Learn more about Instacart Mastercard
Instacart Mastercard® rewards
The Chase Instacart card offers a few ways to earn cash-back rewards, and the welcome bonus is automatic for approved cardholders who do not already have an Instacart Mastercard.
Welcome bonus
When you’re approved as a new Instacart Mastercard credit card applicant, your Instacart account is credited with $100 for spending via the Instacart app or Instacart.com. You also get a free year of Instacart+ membership.
While this welcome bonus doesn’t come with any spending threshold — meaning you don’t have to spend a certain amount in a specific period of time to earn it — by applying for the card and accepting the agreement, you do sign up for a renewable Instacart+ membership. After your free one year membership expires, you’re automatically charged $99 annually for the membership unless you cancel it.
Some perks you get with Instacart+ membership include:
- No delivery fee on orders more than $35
- A credit of 5% back on eligible orders when you pick them up
- Reduced service fees on all orders
- Complimentary access to a Peacock streaming subscription
Earning rewards
This is a cash-back credit card with a few ways to earn rewards, including:
- 5% cash back on purchases through Instacart.com or the Instacart app
- 5% cash back when you book flights, hotels and other travel through Chase Travel℠
- 2% cash back on spending at gas stations and restaurants and with select streaming services
- 1% cash back on everything else
To understand what those cash-back rewards might look like, consider the hypothetical example below:
- You use this card to fund all your grocery purchases through Instacart, spending $500 per month. That’s an annual cash-back earnings of $300.
- You take a vacation and book through Chase Travel℠, spending $3,000. Cash back on those purchases is $150.
- You use your card to fuel up, spending $200 a month. That’s $48 in cash back.
- You also allocate $100 for eating out a month and use this card to cover it. That’s an additional $24 in cash back.
In this scenario, you earned more than $500 in cash back just by using this card on expenses you already planned.
Redeeming rewards
You can redeem your cash-back rewards for a statement credit or by:
- Requesting a direct deposit into your bank account
- Using it to cover travel costs when booking through Chase Travel℠
- Covering purchases within the Instacart app or via Instacart.com
Instacart Mastercard® benefits
In addition to cash-back rewards, you get other perks as a Chase Instacart Mastercard cardholder.
Travel benefits
While this isn’t technically a travel rewards credit card, it does come with a number of travel-related benefits. To activate these benefits, you typically have to pay for all your bookings with this credit card.
Doing so via Chase Travel ℠ lets you get the benefits below on top of the 5% cash back:
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Travel accident insurance. If you book travel via train, car, bus or plane with your card, you’re eligible for accidental death and dismemberment coverage. This insurance kicks in to cover up to $500,000 in losses related to a travel accident during qualified transportation.
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Baggage delay insurance. If your bag is delayed more than six hours and you booked your flights using this card, you can get up to $100 per day in reimbursements to help cover costs associated with essential personal items. The coverage lasts for up to three days.
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Lost luggage reimbursement. Sometimes, luggage never arrives at all. If that happens, this insurance covers up to $3,000 in expenses for each passenger.
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Travel and emergency assistance services. As a cardholder, you can call the Benefit Administrator for your card to get help finding medical or legal services wherever you are when traveling.
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Auto rental collision damage waiver. If you book a rental car and pay with this card, you can decline the optional rental car collision insurance, as you’re already covered. That helps you save money on your car rental.
World Elite Concierge® services
Cardholders also have access to Mastercard’s World Elite Concierge services. This hotline offers you a sort of virtual assistant to help with certain types of travel arrangements, including dining reservations or locating needed items. You can task this service with setting up dining reservations for you while you go about your workday or enjoy travel, for example. And because the service is backed by relentless, expert concierge professionals, you might have a better chance of getting the arrangements you want than you would on your own.
Access to Chase Pay Over Time℠
This card is eligible for the Chase Pay Over Time feature, which lets you choose eligible purchases and pay them off over time in fixed installments. In effect, you can turn part of your credit limit into mini installment loans for your purchases. Purchases must be for $100 and not made under a promotional APR rate. You also need to convert the purchase to a payment plan within 90 days.
You don’t pay interest on amounts in these plans, but you do pay a fee for each plan. You can have up to 10 active plans at a time, and you can spread payments out over three to 24 months, depending on the amount of the purchase, your credit score and your account standing.
Protections
The Instacart Mastercard also comes with some general Mastercard protections for peace of mind, such as:
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Extended warranties. When you use this card to purchase qualifying products, you can get an additional year of coverage beyond the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty.
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Purchase protection. Use this card to cover the full purchase price of qualifying items, and they’re covered against theft or damage for a period of 120 days from the purchase date. This coverage is limited to $50,000 total and $500 per claim.
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Roadside assistance. You can call card member benefits during a roadside emergency to get help connecting with services or assistance. Any roadside service fees that result are billed to your card, so you don’t have to worry about payments on the side of the highway.
Fees, rates & limit
Don’t just consider the positive features of a credit card you want to apply for. Dig into the fine print to understand fees, interest rates and other details so you know how much your balance might end up costing.
Fees
The good news is that this card doesn’t come with an annual fee. The annual fee is always an important consideration with a cash-back card, as a high fee can eat into your earnings.
Here’s a quick summary of other fees — or the lack thereof — associated with this card:
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Balance transfer fees. If you transfer a balance from another card to this one, you’ll pay $5 or 5% of the balance you transferred, whichever is greater.
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Cash advance fees. When you use your card to get money out of the ATM, you will pay a fee of $10 or 5% of the advanced amount, whichever is greater.
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Foreign transaction fees. There are no foreign transaction fees with this card.
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Late payment fees. If you pay your bill late, you may be charged a fee up to $40.
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Return payment fees. If your payment is returned, you may be charged a fee up to $40.
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Chase Pay Over Time℠ fees. The monthly fee for payment plans is 1.72% of the purchase transaction amount.
Interest rates
While it’s best to pay off your statement every month to avoid interest — and maximize the cash-back benefits — that isn’t always possible. If you carry a balance forward with this card, you’ll pay interest on it.
Here’s a breakdown of this card’s rates:
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Regular purchase APR. 20.24% to 28.99% variable based on your credit and other financial factors
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Balance transfer APR. 20.24% to 28.99% variable based on your credit and other financial factors
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Introductory APR for balance transfers or purchases. No introductory APR offer as of March 2024
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Cash advance APR. 29.99% variable
Credit limit
At minimum, if you’re approved for this card, you get a $500 credit limit. Individuals with excellent credit may be offered much higher limits, and there are reports of cardholders with credit limits of $10,000 or higher.
How the Instacart Mastercard® compares
As a branded cash-back rewards card, the Instacart Mastercard compares favorably to other options on the market. It offers a decent amount of cash back and an easy-to-earn, easy-to-use welcome bonus. The fact that it doesn’t come with an annual fee also makes it attractive. However, this card is most beneficial for regular Instacart customers.
Instacart Mastercard® vs. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers better cash-back options if you aren’t an Instacart loyalist.
Here’s a look at some of the major differences between the Instacart Mastercard and Amex’s Blue Cash Preferred:
- With the Blue Cash Preferred card, you earn 6% cash back on groceries and streaming, 3% cash back on transit and gas and 1% on everything else.
- The Blue Cash Preferred card comes with an introductory APR offer for 12 months on balance transfers and purchases.
- After the first year, you do pay a $95 annual fee on the Amex card (see rates and fees).
- The Blue Cash Preferred card offers a number of credits.
If you can utilize the credits, you may be able to get more value from the Blue Cash Preferred card than you would from the Instacart credit card if you aren’t a regular Instacart shopper.
Read our full Amex Blue Cash Preferred card review
Instacart Mastercard® vs. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is another all-purpose cash-back card.
Here are some things that differentiate it from the Instacard card:
- You earn 5% on travel booked through Capital One Travel; 3% on dining, select streaming, grocery store and entertainment purchases; and 1% on everything else.
- This card comes with an introductory APR offer for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases.
- You can earn a $200 welcome bonus when you spend $500 in three months.
- For a limited time, this card offers 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases.
If you don’t spend a lot with Instacart, you can earn more cash back with this card. Plus, you can use the introductory APR to finance a larger expense without interest for 15 months — and the SavorOne card doesn’t have an annual fee.
Read our full SavorOne Cash Rewards card review
Instacart Mastercard® vs. DoorDash Rewards Mastercard®
Chase also offers the DoorDash Rewards Mastercard®.
Here’s what you can expect with that card:
- You get free DashPass for a year, which is a $96 value. If you spend $10,000 or more during each year, you get DashPass for free the next year too.
- You earn 4% cash back on Caviar and DoorDash purchases, 3% cash back on restaurant dining expenses, 2% cash back when shopping at grocery stores and 1% cash back on everything else.
- The fee structure and interest rates on this card are very similar to the Instacart Mastercard.
This may be an option if you want to earn some cash back but you’re more likely to order food from restaurants than get groceries delivered.
Read our full DoorDash Mastercard review
Is the Instacart Mastercard® right for me?
The Instacart Mastercard credit card may be a good choice if you get grocery delivery regularly enough to maximize cash-back rewards.
If you don’t frequently have food delivered or what you spend money on varies from month to month, a more general rewards card may be a better choice.
Here are a few options you may want to consider:
How to apply for the Instacart Mastercard®
You can learn more about the Instacart Mastercard® and apply online.
The application requires you to enter your full name, a residential address, contact information, and Social Security or tax ID number. This card does require a credit check. The Instacart Mastercard credit score requirements are for good or better credit, so you’re more likely to be approved if you have a score of 670 or higher.
