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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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The information related to Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
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The information related to Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
You can use both of the Costco cards anywhere Visa is accepted, which is pretty much everywhere.
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).
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.)
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.
You can read more about these benefits, including all the nitty-gritty details and how to make use of them, in the Guide to Benefits for your card:
Card | Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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Costco Anywhere Visa | 16.74% (Variable) | 16.74% (Variable) | 26.74% (Variable) |
Costco Anywhere Visa Business | 17.49% Variable | N/A | 24.24% Variable |
Card | Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee | Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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Costco Anywhere Visa | $0 | 0% | 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%, $10 minimum |
Card | Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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Costco Anywhere Visa | Up to 29.99% Variable | Up to $39 | Up to $39 |
Costco Anywhere Visa Business | Up to 29.99% Variable | Up to $37 | Up to $37 |
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).
Check the official terms and conditions of these cards here:
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.
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The information related to Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
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The information related to Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
As mentioned above, Costco only accepts Visa credit cards, which limits your options quite a bit. But you still have some good choices for Costco shopping, and there are other grocery and gas cards for shopping elsewhere. All of these cards offer 0% intro APRs as well.
Use this cash back card to earn 1.5% back everywhere, including at Costco. It’s more flexible than the Costco card (offering the same rate everywhere) and you don’t need to wait til after February to get your rewards.
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Read more in our Review of the Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card.
The Chase Freedom® (Review) is a Visa, so you can use it at Costco.
It’s like the Freedom Unlimited card above, but you’ll earn 5% cash back in categories that change every three months. The categories are published shortly before they’re active, so we’re not yet sure if Costco will be included in 2019; but wholesale clubs were included from October through December of 2018, and in prior years, so it’s possible they’ll show up again.
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Quarter | 5% Cash Back Category |
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2018: October – December | Department Stores, Wholesale Clubs, Chase Pay |
2019: January – March | Gas Stations, Tolls, Drugstores |
2019: April – June | Grocery Stores, Home Improvement Stores |
2019: July – September | Gas Stations, Streaming Services (includes Netflix, Hulu, Sling, Vudu, FuboTV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora and Spotify) |
Read more in our Chase Freedom Review – Cash Back Reward Credit Card.
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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.
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Read more in our Review of the Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card.
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American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
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.
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Read more in our Review of the American Express Blue Cash Everyday® and Blue Cash Preferred® Cards.
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The information related to Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
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The information related to Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
Was this review helpful to you? Go ahead and share it with a friend! And if you use one of these cards, leave your own review of the Costco Anywhere Visa or the Costco Anywhere Visa Business, we’d love to hear from you!
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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