back depending on what you buy.
• Insurance. Various coverages, such as baggage delay, purchase protection, and travel accident.
• World Elite Mastercard benefits. Includes concierge services and assorted money-saving offers.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• No annual fee.

Apply for the Instacart Mastercard®.

Welcome Offer

The Instacart Mastercard® features one of the easiest sign-up bonuses that can be earned with a credit card. You’ll receive a $100 Instacart credit just for opening the card. There are no complicated terms and there’s no minimum spending requirement to fret over. When you go to your Instacart account, you’ll immediately see a $100 credit ready for use on your next order.

You’ll also get a free year of Instacart+ membership. That normally costs either $9.99 per month or a flat $99 per year. If you shop with Instacart regularly, you’re likely already paying for Instacart+. This card’s free year of Instacart+ will automatically renew annually once your current membership ends.

For example, if you’ve already paid for an annual membership, your free membership will begin whenever that annual subscription expires.

Earning Cash Back

This card earns cash back at the following rates:

• 5% on Instacart.com and Instacart app purchases.
• 5% on travel purchases through the Chase Travel Center (flights, hotels, etc.).
• 2% at restaurants, gas stations, and on many streaming services.
• 1% on all other purchases.

Some transactions through Instacart will not qualify for a 5% return. For example, buying Instacart gift cards won’t qualify. Also, any Instacart purchase with a location outside North America won’t receive a 5% bonus.

A 5% cash back rate is at the top of the market for no annual fee cash back credit cards. However, there are several competing cards that offer 5% cash back on a wider variety of purchases. And some other cards offer 2% cash back on all purchases (see ‘Instacart Mastercard® Compared’ below).

For the record, these are the streaming services that earn 2% back with the Instacart Mastercard®:

• Apple Music
• Apple TV
• Disney+
• ESPN+
• Fubo TV
• HBO Max
• Hulu
• Netflix
• Pandora
• Paramount+
• Peacock
• Showtime
• SiriusXM
• Sling
• Spotify
• YouTube Premium
• YouTube TV
• Vudu

Redeeming Cash Back

You can redeem your cash back in a few different ways:

• Request a statement credit to your Instacart Mastercard®
• Request a direct deposit into your bank account
• Gift cards
• Travel
• Instacart purchases (coming soon)

It’s worth noting that if you’re planning to redeem your cash back for a purchase (especially through Instacart), it’s better to simply use your card to make the purchase and then request a direct deposit or statement credit to offset the bill. That way you’ll still earn cash back for your transaction.

Card Fees and Interest Rates

The Instacart Mastercard® doesn’t charge an annual fee. That means there’s really nothing to lose by giving the card a shot (provided you use it responsibly). If you decide in a year that it doesn’t fit your lifestyle, you can cancel it — no harm done. Even better, you can keep the card open forever to help cultivate your length of credit history and keep your credit score strong. Just pull the card out of your sock drawer every six months or so and give it a swipe. That’ll ensure that Chase doesn’t arbitrarily close your card for lack of use.

This card also waives foreign transaction fees, meaning it’s a good card to spend with when you’re traveling abroad.

The Instacart Mastercard® does have one slight deficiency in an area where many of its competitors excel: You won’t get any special intro APR when you open the card. You’ll be subject to between APR, based on your creditworthiness.

You’ll also be charged up to $40 for late payments and return payments.

Instacart Fees

While the Instacart Mastercard® may keep its own fees to a minimum, the Instacart platform itself unfortunately hits members with loads of fees. Here are some to watch out for when using Instacart:

Delivery Fees

You’ll pay at least $3.99 for same-day orders over $35 — and more if you’ve requested things like one-hour delivery or delivery for shopping carts under $35.

Weight Fees

If your shopping cart weighs above 50 pounds, you’ll be charged extra.

Service Fees

These fees vary substantially depending on what you buy. For example, alcohol has an extra service fee. Long-distance deliveries also incur an extra service fee.

Priority Fees

If you need your order in a shorter delivery window (even less than 60 minutes in some cases!), you can select priority delivery. This starts at $2.

Instacart Shopper Tip

The real value-killer is in the tip you leave your delivery driver. If you’ve got a big order, this could easily translate to $20+.

Pickup Fees

You can avoid many of these fees by simply opting to pick up your order yourself — but some stores will hit you with a pickup fee.

Insurance

You can benefit from the below coverages when you make a relevant purchase with the card.

Auto Rental Insurance

You’ll receive secondary coverage when you waive the rental agency’s collision damage waiver (CDW). Secondary coverage will insure the things that your primary provider (like your personal car insurance) doesn’t cover.

Baggage Delay Insurance

You’ll be reimbursed up to $100 per day (max three days) when your bag is delayed for more than six hours. That’s a great perk.

Travel Accident Insurance

When you buy transportation with a common carrier (airline, bus, etc.), you’re covered for up to $500,000 for accidental death or dismemberment.

Lost Luggage Insurance

You and your immediate family are covered for up to $3,000 in the event that your carry-on or checked luggage is lost or damaged by your airline, cruise ship, or other vessel.

Purchase Protection

120 days of coverage for theft of or damage to items you bought with your card, up to $500 per claim (max $50,000 per account).

Extended Warranty Protection

Adds another year to a purchased item’s manufacturer’s warranty (provided the original warranty lasts three years or less).

Travel and Emergency Assistance Services

This isn’t really insurance coverage, but it’s good to have. You’ve got special access to a phone number that can put you in contact with legal and medical professionals if an emergency arises during your trip. You’ll still have to pay for the services you need.

Roadside Assistance

Again, this isn’t insurance per se, but you can call a special number to receive roadside assistance in an emergency. You’ll have to pay for the services, but it’s nice in a pinch.

Apply for the Instacart Mastercard®.

Chase Freedom Flex^SM

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome offer: $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Cash back rates: 5% in rotating categories on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter you activate; 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®; 3% at restaurants and on drugstore purchases; 1% on all other purchases.
• Standout feature: Convert cash back to Chase Ultimate Rewards® points if you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card; Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card; or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

The Chase Freedom Flex^SM is a no annual fee all-star thanks to its high earning rates and the potential to convert its cash back into Ultimate Rewards points. If you know how to maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, you can quite easily get over 2 cents per point from them — effectively doubling your return rate over simple cash back.

If your spending is evenly spread out across a bunch of different purchase categories, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and its rotating 5% rate might be a good fit for you. However, it can’t hold a candle to the Instacart Mastercard® when it comes to a consistent return on groceries. If Instacart groceries are usually your biggest monthly expense, go with the Instacart Mastercard®.

Citi® Double Cash Card

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome offer: N/A
• Cash back rates: 1% on purchases + 1% when you pay off your purchases
• Standout feature: Convert cash back into Citi ThankYou points if you also have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® card.

The Citi® Double Cash Card is typically a great companion credit card, i.e., it’s perfect to get 2% cash back on purchases that fall outside the bonus cash back or rewards categories offered by your other credit cards.

True to form, it can be a great companion to the Instacart Mastercard®, as you could use it for all transactions except Instacart purchases and travel purchases through the Chase Travel Center, where the Instacart Mastercard® shines.

If Instacart orders make up a big part of your total grocery expenditures — say, 50% or more — signing up for the Instacart Mastercard® is an easy and obvious choice. If you’re a regular Instacart user, you’ve already come to terms with its myriad fees and you’ve decided that those fees are worth the convenience the platform offers. Cash back earned by the Instacart Mastercard® can offset some of those biting fees.

But if you use Instacart sparingly (or not at all), there are far better no annual fee cash back cards for you than the Instacart Mastercard®.

Aside from its huge Instacart cash back rate, the Instacart Mastercard® also offers 5% on travel booked through the Chase Travel Center. But the Chase Freedom Flex^SM does that, too — and in some circumstances its cash back can be converted for significantly more value.

The Instacart Mastercard® also offers 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, and some streaming services. But the Citi® Double Cash Card effectively offers 2% on all purchases. And similar to the Chase Freedom Flex^SM, its converted rewards have the potential to be worth significantly more.

You can head to the card’s application page and enter your personal information to get started.

I always recommend that you avoid opening rewards credit cards like this unless your credit score is at least 700. It’s certainly possible to be approved for the card with a lower score, but a score of 700 means that you’ve cared for your credit to a certain extent and you’re likely responsible enough to open a card with a high interest rate. Getting out of debt is not easy if you run up a balance on a card like this.

The Instacart Mastercard® is built to capture the lion’s share of your grocery shopping — as well as other retail purchases, such as Bed Bath & Beyond and Michaels. With a 5% return rate, it offers the biggest bang-for-buck possible at nearly every merchant on its platform.

If you’re using Instacart anyway, this card is an excellent way to slow the bleeding on those fees. It’s basically a necessity for an Instacart regular.