Quick shortlist — best choices for groceries & dining in Sri Lanka (as of Oct 22, 2025). I checked bank product pages and recent promotions; see sources after each card.

1. DFCC credit cards — top pick for guaranteed cashback (best for steady grocery + dining savings).

   • Why: DFCC guarantees a minimum 1% cashback on every transaction (credited monthly) and some premium DFCC cards (e.g., Pinnacle) give higher cashback on dining and utilities. Good when you want consistent, automatic cashback across supermarkets and restaurants (no need to chase offers). (uat1.dfcc.lk)

2. SampathCards (Sampath Bank) — best for supermarket partnerships & seasonal dining/supermarket deals.

   • Why: Sampath runs frequent large seasonal campaigns and has partner supermarket integration (real‑time points redemption at Keells, big Avurudu discounts, targeted supermarket/dining cashback or discount promos). Good if you shop at partner supermarkets/restaurants and want larger, periodic discounts. (colombogazette.com)

3. HNB credit cards — strong for dining and festival-season promotions.

   • Why: HNB runs large merchant campaigns (Avurudu and other seasonal promotions) that include supermarkets and dining with sizeable discounts or instalment offers. Best if you time spending to coincide with HNB merchant campaigns. (dailynews.lk)

4. Seylan Bank cards (and similar banks) — good for targeted supermarket cashback events.

   • Why: Seylan and other banks periodically run supermarket-specific cashback events (e.g., 10% supermarket cashback promos with caps). These are campaign-driven but can give big short-term savings at supermarkets like Keells, Glomark, Spar. Useful if you can use the card on promotion days. (seylan.lk)

How to pick the right card for groceries & dining

• If you want predictable, year‑round savings: pick DFCC (guaranteed 1% on all spends; some premium DFCC cards add extra % on dining). (uat1.dfcc.lk)
• If you shop mostly at one supermarket chain (Keells, Glomark, Spar) or at restaurants that run bank promos: check Sampath, HNB, Seylan partner offers — they often give much larger discounts during campaigns. (dailynews.lk)
• Watch caps & minimums: promotions often have minimum spend thresholds, monthly/statement caps, or “one transaction per card per day” rules. Always check the T&Cs before relying on a promotion. (seylan.lk)

Practical tips

• Check the bank’s “cards/offers” page before applying or spending — promos change frequently (seasonal campaigns give the biggest short-term upside). (dailynews.lk)
• Compare effective return (cashback % × how often the merchant appears in your spending) rather than headline % alone.
• Look at fees & minimums (annual fee, minimum monthly spend to qualify for cashback, maximum cashback per cycle). DFCC’s 1% requires a minimum LKR spend threshold to qualify — confirm current thresholds on the bank page. (uat1.dfcc.lk)

If you want, I can:

• Compare 3–4 specific cards (annual fee, caps, typical cashback on groceries/dining) — I’ll pull the latest tariff pages and promo details and present a direct side‑by‑side. (This requires fetching up‑to‑date bank pages; I can do that now.)