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Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard Review

overall rating
2.4

Save on fuel with a no annual fee card

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The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers rewards toward mobile wallet purchases and groceries, as well as savings on gas at Kroger fuel centers.

Kroger REWARDS World Mastercard®

Overall Rating
2.4
Kroger REWARDS World Mastercard®
On U.S. Bank's Secured Site.
Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO® Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Good - Excellent
Regular APR (%) 18.99% - 2,999% variable
Annual Fee $0
Rewards Earning Rate Earn 5% cash back on mobile wallet purchases for the first $3,000, then 1% thereafter. Earn 2% cash back inside Kroger stores. Earn 1% cash back outside of Kroger stores.
Balance Transfer Fee Either $10 or 4% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee (%) 0%
how this card stacks up
When compared among all rewards cards in our database:
Rewards
Benefits
Low Fees
Security/Customer Experience
Low Interest
worst best

The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard is not one of our top-rated rewards credit cards. You can review our list of the best rewards credit cards for what we think are better options.

Full Review of Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard

Pros
  • Discount on on gas

  • Redeem points for groceries

  • No annual fee

Cons
  • Limited redemption options

  • Points value isn't great

  • Rewards expire

Pros Explained

  • Discount on Gas: The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard can get you a break on gasoline. Every 100 points you earn with the card can be redeemed for 25 cents off per gallon at Kroger fuel centers during your first year as a cardholder.
  • Redeem Points for Groceries: For every 1,000 points you earn, you receive a $10 rewards certificate that can be applied to grocery purchases at Kroger or Kroger Family of Companies stores, listed below.
  • No Annual Fee: Unlike some other cards, the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard doesn’t have an annual fee to worry about.

Cons Explained 

  • Limited Redemption Options: This card doesn't have the typical rewards redemption structure, where you can redeem points for things like statement credit, cash back, or gift cards. Instead, every 1,000 points you earn is redeemable for a $10 rewards certificate you can use at Kroger or Kroger Family of Companies stores. That's a downside if you're looking for more flexibility in using your rewards. 
  • Points Value Isn't Great: Each point you earn with this card is valued at 1 cent, which is below what you could find elsewhere. There are other cash back or rewards cards that offer at least twice that. 
  • Rewards Expire: This card may not be a great fit if you don't always stay on top of redemptions. Points earned expire after 36 months, so there's a chance you could lose them if you don't put them to work to save money on grocery purchases. And if you do redeem points for a rewards certificate, you have 12 months to use it before it expires.

Who This Card Is Best For

The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard is designed for grocery shoppers who frequent Kroger supermarkets and other stores within the Kroger Family of Companies. Those include: 

  • Baker’s
  • City Market
  • Dillons
  • Food 4 Less
  • Foods Co
  • Fred Meyer
  • Fry’s
  • Gerbes
  • Jay C Food Store
  • King Soopers
  • Kroger
  • Mariano’s
  • Metro Market
  • Pay-Less Super Markets
  • Pick’n Save
  • QFC
  • Ralphs
  • Ruler
  • Smith’s Food and Drug

This card could be good for someone who wants to capitalize on the introductory offer for discounted gas. 

Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard Bonus

From time to time, this card features a promotional bonus offer for new cardmembers. The current offer is a discount on gas when you redeem points at Kroger fuel centers. The discount is worth 25 cents off per gallon and the promotion is good for your first year as a cardholder. Once that first year is up, you'll receive a discount of 5 cents off per gallon when you redeem points and pay with your Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard. 

Note that you do not earn rewards points on gas purchases when taking advantage of the discount. 

Rewards Earning Details

There are three rewards earning tiers associated with this card.

First, you'll earn 5 points per dollar on mobile wallet purchases up to the first $3,000 spent, then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter.

Next, you'll earn 2 points per dollar on purchases made at Kroger stores and the Kroger Family of Companies stores, except at Kroger fuel centers. 

Finally, you'll earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases anywhere Mastercard is accepted. That means you could tuse he card to charge purchases at other grocery stores or for online shopping, travel, or just about anything. 

All the points you earn at each tier are unlimited, so the more you spend, the more you earn. 

Rewards Redemption Details

The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard gives you just one way to redeem points. Every 1,000 rewards points earned is worth a $10 reward.

Rewards can be redeemed via Real-Time Rewards after making an eligible purchase of $10 or more at Kroger Family of Companies or via statement credit once you have earned a minimum of 1,000 Rewards Points (worth $10). Rewards can be redeemed via Kroger Family of Companies Gift Cards when you have earned a minimum of 2,500 Rewards Points (worth $25).

How to Maximize Your Rewards

Here are scenarios demonstrating what you might earn with this card:

Average Case

Let's assume you spend the following each month with your card:

  • $250 on mobile wallet purchases
  • $500 at Kroger and Kroger Family of Companies locations
  • $1,500 on all other purchases

At the end of three months, you'll have earned a total of 11,250 rewards points, which would be worth $112 in redemption value, with some points left over. Spend that same amount each quarter and you'd earn $450 toward Kroger purchases each year. 

Aspirational Case

Now, let's assume you rely on this card for everything and your monthly spending looks more like this:

  • $500 on mobile wallet purchases
  • $1,000 at Kroger and Kroger Family of Companies locations
  • $3,500 everywhere else 

You'd earn 21,000 rewards points each quarter, which would be worth $210 in redemption value. Annually, you'd earn $840 in rewards. 

Standard Benefits

Since this is a Mastercard, it comes with these standard perks:

  • Travel assistance services
  • Mastercard Global Service
  • Identity theft resolution services
  • Cell phone protection, subject to restrictions and deductible

Cardholder Experience

The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard is issued by U.S. Bank. In the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, U.S. Bank ranked 9th out of 11 national card issuers and scored well below average.

Customer service is available via secure messaging when you log into your online account. You can also get help by phone 24 hours a day at 844-237-0593.

Security Features

This card has the basic security features you'd expect with a rewards card. That includes chip technology and a $0 fraud liability guarantee if your card is lost or stolen.

Fees to Watch Out For

There are no particular fees to watch out, and no annual fee. Paying late or having a payment returned could result in a penalty, but those are similar to what you might be charged with other rewards cards. 

Final Verdict

The Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard could be a good choice if you mainly shop at Kroger and Kroger Family of Companies stores and are satisfied to use your rewards at those locations. The first-year discount on gas is also a money-saving benefit that might tempt you to sign up.

This card falls short, however, when it comes to points value and redemption options. A regular cash back card that offers bonus rewards on groceries, such as the American Express Blue Cash Everyday or Blue Cash Preferred, could yield more benefits. These cards allow you to earn more cash back at supermarkets besides Kroger (though subject to a $6,000 yearly cap in grocery spending) and also give you more ways to redeem your rewards.

Kroger doesn't list a specific credit score needed on its site in order to qualify for the card. It does offer a range of interest rates from 18.99% to 29.99% for consumers based on their creditworthiness at time of application, which implies there is also a range of credit scores accepted.

Kroger doesn't list a specific credit card needed to get approved for its Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard. According to Experian, one of the three major national credit reporting agencies, it typically takes a score of at least 670 to get approved for a rewards card.

With the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard, you'll earn 5% back on your first $3,000 in mobile wallet purchases (1% thereafter), 2% cash back when you shop in the Kroger Family of Companies, and 1% everywhere else. You'll also save 25 cents per gallon on gasoline in the first year each time you redeem 100 fuel points at the Kroger Family of Companies and when you spend $6,000 in a year thereafter. Finally, the card also offers no foreign transaction fees as well as several other travel and lifestyle benefits.

You'll earn rewards points for purchases, which will be reflected on your account after a transaction posts. Every 1,000 rewards points earned is worth a $10 reward. You have the option of redeeming your points for a statement credit, real-time rewards, or a Kroger Family of Companies $25 gift card if you've earned at least 2,500 points.

Next Steps
For Kroger REWARDS World Mastercard®
on U.S. Bank's Secured Site.
Compare This Card
See how this card compares to similar cards
CURRENT CARD
Kroger REWARDS World Mastercard®
overall rating
2.4
Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO® Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Good - Excellent
Regular APR (%) 18.99% - 2,999% variable
Annual Fee $0
Rewards Earning Rate Earn 5% cash back on mobile wallet purchases for the first $3,000, then 1% thereafter. Earn 2% cash back inside Kroger stores. Earn 1% cash back outside of Kroger stores.
Investopedia Credit Card Rating Methodology
Investopedia is committed to delivering the best credit card recommendations in the industry. We’ll tell you when a card is good, we’ll tell you when a card is bad, and we’ll only call a card the best if we would recommend it to our friends or family members.
Overall Star Rating Explained
To rate credit cards we objectively assess, score and weight nearly 100 individual card features which roll up into five major feature sets: fees, interest, rewards, benefits and security/customer service. Here’s how we weighted those feature sets for the overall star rating of a card:
We have applied our proprietary rating methodology to every generally-accepted credit card in the U.S. domestic market to allow consumers to make fully informed choices. It’s important to note that for our overall score that we make a number of assumptions about how you would be using your credit card:
  1. While we make no assumption as to whether balances are carried on a given card we do assign varying weights to all credit cards’ introductory APR (if present) in addition to the regular, long term purchase and balance transfer interest rates.
  2. We utilize BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) income and average category spending data to calculate annual earnings rates for rewards cards that offer cash back, points or miles rewards at a set rate on all spending or in consideration of bonus rewards for certain spending categories, like gasoline, groceries, restaurants or travel.
  3. We determine the maximum points value of rewards cards by dividing the points, cash back or miles required to exchange for the retail price of the most valuable redemption option (for example, in the case of a card that offers a domestic roundtrip airline ticket as a redemption option vs. another redemption option of lesser value that requires the same amount of points or miles to acquire, we would base the rewards value on the airline ticket).
  • Cards that are selected best overall in their respective categories generally feature most if not all of the following attributes:
  • Low or Reasonable Fees Credit card fees come in many forms but the primary ones involve those for annual card membership and balance transfer. There are a myriad of reward and non-reward card options that charge no annual fee but for the many that do assess an annual fee the cost is often justified by their lucrative ongoing rewards and initial signup bonuses. Balance transfer fees are occasionally waived during introductory periods with certain cards, a factor which is heavily and positively weighted in our scoring model for cards offering this benefit. When charged, balance transfer fees range between 3% - 5%, which we grade accordingly. Other standard fees can generally be avoided, such as those for paying late or taking cash advances but we rate those relative to other cards in the market for reference, though with less weight assigned
  • Competitive Interest Many cards offer 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for varying lengths and then revert to a permanent or regular APR (based on a variable rate tied to the prime rate) that applies to any balances not paid in full. We rate both introductory APR percentage and length (in months) along with the midpoint of the variable regular APR interest rate range.
  • Valuable Rewards Credit card reward programs can be based on cash back, points or travel rewards (which can be generic or travel partner-specific, as with airline and hotel co-brand card programs). For cards that offer rewards we determine the value per dollar spent along with average redemption values and assign more favorable ratings to cards that offer superior consumer value. We also assign value to sign-up bonus offers and their initial spending requirements, when present.
  • Excellent Benefits Credit card benefits cover a range of offerings like concierge service, TSA Pre-check, auto rental coverage, travel accident insurance, lost luggage assistance and free credit scores. We rate cards on the number and level of over a dozen standard and upscale benefits and provide extra weighting emphasis for those travel-related perks that apply to premium travel cards when present.
  • Solid Security/Customer Service Security and customer service features like lost or stolen card replacement, being able to lock one’s card from an issuer app and 24 hour customer support are becoming more standard across the card market and we provide a significant amount of weighting to features in this area.
  • You can also read the full version of our methodology for a more in-depth look at how we assess cards and award them the best in various categories.