This article is part of the Grocery Budget Challenge series. See the Introduction here.

Choosing the right credit card can help you save money on groceries (and other things). I use the Tangerine Mastercard, because it has no annual fee, it pays 2% cash back on up to 3 spending categories of your choice, and it pays 1% cash back on all other purchases. I chose groceries as one of my money-back categories. See below for more information.

Other options include: drug store, recurring bill payments, gas, public transportation and parking, entertainment, restaurants, furniture, home improvement, and hotels/motels. I like that the earned cash rewards are paid out monthly. Furthermore, Mastercard is more widely accepted than VISA or American Express at my favourite local stores, including Costco and No Frills. See here for more details about the Tangerine credit card. Note that you get more benefits from their credit card if you have a savings account with Tangerine. The process is easy and there are no fees or minimum balance requirements. You’re going to love banking with Tangerine. They’re my primary bank (chequing account).

When comparing different credit cards, be sure to read the fine print carefully. For example, my previous credit card, the MBNA Smart Cash Mastercard, changed their policy and started using a tiered calculation for rewards, meaning that you get “up to” 2% cash back on groceries depending on how much you’ve already spent that calendar year.

Finally, as with all credit card companies, you will be charged a high interest rate on overdue balances, cash advances, and over-the-limit transactions, so be sure to budget accordingly, spend within your means, and pay the full balance of each bill on time.