The fastest way to find a merchant category code (MCC) is to look at a past purchase from that merchant in your card account, where most issuers show the category they assigned. If you need the actual four-digit code, call the number on your card and ask, try a lookup tool such as the Visa Supplier Locator or AwardWallet’s merchant lookup, or make a small test purchase and see how it posts.
The code matters because it decides whether a purchase earns your card’s bonus rate or its 1% base rate.
What is a merchant category code? #
An MCC is a four-digit number that classifies what kind of business a merchant is. The codes follow an international standard (ISO 18245), and the merchant’s payment processor assigns one when the merchant starts accepting cards.
Your card issuer never sees your receipt. It sees the merchant name, the amount and the MCC. When a card promises 3x on dining, the issuer’s system checks whether the MCC falls in its list of restaurant codes. A coffee shop that registered as a bakery or a food store may earn only 1% on a dining card.
Issuers also add their own rules on top of the codes. A big-box store can transmit a grocery code and still be excluded by name, which is why many cards spell out that Walmart and Target don’t count as grocery stores. We cover that in what counts as a grocery store for credit cards.
Which MCCs matter most for rewards? #
| MCC | Category | Common reward bucket |
|---|---|---|
| 5411 | Grocery stores and supermarkets | Groceries |
| 5300 | Wholesale clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s) | Rarely groceries; sometimes its own category |
| 5310 | Discount stores | Usually excluded from groceries |
| 5812 | Restaurants | Dining |
| 5814 | Fast food | Dining |
| 5541, 5542 | Service stations and fuel dispensers | Gas |
| 4111 | Local and commuter transportation | Transit |
| 4121 | Taxis and rideshare | Transit or travel, depending on the card |
| 5499 | Convenience and specialty food stores | Often not groceries |
| 5462 | Bakeries | Often not dining |
| 5921 | Package stores (beer, wine, liquor) | Usually not groceries |
| 4899 | Cable, satellite and pay TV | Sometimes streaming, sometimes utilities |
Each issuer decides which codes land in which bucket, and those lists change, so treat the table as a starting point rather than a guarantee.
How do you find the MCC for a past purchase? #
Most issuers don’t print the four-digit code on your statement. What they show is the category label they mapped it to, like “Groceries” or “Food & Drink.”
- Open the transaction in your issuer’s app or website.
- Look for a category line or merchant details. That label tells you which reward bucket the purchase fell into, which is usually what you actually need to know.
- If the reward rate on the transaction looks wrong, call customer service. Representatives can often see the raw MCC and will read it to you.
Checking the rewards line on the transaction also works. If the purchase earned 3x, it coded as a bonus category, whatever the label says.
How do you look up an MCC before you buy? #
This matters most for large purchases, such as a contractor, a wedding venue or a year of tuition, where the difference between 1% and 3% is real money.
The Visa Supplier Locator #
Visa runs a free Supplier Locator that lets you search businesses that accept Visa and shows their MCC. It was built for companies paying suppliers, so small shops and online-only merchants may be missing, but it’s a good first stop for established businesses. Search by business name and location.
AwardWallet’s merchant lookup #
AwardWallet’s merchant lookup is crowdsourced from its users’ transactions. It’s handy for online merchants that don’t show up in Visa’s tool. Because the data comes from other people’s purchases, a merchant with several locations or several payment setups can show more than one result.
A small test purchase #
When nothing else works, buy something small, wait for it to post (not just show as pending), and check the category and rewards. If it coded the way you hoped, go ahead with the big purchase.
Why can the same store code differently? #
A merchant can run more than one merchant account. A hotel’s restaurant may code as dining while the front desk codes as lodging. A store’s website may use a different processor than its registers. Payments that go through a third party, such as PayPal or a delivery app, can pick up that company’s code instead of the store’s.
American Express also classifies merchants in its own system, so an Amex category won’t always match what a Visa or Mastercard issuer sees. When a purchase is big enough to matter, test with the card you plan to use.
Mobile wallets don’t change the code. Paying with Apple Pay or Google Pay passes the merchant’s normal MCC through, though a few cards add a separate bonus for wallet payments on top.
Put what you learn to work at the register #
Knowing that the corner market codes as a convenience store is only useful if you remember it when you’re paying. Credit Card Central has a Which Card? screen that ranks the cards you own for dining, groceries, gas, travel, streaming or everything else, using the reward rates you’ve entered. When you find a merchant that codes oddly, add it to that card’s notes (“Costco codes as wholesale club: 1% here”), and the app’s search will find it next time.
If you play rotating 5% categories, the codes decide every quarter’s payout. See how to maximize 5% rotating category cards, and for a worked example of a merchant that breaks most grocery cards, the best credit card to use at Costco.
Frequently asked questions #
Can a merchant’s MCC change? #
Yes. A merchant that switches processors, changes its point-of-sale system or reclassifies its business can end up with a new code. If a store that used to earn your bonus suddenly earns 1%, a code change is the likely reason.
What can I do if a purchase coded wrong? #
Issuers rely on the code the merchant sends and rarely change it. For a large purchase, it’s still worth calling to explain and asking for a courtesy points adjustment. Some will say yes, and many won’t.
Does Apple Pay or Google Pay change the merchant category? #
No. The merchant’s MCC passes through a mobile wallet unchanged, so you earn the same category rate you’d earn with the physical card.
Is the MCC printed on my statement? #
Usually not. Most statements show only a category label. Customer service can often read you the actual code, and lookup tools can fill in the gaps before you buy.