If you are involved in the world of credit card rewards and like to get the juiciest signup bonuses possible, there is zero chance you don’t have an American Express card. However, the bane of American Express is merchant acceptance – “sorry, we don’t accept Amex” is a phrase we hear too often.
Some of the largest Canadian retailers that don’t accept American Express credit cards are Costco and Loblaws companies. This is doubly unfortunate because they issue the American Express Cobalt card, one of the best cards to use at grocery stores with its earn rate of 5 Membership Rewards per dollar.
We’ve previously written about work-arounds to use Amex at Costco. Now, it’s time to tell you how to use Amex at Loblaws stores 🙂
Do Any Loblaws Stores Accept Amex?
Unfortunately, all stores under the Loblaws umbrella use the same point-of-service (POS) payment processing system which will only accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. However, you can pay with Amex indirectly by buying Loblaws/PC Financial gift cards through a third-party, or by buying a prepaid Visa or Mastercard and using that to pay at Loblaws.
Read on to learn how.
Method #1: Prepaid Credit Cards
You can purchase prepaid credit cards from other stores and then use those to make your purchases at Real Canadian Superstore or Loblaws stores. This method has an upfront cost as prepaid cards typically have an activation fee (usually $4-7).
This method works best if you buy the cards at a retailer that qualifies for a category spend bonus with your American Express card. For example, use the American Express Cobalt card or the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card at a location that codes as a grocery store, such as a Circle K convenience store, 7-11, Sobeys, Safeway, Save-On-Foods, etc.
Reloadable prepaid cards would also work great with this method, such as PayPower or the Titanium Prepaid card.
Method #2: Buy President’s Choice Gift Cards
Buy President’s Choice Gift Cards at Rakuten.ca
Rakuten Canada has the Rakuten Gift Card Shop, which sells a variety of gift cards to large chains, including Loblaws. These are digital gift cards, and come in $25, $50, $100, and $250 denominations.
You actually earn 1% in Rakuten cashback by buying through the Rakuten Gift Card shop, which will stack with whatever the base earn rate is on your American Express card.
The checkout page allows Visa and Mastercard natively, but also accepts payment using PayPal. So all you need to do is checkout with PayPal and link your Amex card within.
If you don’t have accounts already, consider using our Rakuten.ca and PayPal referral links: you will get $30 and $10 just for signing up, respectively.
Buy President’s Choice Gift Cards at CardSwap.ca
Another portal to buy gift cards is cardswap.ca. CardSwap is actually a gift card marketplace, where you can buy and list gift cards. The gift cards are not marked down, but you do earn approximately 1-1.3% back in “SwapPoints” which can be redeemed to PayPal as cash.
The Loblaws cards on CardSwap can be purchased as physical cards, or eCodes (digital). As with Rakuten, you will need to checkout via PayPal with a linked Amex card.
Method #3: Instacart
One other indirect way to use American Express to pay for Superstore is through Instacart. This isn’t as cost-effective as the other methods because Instacart has delivery fees and marks up some food items.
Nonetheless, if you already use Instacart or appreciate the convenience of having groceries delivered straight to your door, it’s definitely something to consider.
Instacart is best paired with the American Express Cobalt Card, which will earn you 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent.
In Conclusion
If Superstore or any Loblaws brands are your favorite place to get groceries, and American Express is your favorite credit card, you no longer have to choose between them. Using these indirect methods, you can have the best of both worlds and continue to earn bonus points on your grocery purchases.
