Top 3 Credit Cards for Food, Dining & Groceries

Dining out, ordering food, and spending on groceries have become everyday habits for many of us. Every month, we end up spending a huge amount across these categories. But people don’t know how to earn extra value or rewards on these expenses. If we are able to receive consistent discounts, cashbacks or any rewards every time you make a purchase in these categories, your overall expenses could be optimized. Choosing the correct credit card is crucial. In this post, we will discuss some of the best credit cards designed to make your purchases on food orders, grocery buying, and offline dining more rewarding.

Credit Cards, Easy Diner, Swiggy — Top 3 Credit Cards for Food, Dining and Groceries

Easy Diner IndusInd Bank Credit Card

Easy Diner IndusInd Bank Credit Card is an excellent option—especially for those who dine out regularly. The joining and renewal fee for this card is ₹2,999. But on paying the joining fee, you receive a lot of benefits.

The benefits include Easy Diner points worth ₹2,000, a complimentary Easy Diner membership worth ₹3,000 and a Postcard Hotels stay voucher worth ₹7,500. That means your joining fee is easily recovered from the above benefits you receive. Now the most important part—the dining benefits: when you make payments through Easy Diner, you receive a flat 25% discount, which is capped at ₹2,000 per month. Furthermore, there is no minimum spending condition required to avail of this benefit. This means you can simply avail a 25% discount on a bill i.e instant saving of ₹250 on a dining bill of ₹1,000.

Apart from the above benefits, you don’t really get any extraordinary return in other spending categories with this card. If you spend on Zomato or Swiggy orders, you will receive around 2% cashback and other expenses give only 1% cashback. So overall this card is best suited for those who often spend on dining.

The Swiggy HDFC Credit Card.

HDFC has now made some changes to this card, making it a preferrable option. HDFC launched ‘Orange’ and ‘Black’ variants of the Swiggy Credit Card. But if you already have the older version of Swiggy Credit card, there’s no need to worry — you can still continue using it with the same benefits as before.

New Variants: Orange vs Black

HDFC now offers the Swiggy Credit Card in two variants:

Black Variant (and older version)
Orange Variant (new entry-level version)

Cashback Benefits: What Has Changed?

With the Black (or older) variant, cardholders will continue to enjoy the benefits such as:

10% cashback on:
- Food deliveries.
- Instamart groceries.
- Swiggy Dineouts.

However, the Orange variant offers the reduced benefits:

Only 5% cashback on these categories

Thus, the Orange variant is less rewarding compared to the Black or older versions.

Minimum Spend Condition is being Introduced

Another changes of the card is the minimum order value requirement.

Earlier: 10% cashback was applicable on orders starting from just ₹100.
Now: You need to spend at least ₹249 to qualify for the cashback.

This change reduces the card’s benefits for customers who does small and frequent orders on swiggy.

Additional Cashback on Online Shopping

The card still remains to offer 5% cashback on online shopping platforms like:

Amazon.
Flipkart.
Myntra.

HSBC Life Plus Credit Card

Another excellent card to be considered is the HSBC Live+ Credit Card. The joining fee and annual fee are ₹999 plus GST waived if annual spend exceeds INR 200,000). The card offers great benefits, especially for categories like food and groceries.

One of the major features is that it offers a flat 10% cashback on dining, food delivery, and grocery purchases, which is capped at ₹1,000 per month. What makes the card so beneficial is that, irrespective of the platform, you get the benefit i.e there’s no need to use any specific app or platform. Whether you are dining at restaurants or shopping at grocery stores, you can enjoy instant cashback by swiping the card. This credit card is one of the rare credit cards in India that offer a 10% cashback on expenses at offline grocery stores.

You can also order food on platforms like Zomato and Swiggy and earn the same cashback. So this card may be the best option for those who prefer to maximize the benefits for both online and offline spending.

The card also offers a “Buy One, Get One Free” movie ticket on BookMyShow every Saturday. While the booking must be made on a Saturday but you can choose to watch the movie on any day of the week. The maximum ticket price is cappped at ₹250.

Another benefit that this card offers is the complimentary domestic airport lounge access every quarter, with no minimum spending criterion.

Additional Credit Cards that can be considered

You don’t necessarily need a dedicated dining credit card to save big on food and grocery expenses. Cards like the SBI Cashback Credit Card, SBI PhonePe Select Black Credit Card, and Axis Cashback Credit Card can help you earn cashback.

The SBI Cashback and PhonePe Select Black cards give you a flat 5% cashback on online spending. You can use these cards on apps like Swiggy Instamart, Zomato, Blinkit, and Dunzo earn 5% cashback. Both cards have a monthly cashback cap of ₹2,000.

On the other hand, the Axis Cashback Credit Card can offer you up to 7% cashback on similar categories.

How to Maximize Cashback

To unlock higher savings, you can combine cashback cards with platform-specific offers. Apps like Dineout and EazyDiner frequently provide restaurant discounts.

By using these platforms along with your credit card, you can enjoy a “double benefit”—instant discounts from the platform plus an additional 5%–7% cashback from your card. This can increase your overall savings.

Pro Tip: Always check Dineout or EazyDiner before dining out to ensure you’re getting the best possible deal.

If you want more options, here are two credit cards:

1. Axis Bank ACE Credit Card.

The Axis Bank ACE Credit Card offers 4% cashback on expenses on Swiggy and Zomato, with a monthly cap of ₹500.

2. HDFC Millennia Credit Card.

The HDFC Millennia Credit Card is another credit card that offers 5% cashback on Swiggy and Zomato (capped at ₹1,000 per month under the 5% category).

One of the biggest advantages of this card is its easy approval rate, especially if you already have a relationship with HDFC Bank. You can also apply the card offline through your Relationship Manager.

Beyond Food: Extra Cashback Benefits

The Millennia card is not limited to food expenses. It also provides 5% cashback on popular platforms such as Amazon, BookMyShow, Flipkart, Myntra, Uber, and Tata CLiQ.

Additionally, by purchasing on SmartBuy portal, you can unlock extra discounts on vouchers and travel bookings, which can earn you extra savings.

Best Option If You Don’t Have a Credit Card

If you’re facing credit card rejections or are just starting your cashback journey, the Kotak 811 Super Debit Card is a great alternative.

Kotak 811 Super Debit Card offers:

5% cashback on Swiggy and Zomato
Monthly cashback is capped at ₹500 (valid up to ₹10,000 spends)
5% cashback on fuel (a rare benefit for debit cards)

It’s a simple and effective way to start earning cashback without needing a credit card.

Choose What Fits Your Spending Style

There is no single “best” credit card. The ideal choice entirely depends on the lifestyle and spending habits.

For high dining discounts, EasyDiner-based cards are great.
For maximum cashback (up to 10%), HDFC Swiggy and HSBC Live+ cards can be a great option.
For all-rounder cashback, SBI Cashback, PhonePe Select Black, and Axis Cashback cards are excellent choices.
For beginners without a credit card, the Kotak 811 Debit Card is the best option.

By selecting the right card or a combination of cards, you can easily earn 5% to 10% cashback on your everyday food, dining, and grocery expenses.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Finostry. The information provided in this review is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice.

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Loves to write about personal finance, credit cards rewards, banking, mutual funds, fixed deposits, savings strategies, investment planning, tax-saving options, digital banking and wealth building techniques. With over 12 years of experience he aims to provide practical financial knowledge that is easy to understand for both beginners and experienced readers.