Kroger Launches Rewards Mastercard with Imprint
Kroger has launched the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard, a co-branded credit card developed with fintech company Imprint and Mastercard. The new card offers shoppers points at five times the rate of their purchases when shopping through Kroger.com or the Kroger app.
The card integrates with Kroger’s existing loyalty program, providing tiered rewards for fuel, in-store purchases, dining, and travel, along with a \$100 welcome bonus for new cardholders.
The Strategy Behind the Card
“At Kroger, we’re always looking for new ways to help customers save,” said Megan Shaffer, group vice president of customer growth and strategy. “From weekly grocery trips to filling up at the pump or paying bills, the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard turns purchases into real savings.”
Imprint’s Daragh Murphy emphasized the partnership’s goal of creating a card customers use daily. “Together, we set out to turn that loyalty into a card customers reach for every day, one that rewards the weekly Kroger trip and everything in between, with the modern, seamless experience they expect.”
The card positions Kroger at No. 7 in the Top 2000 Database for North America’s largest online retailers by annual ecommerce sales, and No. 1 in the Food & Beverage category. However, it competes with higher-ranked mass merchants like Walmart and Target in online grocery sales.
Mastercard’s Kiki Del Valle highlighted the card’s potential to reduce friction in everyday transactions. “Grocery spending is one of the most consistent and essential parts of life,” she said. “Together with Kroger and Imprint, we’ve created a seamless rewards experience that helps shoppers earn more on the purchases they already make, turning regular grocery trips into meaningful savings.”
Digital Shift and Data Control
Serhii Nikolaichuk, founder of The Capital Index, views the card as more than traditional credit: “It’s a delivery app with a bank attached.”
He notes that richest point tiers apply to Kroger.com and app purchases, compared to up to 3X for in-store transactions. Combined with free Boost delivery membership in the Kroger app, this signals a broader strategy. “Kroger is paying shoppers to move from the aisle to the screen, where it can see every basket and plan the next one,” Nikolaichuk explained.
The fintech partnership also serves a larger purpose. With Imprint managing the card and a bank issuing it, Kroger maintains direct customer relationships and controls the data and experience. “The bank becomes plumbing,” Nikolaichuk said. “Amazon and Target already proved to grocers that the card can function as the loyalty program; now, Nikolaichuk said, that card lives inside the grocer’s own app.”
Looking ahead, Nikolaichuk sees artificial intelligence as the next frontier. “When an assistant builds the weekly cart, it will pay with whatever card is already on file, and it will follow the points.” The grocer controlling the app, card, and data claims the default position. “The real prize is not the next swipe, but the next year of automatic reorders,” he added.
Compared to competitors, Kroger’s rewards appear competitive on the surface. Amazon and Target set shopper expectations for roughly 5% back. However, Nikolaichuk cautions that points are only as valuable as what they can purchase—primarily fuel and groceries within Kroger’s ecosystem. “For a loyal Kroger household that already fills up at Kroger gas stations, he said, that can beat a general cash-back card.”
“Kroger isn’t buying loyalty at the checkout,” he added. “It’s buying the default for the day an AI agent does the shopping.”
Market Challenges and Opportunities
Francesco Onorato, director of growth at Brandmovers, considers Kroger’s integration of store credit with its loyalty program a smart move. “What’s interesting is that Kroger is focusing high-value incentives on orders made through the app and including free delivery as part of the offer,” he noted. “This strategy uses payments as a means of guiding shoppers out of the aisles and into the digital channels.”
Onorato identifies the key question as whether this approach will succeed in today’s competitive grocery and retail market. “A reliable, engaging and personalized online shopping experience is going to be the true test of how their bet will pay off,” he said.
