MCC 5309 covers DUTY FREE STORE merchants, classified under retail. To maximize rewards at these businesses, look for credit cards with broad spending bonuses or retail category multipliers. MCC Lookup Tool to find which cards earn bonus rewards here.
Duty Free Americas and The Loop Duty Free are examples of businesses with MCC 5309. Purchases made at these stores while traveling internationally for items like alcohol, tobacco, perfume, and luxury goods qualify.
Cardholders often assume regular retail purchases count here but only international duty-free store transactions coded as MCC 5309 earn rewards.
MCC 5309 stands for Duty Free Store. It is a four-digit Merchant Category Code used by payment networks to classify businesses in the retail category.
Merchants classified under MCC 5309 (Duty Free Store) operate in the retail sector. Card networks assign this code during merchant onboarding based on the primary business activity.
MCC 5309 (Duty Free Store) is not currently a dedicated bonus category for most major credit cards. For retail spending at these merchants, a flat-rate rewards card (1.5–2% on all purchases) is typically your most reliable option. Use our MCC Lookup Tool to find the best card for any specific merchant.
Currently, no credit cards in our database have a dedicated bonus category for MCC 5309 (Duty Free Store). Most purchases posting with this code will earn base rewards (typically 1–1.5x on everyday cards). A flat-rate cashback card is the most predictable choice for retail spending.
MCC 5309 is assigned to businesses providing duty free store services. While this is a less common merchant category, any purchase that posts with code 5309 will be classified as 'Duty Free Store' by your card issuer, which determines whether retail category bonuses apply to that transaction.
MCC 5309 (Duty Free Store) and MCC 5013 (Motor vehicle supplies and new parts) are both in the retail category but cover distinct merchant types. MCC 5309 is used for duty free store businesses, while MCC 5013 is assigned to motor vehicle supplies and new parts merchants. Both may qualify for the same bonus category on your card — check your card's terms or use our MCC Lookup Tool to confirm.