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It’s easy to poke fun at Costco’s larger-than-life products and incredible return policy — watch this.
Are there any other one-stop shops where you can buy a pair of pants, check prices on grand pianos, and book a vacation? Do you need a wheel of cheese so big you could use it as a spare tire? And where else can you return an empty bottle of wine?
But the Costco credit cards are no joke:
They’re better than most store cards: more rewarding, more useful outside the co-branded store, and backed by a more reliable issuer (Citibank). This makes them good for everyday spending — again, unlike most store cards.
The main focus is the gas bonus category — you’ll enjoy one of the best rates available on any credit card. The other bonus categories are a bit less impressive, although they’re still pretty competitive and nothing to sneeze at (but you can get big boxes of Kleenex at Costco, just in case).
These cards are only available to Costco members, where they’ll serve as your member ID. They provide a rewards program that starts and ends at Costco, for the most part: Use your card at Costco (or anywhere else) to earn cash back, and then use your rewards for more Costco purchases. Rinse and repeat.
If you’re already a Costco member, you have plenty of good reasons to get a Costco credit card (unless you’re already earning better rewards through other cards).
The savings are enormous. Image credit: Random meme-makers
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You can use both of the Costco cards anywhere Visa is accepted, which is pretty much everywhere.
Costco began accepting Visa credit cards exclusively in 2016 — Mastercard, American Express, and Discover credit cards are not currently accepted. This only applies to credit cards, however; all debit and prepaid cards will be accepted. Before 2016, Costco only accepted Amex credit cards.
We give the Costco Anywhere Visa credit cards 5 out of 5 Stars — and if you know us, that’s pretty rare for store credit cards.
Both of the Costco Anywhere Visa cards have the same rewards program for earning and redeeming cash back.
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Here we see one downside of these cards: There’s no signup bonus, at least when applying online. If you apply in-store you may be offered a rotisserie chicken or five gallon bucket, which is pretty meager compared to most signup bonus offers but might be nice if you didn’t have dinner plans. Costco Executive members may be offered in-store bonuses as well.
As for the rewards: These are some great rates, especially for anyone who travels frequently, but there are a couple important limitations to keep in mind about the gas category.
First, the 4% rate is limited to $7,000 in spending per year (≈$583 per month), so you can earn up to $280 cash back per year at that rate. Keep an eye on your spending so you can switch to a different gas credit card if you hit the limit.
Second, the 4% rate does not apply to gas purchased for non-automobile purposes, or gas purchased at:
So you’re a bit limited in where you can fill up, but if you’re going to Costco regularly that shouldn’t be much of a problem (gas is often cheaper there, too). And these restrictions aren’t quite as restrictive as they may seem at first glance. Pretty much every gas station includes a convenience store, but this doesn’t actually mean your purchases will be coded as “convenience store” — in many of those cases you’ll still get 4% back on gas.
Many people have reported that their gas purchases earned 4% back, even when they bought gas at supermarkets like Kroger (check the comments in that thread, not just the initial post). But others have said gas purchases from Kroger did not earn 4% back. This might be confusing, but it’s because Kroger stores aren’t all categorized in the same way — and this is true for every retail brand. Some specific store locations could be categorized one way, while other locations are categorized differently.
You can assume that many fuel pumps will qualify, like those at big gas station brands, but you may want to test with a small purchase before buying a lot of gas. You may also find that, in some cases, when you pay at the pump it will be categorized as a gas station, but when you pay inside it will be categorized differently.
If you’d like to do some research before going out, you can check Visa’s Supplier Locator tool. Search for the specific merchant in question (including location), and if it’s listed you’ll be able to see how it’s categorized. Overall, you’ll probably find that you can get 4% back on gas at more merchants than the terms would imply.
The eligible travel purchases include airfare, hotels, car rentals, and travel agencies, as well as Costco Travel purchases.
There are a lot of credit cards for buying groceries, but they usually don’t count wholesale clubs like Costco as a grocery store. This makes the Costco cards all the more valuable, as they’re some of the best ways to get more than 1% cash back at Costco (especially with the Visa credit card limitation).
If you have a Gold Star Executive or Business Executive membership at Costco, you’ll earn 2% cash back on eligible Costco purchases (up to $1,000 in rewards per year). Those rewards will be in addition to any rewards you earn from a Costco Anywhere Visa Card. So, if you have a card and one of those memberships, you would effectively earn 4% cash back on eligible Costco purchases.
The rewards you earn with these cards will be provided in the form of Costco Cash Rewards certificates. Here’s everything you need to know about redeeming:
You can learn more about how to view and redeem your rewards here.
Costco Cash Rewards Certificate. Image credit: Citi
This rewards program is a bit unusual, with just a single disbursement per year. This could easily be seen as a downside. Who wants to wait? Indeed, some card issuers allow you to redeem as much as you want, whenever you want.
But it’s not necessarily a bad thing — you’re not going to get rich from credit card rewards. In a way, this could be a load off your mind. Instead of obsessing over cashing in each month, counting the nickels as they add up and checking back to see if they’re ready to redeem, you can just forget about it until after February. Then you might be in for a nice surprise, which could pay for groceries for a month or so. (Just don’t forget to keep track of the $7,000 spending limit on gas.)
If you’re planning on cancelling your Costco membership, you should probably wait until after February so you can cash in your rewards.
The Costco cards are a bit below average when it comes to their extra benefits. You’ll get a small set of protections to help cover your purchases, and that’s about it.
The shopping protections will help for any eligible items you buy — including Costco purchases.
The consumer card and the business card offer basically the same sets of benefits, outlined below.
In addition to the benefits above, each card comes with the Citi Private Pass perk, which provides access to exclusive tickets for sports, music, and dining.
Card | Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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Costco Anywhere Visa | 15.24% (Variable) | 15.24% (Variable) | 25.24% (Variable) |
Costco Anywhere Visa Business | 15.24% (Variable) | N/A | 25.24% (Variable) |
Card | Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee | Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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Costco Anywhere Visa | $0 (Costco membership required) | None | 3% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum | 5% of each cash advance; $10 minimum |
Costco Anywhere Visa Business | $0 (Costco membership required) | None | N/A | 5% of each cash advance; $10 minimum |
Card | Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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Costco Anywhere Visa | Up to 29.99% (Variable) | Up to $40 | Up to $40 |
Costco Anywhere Visa Business | Up to 29.99% (Variable) | $39 | $39 |
There’s only one significant difference to note here: The regular consumer card allows balance transfers, while the business card does not. But the consumer card isn’t very good for balance transfers — if that’s what you need, check out the Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards.
These cards have no annual fees, but you’ll need a Costco membership to qualify for them. That starts at $60 for a basic Gold Star membership, while a Gold Star Executive membership costs $120. Business memberships are also available, at the same prices.
You don’t need a Costco business membership to qualify for the Costco business card; you just need to be a member of any kind.
If you’re the Primary Member on your Costco membership, the membership fee will automatically be billed to your Costco credit card every year (unless you specify a different payment method).
If you’re already paying for a Costco membership, it shouldn’t be hard to decide whether to apply for one of these cards or not.
Take a look at your receipts for the past few months, and any rewards you earned from credit cards — how would things be different with a Costco card? Would you earn more in rewards, or less?
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi will work for regular consumers, while the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi could be a good fit for small business owners. But just because you have a business, that doesn’t mean you need to get the business version — you may opt for the consumer version if you want those slightly different features.
If you’re not a Costco member, it probably wouldn’t make sense to become one just to qualify for one of these cards — unless you also plan to start shopping at Costco. There are plenty of other great cash back credit cards for everyday spending to choose from, in any case.
Maybe you were wondering if a Costco membership would be worth it — how do those calculations change when you throw a Costco credit card in the mix? That extra cash back should sweeten the pot a bit.
Keep reading to learn how to apply for these cards, and to see some other credit card alternatives — some for shopping at Costco, and some for shopping elsewhere.
To apply for either card, just click the appropriate Apply Now button below.
Most applicants will receive an instant decision, either approved or denied. In some cases the decision could take a bit longer, and Citi may request more information from you. If you’re denied, you’ll receive an adverse action letter explaining why.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Review) provides 5% cash back on Lyft rides (through March 2022) and travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You’ll earn 1.5% cash back for all other purchases.
That flat rate includes Costco, of course, so you’ll still earn at a decent rate when you shop there. It’s a more flexible option than the Costco cards (offering the same rate everywhere) and you don’t need to wait till after February to get your rewards.
There’s also a long 0% intro APR for purchases, unlike the Costco cards.
You don’t need to pick just one — you could always combine the Chase card with either of the Costco cards. Use a Costco card while you’re at the club store, and for gas, travel, and dining, and then use the Freedom Unlimited for Lyft rides and all other purchases.
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The Chase Freedom Flex℠ (Review) is a Mastercard, so you can’t use it at Costco.
It’s like the Freedom Unlimited above, but you’ll earn 5% cash back in categories that change every three months, along with some others. The categories are published shortly before they’re active, so we’re not yet sure if Costco will be included in 2020; but wholesale clubs were included from October through December of 2018, and in prior years, so it’s possible they’ll show up again.
You’ll get a few more protections here than with the Costco cards, which could help in a pinch, along with a solid 0% rate for purchases.
Rather than just picking one or the other, you could use either of the Costco cards in addition to the Chase card. Use the Freedom Flex whenever you’ll earn 5% cash back, and the Costco when you’ll earn more in its bonus categories.
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The Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card (Review) is a Mastercard, so you can’t use it at Costco. But it does have a handy 2% category for grocery stores and wholesale clubs, making it useful for groceries and other clubs like Sam’s Club and BJ’s.
You’ll also get to pick your own 3% category every month, from a selection of choices — we recommend using this to get an above-average rate for online shopping, but you can adjust it to fit your spending habits. It provides a bit more flexibility compared to the Costco cards. However, you can only choose one category each month, and the Costco cards’ categories are always active. So you’re still somewhat restricted in where you can earn and you have to pay a little more attention.
The Bank of America card provides a few more benefits than the Costco cards, some of which are pretty useful. You’ll be able to monitor your FICO Score 8 credit score, based on your TransUnion credit report, and get a few travel protections.
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The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Review) is a bit different than the others in this post, because its main course blends groceries and streaming services with a side of gas. If you don’t usually shop at wholesale clubs, or you have a different card for clubs, this could be an excellent pick because you’ll get an industry-leading rate at U.S. supermarkets.
It’s issued by American Express, so the Blue Cash Preferred is not accepted at Costco.
These cards don’t have the largest selections of benefits, but you’re not getting these cards for benefits. You want to reap the rewards, and it’s hard to beat the Blue Cash Preferred for that.
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American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
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Check out our picks for the Best Store Credit Cards for shopping at specific merchants, and our picks for the Best Rewards Cards in general.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please click here.
The Costco Anywhere credit cards are excellent for avid Costco shoppers. They offer 2% back on purchases from Costco and Costco.com, plus surprisingly good reward rates on gas, restaurants, and travel.
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