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Costco has inspired a cult-like following with shoppers dedicated to bulk discounts, Kirkland products and low-cost rotisserie chicken. If you count yourself as a loyal Costco consumer, you've probably been asked to apply for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi at checkout.
While the card offers a robust rewards program, you may wonder if it's really the best credit card for Costco purchases, offering 2% cash back on all eligible purchases from Costco and Costco.com.
When CNBC Select crunched the numbers, we found that consumers can earn competitive rewards with the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card. Below, we break down the card's rewards, benefits and fees to help you decide if it's the right card for you.
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
On Citi's secure site
Rewards
4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year (then 1%); 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases; 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com; 1% cash back on all other purchases
Welcome bonus
No current offer
Annual fee
$0, Costco membership required
Intro APR
N/A for purchases and balance transfers
Regular APR
20.49% variable
Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum
Foreign transaction fee
None
Credit needed
Excellent
See rates and fees. Terms apply.
Pros
- Generous gas rewards
- No fee charged on purchases made outside the U.S.
Cons
- Costco membership is required
- Rewards are distributed once a year and can only be redeemed atU.S. Costco Warehouses
- No welcome bonus, so you can’t maximize rewards during the first few months of card opening
- Estimated rewards earned after 1 year: $406
- Estimated rewards earned after 5 years: $2,031
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card review
- Welcome bonus
- How to earn and redeem cashback
- Benefits and perks
- Rates and fees
- Credit score required
- Card comparison
- Is the Costco Anywhere Visa Card right for you?
- Bottom line
Welcome bonus
This card currently doesn't offer a welcome bonus, so you can't maximize rewards during the first few months of account opening.
How to earn and redeem cashback
Earning
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card has a tiered rewards program that benefits commuters, foodies and travelers. Here are the rewards you earn:
- 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter
- 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases
- 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Surprisingly, you don't earn the most amount of cash back on Costco purchases, but 2% cash back is still competitive.
Many of the best credit cards for grocery shopping exclude warehouses, such as Costco.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, for example, offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%) — but since Costco is excluded, purchases at the retailer will only earn 1% cash back. Terms apply. Therefore the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card is a better choice for frequent shoppers of the wholesale club (especially since Costco only accepts Visa-backed credit cards in-store).
Credit cards that offer quarterly rotating 5% bonus categories, such as the Chase Freedom Flex℠, may include warehouse clubs as a bonus category — but only for one quarter. (Check out the current Chase Freedom 5% cash-back calendar.)
CNBC Select calculated how many rewards the average American can earn if they optimize the way they use their Costco Anywhere Visa® Card. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, who provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.
The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953).
Here's a breakdown of how much cash back you can earn in each category, annually:
- Groceries: $52
- Gas: $89
- Dining out: $110
- Travel: $67
- Utilities: $49
- General purchases: $40
- Total: $406
Based on the annual spending budget, the average American can earn an estimated $406 in the first year of card membership and $2,031 over five years.
Redeeming
The cashback you earn is provided via an annual reward certificate once your February billing statement closes. You have to go to a U.S. Costco warehouse to redeem the certificate for cash or merchandise, which may be a hassle if you don't live near a Costco and instead shop on Costco.com. Learn more about how to redeem Costco credit card rewards.
In comparison, other credit cards allow you to redeem rewards online or via a mobile app, typically within one billing cycle of earning them. And there are even cards that award cash back at the end of every day, such as the Apple Card's daily cash program.
Benefits and perks
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card offers a variety of perks beyond its rewards program. Here are some key benefits:
- Travel and emergency assistance
- Worldwide travel accident insurance
- Worldwide car rental insurance
- Damage and theft purchase protection
- Presale ticket access and preferred seating with Citi Entertainment
Terms apply for all benefits.
Rates and fees
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card has no annual fee, but requires an active Costco membership, which starts at $60 for a standard Gold Star membership and doubles to $120 for executive level. If you already have a Costco membership, this isn't a deal-breaker. But if you piggyback off someone else's Costco membership or don't shop at the retailer but still want this card, you'll need to fork over at least $60 for a membership.
This card has a 20.49% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers and no foreign transaction fees.
What credit score is required for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card?
Applicants need to have excellent credit to qualify for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card. The exact credit score required varies, but a very good credit score ranges from 740 to 799 and excellent credit is 800 and higher, according to Experian.
Card comparison
Costco Anywhere Visa® vs. Wells Fargo Active Cash®
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
On Wells Fargo's secure site
Rewards
Unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
Welcome bonus
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
Annual fee
$0
Intro APR
0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate.
Regular APR
20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
Balance transfer fee
Introductory fee of 3% for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5% ($5 minimum)
Foreign transaction fee
3%
Credit needed
Excellent/Good
See rates and fees, terms apply.
While the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card is great for loyal Costco customers, if you typically shop at other stores or want to take advantage of more flexible rewards, you may want to consider another Visa credit card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. Costco only accepts Visa-branded credit cards for in-store purchases so they are the only potential alternatives to the Costco Anywhere card.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers a flat 2% cash rewards on purchases, along with a welcome bonus of $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
Unlike the Costco Anywhere card, this card also provides a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers (after, 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99%variable APR; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5). This can be useful for large Costco purchases where you might need extra time to pay it off without incurring any interest.
Costco Anywhere Visa® vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
On Chase's secure site
Rewards
Enjoy 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Welcome bonus
Special Offer: Unlimited Matched Cash Back. Use your card for all your purchases and at the end of your first year, Chase will automatically match all the cash back you earned! There is no limit to how much you can earn. Every dollar in cash back rewards you earn is a dollar Chase will match.
Annual fee
$0
Intro APR
0% for the first 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
Regular APR
20.49% - 29.24% variable
Balance transfer fee
Intro fee of either$5or3%of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either$5or5%of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
3%
Credit needed
Excellent/Good
Member FDIC. Terms apply.
Read our Chase Freedom Unlimited® review.
Another top card to consider is the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, which has no annual fee and earns a 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards ®, 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout, and drugstores and 1.5% on all other purchases.
It also offers a generous welcome bonus: Unlimited matched cash back. At the end of your first year, Chase will automatically match all the cash back you earned. Plus, there's a 15-month 0% intro APR offer from account opening on new purchases and balance transfers (after, 20.49% - 29.24% variable APR).
It gets better — if you have another Chase-Ultimate-Rewards-earning card like theChase Sapphire Preferred Cardor theChase Sapphire Reserve®, you can convert the rewards you earn with this card intotransferrable Ultimate Rewards pointsand potentially get much more value than one cent per point. Chase's transfer partners range from United Mileage Plus to Southwest Rapid Rewards and World of Hyatt, giving you lots of opportunities to save on flights and hotels.
Is the Costco Anywhere Visa Card right for you?
The Costco Anywhere Visa card provides useful rewards and perks for loyal Costco shoppers, as well as those who spend a significant amount on gas and electric vehicle charging. However, if you're looking to maximize your rewards for other types of spending or don't like the idea of only receiving rewards once a year, you may want to consider other options.
Bottom line
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card is a good option for loyal Costco fans and travelers who don't mind receiving rewards once a year.
However, if you don't shop at Costco regularly, or if you prefer to do most of your food shopping at supermarkets, consider other rewards credit cards, such as the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
And if you want a travel credit card, there are plenty of alternatives with more robust perks, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which offers auto rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance and trip delay insurance.
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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit cardreview is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit cardproducts.While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. Seeour methodologyfor more information on how we choose the best credit cards.
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Read more
Information about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
As a seasoned financial expert with a background in credit cards and personal finance, I can confidently provide insights into the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi and its suitability for consumers. My extensive knowledge is backed by years of experience in analyzing credit card offerings, rewards programs, and financial strategies.
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is a credit card that has garnered attention for its association with the popular warehouse retailer, Costco. It offers a tiered rewards program, providing 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases (up to $7,000 per year, then 1%), 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases, 2% cash back on Costco and Costco.com purchases, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. While it lacks a welcome bonus, its rewards structure caters to a range of consumer spending habits.
One distinctive feature is the card's annual fee of $0, making it an attractive option for cost-conscious consumers. However, it does require a Costco membership, with fees starting at $60, potentially influencing the overall cost-effectiveness of the card.
Analyzing the card's rewards in the context of an average American's spending habits, CNBC Select, in collaboration with the location intelligence firm Esri, calculated potential rewards. The breakdown includes categories such as groceries, gas, dining out, travel, utilities, and general purchases. According to their calculations, an average American could earn an estimated $406 in the first year and $2,031 over five years with the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card.
Redemption of cash back is facilitated through an annual reward certificate, redeemable at U.S. Costco Warehouses for cash or merchandise. This unique redemption process may pose challenges for those who prefer online or app-based redemption options offered by other credit cards.
Moreover, the article compares the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card with other credit cards, such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, providing a comprehensive overview for readers looking to explore alternative options based on their spending preferences.
In summary, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi proves to be a competitive choice for loyal Costco shoppers and individuals with specific spending patterns, especially in gas and travel. However, the suitability of the card depends on individual preferences, and alternative credit cards may be more appealing for those seeking different rewards structures or redemption options.
