Best credit cards for Thanksgiving purchases

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and while you’re preparing for the ultimate feast, the costs may be piling up like a snowball. For many, Thanksgiving is about spending time with family members and friends, roasting turkey, baking gingerbread and being thankful for the people and things in their lives.

A 16-pound turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, veggies, and pumpkin pie with plenty of leftovers to spare are all traditional holiday table dishes. Grocery shopping makes up a big part of many Americans’ budgets, whether you’re having a delicious feast with those in your home or hosting a gathering.

And before the holidays arrive, you’ll still have some time to think about how you can save on your holiday expenses. By simply applying for the right credit card and using it wisely, you can earn cashback on your Thanksgiving purchases and maximize your savings during the holiday season.

Here, we’ll discuss which cards to use and other useful benefits that will help you save time and maximize your rewards.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Best for the highest cashback on groceries

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card* from American Express is a cashback card that earns some of the highest rewards you’ll find on U.S. supermarkets and select streaming services: you’ll get 6% back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%) and a generous 3% back on transit, including U.S. gas stations, plus 1% cash back on everything else. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express also offers a welcome bonus and a great 0% intro APR period to save on interest when paying for your purchases.

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for dining outdoors

If your food expenses include groceries, dining outdoors and takeouts, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card* makes a good fit for you. And it’s also a great pick for entertainment spending as it offers unlimited 3% cash back on dining, grocery stores and entertainment and a 1% back on everything else. When using the issuer’s entertainment and travel portals, you can earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars. Plus, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card comes with an easy welcome bonus that anyone can earn: $250 cash back after you spend $500 on purchases within three months from account opening.

Although the definition of dining and other services is broad, don’t forget to read the card’s fine print. Cards can exclude some wholesale chains like Target and Walmart, even if you’re just buying groceries from these stores. Likewise, depending on the category, certain services can be excluded.

If you need to fly to see your family on Thanksgiving, you can often save some cash by booking tickets with a travel rewards credit card.

American Express® Gold Card: Best for travel rewards

The American Express® Gold Card* deserves a place in your wallet, whether you’re dining out at restaurants, buying groceries at U.S. supermarkets for Thanksgiving Day or booking flights to see your loved ones for the holidays. For travelers or food lovers, Amex Gold cardholders can earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants around the world, 4X Membership Rewards points when shopping at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in purchases each year), 3X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly via their respective airlines or at amextravel.com, 2x points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel purchases booked through AmexTravel.com, and 1x points on all other eligible purchases.

The American Express® Gold Card comes with over $400 in annual credits that can effectively cancel out the card’s $325 annual fee, if you use them.

So far, the rewards cards, including those described above, are marketed to consumers with good to excellent credit. In general, this means FICO credit scores of around 670 and up, which actually seems to align fairly well with the data from cardholder reports.

However, if you don’t have such a good credit score, we have picked out credit card options that are suitable for you.

Imagine® Visa® Credit Card: Best for gas, groceries and utility bill payments for fair/poor credit

The Imagine® Visa® Credit Card, issued by WebBank, is an unsecured credit card for consumers who are looking to build their credit without having to make a security deposit. It offers decent cash-back rewards on useful spending categories – earn a 3% cash back on gas, groceries, utility bill payments and health services, and a 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases. Moreover, you can prequalify for the card without affecting your credit scores. And only if you accept the offer will you be subject to a hard credit inquiry.

Upgrade Life Rewards Visa®: Best for food, fuel and additional services for fair/poor credit

The Upgrade Life Rewards Card is one of several hybrid products from the Upgrade that can boost the rewards earnings of even those with fair or average credit. With no annual fee and the ability to earn an unlimited 3% cash back on gas, groceries, streaming, utility bill expenses and health services, this card offers a nice mix of broad and popular bonus categories like food and fuel and more specific spending areas like utilities and doctor appointments. And like other Upgrade products, you can earn a $200 bonus when you additionally apply for the Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus account.

Get into the holiday spirit of giving and receiving, and benefit from one of the credit cards that comes with rewards in most popular categories during the holiday season.

*The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by BestCreditOffers.com: Blue Cash Preferred® Card, Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, and American Express® Gold Card. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.