Does Loblaws take AMEX?

If you live in Canada, then it is highly unlikely that you won’t go to Loblaws. This giant grocery retail hub in Canada is known for its pocket-friendly rates, fantastic variety, and innovative cash-and-carry concept that attracts customers. Serving the Canadian market since 1919, Loblaws is the favorite retail supermarket of almost every other person you come across.

As you might be aware, most people pay their grocery bills through their credit cards for two obvious reasons. Firstly, it helps them to pay substantial amounts of groceries on credit, and secondly, they can earn great rewards and points on such transactions. Unfortunately, AMEX users cannot pay at Loblaws through their credit cards. It is because all stores working under Loblaws banner are using a point-of-service payment system where they accept only Mastercard or Visa credit cards.

This surely puts American Express credit card users at a disadvantage because they not only have to pay through their pocket instead of taking credit, but they also forego the amazing retail shopping rewards offered on their credit card line.

If you have the AMEX credit cards with the best grocery shopping benefits, then you might be sad with the news that you will have to hear, “Sorry, we don’t accept AMEX credit cards here” on your visit to Loblaws. Are you wondering if there is any way out to use your AMEX card at your favorite grocery retail store, Loblaws? Well, you will be delighted to know that there are some indirect ways or rather hacks that can help you pay your grocery bill at Loblaws indirectly through your AMEX credit cards.

Care to find out about those hacks? Read the article to the end, and you will find out some amazing tricks for using AMEX credit cards.

Prepaid credit cards

You must be familiar with the concept of prepaid credit cards. If you haven’t heard about it yet, then let me pen it down for you. Prepaid credit cards can be purchased from any prepaid card provider by paying the amount upfront that will be added to your card. This way, you can use the prepaid credit card for the amount you have added to it through transferring from your credit card. These cards are usually famous for budget controlling, where people purchase prepaid credit cards for their monthly expenses or for giving them as an allowance to kids. But these prepaid cards can be of use in other circumstances as well, such as to pay at Loblaws. Problem solved! Right?

This is an easy way out whereby you can use your AMEX credit card to buy a prepaid credit card, which is accepted at the Loblaws as a means of payment. Some prepaid cards do charge an additional activation fee, but it is very minimal, so it won’t be a bad deal, especially if you buy these prepaid cards from a place that earns you a lot of points, like a grocery store.

The key is to find a prepaid card that lies under the reward category card with the AMEX credit card. This way, you can earn rewards by buying a prepaid card, which you can later redeem. Also, this allows you to pay indirectly through AMEX by getting access to revolving credit, which is surely a win-win situation for you.

Superstore Gift Cards

One other way to pay at Loblaws through your AMEX credit card is to buy superstore gift cards, which are easily available in Canada.

These gift cards are also available in digital form by Rakuten Canada. You can buy it in many denominations, such as CAD 25, CAD 50, CAD 100, and CAD 250. These gift cards are very easy to redeem. All you need to do is place your online order at Loblaws checkout and click on PayPal as the payment method. Link your AMEX account to PayPal, and it will deduct the bill amount from your AMEX credit card.

This way, you can pay indirectly through AMEX via PayPal to purchase Loblaws. This allows you to pay through the AMEX credit card, enjoying the benefits of revolving credit access and the rewards system. In addition, you can also get rewards on superstore gift cards such as Rakuten's 1% cash back rewards offer. This way, you can accumulate rewards in Rakuten as well and redeem those later when they are worth something.

Instacart

You can also Instacart your grocery order from Loblaws. Instacart is a grocery delivery service whereby another local shopper will purchase your grocery list and deliver it to your doorstep. This offers you the benefit that you don’t have to visit the store in person; rather, you will have all the grocery products you need at your home by just placing an order.

To order through Instacart, you need to visit the Instacart website, choose Loblaws, and select the products you are interested in buying along with the delivery time. You will be linked with a local shopper with whom you can chat if necessary. You can also get live updates on shopping progress and expected delivery time.

At the checkout point, you can choose to pay through an AMEX credit card, and this way, you can get your Loblaws products by paying indirectly through your AMEX card.

Paying indirectly through Instacart has one setback: you might end up paying more charges. This is because Instacart offers products at a bit higher price than the ones offered in stores. Also, they charge additional service and delivery fees. This is why it is better to weigh out the cost-benefit associated with paying indirectly through Instacart with your AMEX credit card. If the benefits outweigh the cost, then you are good to proceed. Otherwise, it is better to adapt the other two hacks explained above.

Why AMEX is the one of the best grocery credit cards

You might be wondering why we are so adamant about finding ways to use an AMEX credit card to pay the grocery bill at Loblaws. Well, the major reason behind this is that AMEX credit cards are termed top-rated cards in Canada to pay grocery bills. The American Express Cobalt Card, for example, is leading the charts in offering the best rewards plans in the grocery cards category.

Against spending CAD 1, this credit card offers you five reward points, which is quite substantial. These membership points are not invaluable when redeemed. Rather, you can convert them into Aeroplan expenditure, where they are worth 2 cents per point, which is quite attractive. In effect, the potential return you can earn on grocery expenditure through AMEX is 10%.

To be able to avail of these amazing rewards, you need to be able to use your AMEX credit card. And this can only be possible through the above hacks to use the AMEX credit card at Loblaws and unlock all these amazing benefits.