Costco Citi Card Login: Is the Card for You?

Costco memberships provide significant value to both families and small businesses, and the annual premium is well worth it in most cases. The capacity to purchase big amounts of products at once and save money while doing so is particularly valuable in the current economic environment. When it comes to accepting credit cards, Costco Warehouse Club is unique in that it does not take every form of a card.

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Mastercard and American Express are not accepted in-store, therefore if you plan to use a credit card, it must be from the Visa network. The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi* is made available through a partnership between Costco and Citibank. The Citi Costco credit card provides you with benefits that are exclusive to Costco services and products, so if you spend a lot of time or money at your local Costco, this card may be a good fit for you.

Rewards

Earning Rewards

This card is only for people who belong to Costco. It gives them 4 percent cash back on eligible gas for the first $7,000 a year and then 1 percent after that. It also gives them 3 percent cash back on restaurants or eligible travel purchases, and 2 percent cash back on all other purchases from the store. If a gas station is called a “gas station” by Visa, Citi and Costco said it is eligible for gas. “There are some purchases that don’t qualify for the Rewards Program.”

In order to earn cashback, you can only buy gas at Costco or other Costco-affiliated stores. You can only get 1 percent cashback, not 4 percent if you buy gas at other stores. To get cashback at a gas station that Visa calls a convenience store, you have to go there. The Costco Card gives you more cashback when you spend money at restaurants and on certain travel. They include plane tickets and car rentals as well as cruise lines and Costco Travel purchases.

Hotels and travel agencies are also good places to get extra cashback for these types of purchases. You can only get 1% back on travel purchases that aren’t eligible for extra cashback. This includes things like timeshares, campgrounds, bed and breakfasts, trains, and other types of commuter transport. People who work at bakeries, restaurants, and cafes in department stores and warehouse clubs will only get paid 1% of the money they make.

For your trips to Costco and Costco.com, the Citi Costco Visa Card will earn you 2% back. To get cashback on all other purchases, the card will get 1% cashback.

Redeeming Rewards

A big problem with the Costco Anywhere Visa is that it takes a lot of time to redeem your rewards. After you get your February bill, you have until December 31 to use the cash rewards you earned last year. Between March and December of 2022, if you earned cashback in 2021, you could use it.

Your money will be sent to you in the form of a certificate that you can use to get money at your local Costco store. As soon as you stop being a member of Costco, the card is automatically canceled. Make sure to think about this before you decide to cancel either your Costco membership or your Costco Visa. This means that you will lose your cash-back rewards.

Other Card Benefits

Costco Citi card benefits
Costco Citi card benefits

The card offers standard Visa perks such as:

  • Enroll in Norton LifeLock’s free ID Navigator Identity Theft Protections to get credit monitoring and assistance if your identity is stolen.
  • Cardholder Services: You can reach a Visa representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • Help with a Stolen Card: You can report a lost or stolen card 24/7. Visa will work with you and your issuing bank to locate your account, issue a replacement card, and/or arrange an emergency cash release.

Fine Print

Interest Rates

  • Regular APR: 15.49% variable
  • Purchase Intro APR: N/A
  • Balance Transfer Intro APR: N/A

Fees

  • Annual Fee: $0
  • Balance Transfer Fee: Either 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
  • Cash Advance: 5% of each cash advance; $10 minimum
  • Foreign Purchase Transaction Fee: None

Is the Card for You?

The Costco Anywhere Visa card is great for frequent Costco shoppers. Most competitive cash-back rates on Costco petrol and in-store and online purchases.

In addition, you can only redeem your awards once each year. Most people will gain by taking their money as soon as possible. That annual reward certificate is also lost if you close the card or quit your Costco membership before it is provided.

The card also doesn’t work well for commuters because it doesn’t offer bonus categories for transportation-related services other than gas purchases. So the Costco credit card is probably not the best pick for extra points on trains, ferries, and buses. Consider where you buy to see if you can get the highest rewards on non-Costco items.

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Our Verdict on Costco Citi Card

The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi*, from our partner, Citi, could stand on its own as a top-tier cash-back credit card. With rewards of 4 percent cash back on eligible gas for the first $7,000 per year and then 1 percent thereafter, 3 percent cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases, 2 percent cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com, and 1 percent cash back on all other purchases and no annual fee with your paid Costco membership, the card is ideal to use for both a Costco purchase and everyday spending.

However, there are two potential drawbacks: losing your Costco membership and all of your rewards. And rewards are only given once a year in February.