The Citi Costco Visa personal and business cards have finally launched. Here is our unbiased review of the cards (remember we don’t use affiliate links on credit cards!)
Contents
Card Basics
Citi isn’t changing the rewards structure on these cards at all from what American Express previously/currently offers. The cards will be as follows:
Personal
- No annual fee (you do need Costco membership though)
- No foreign transaction fee (beginning January 25, 2018)
- 4% on the first $7,000 of gas, 1% thereafter (includes Costco gas stations but excludes superstores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and warehouse club)
- 3% on travel and at US restaurants
- 2% on Costco purchases
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Business
- No annual fee (you do need Costco membership though)
- No foreign transaction fee (beginning January 25, 2018)
- 4% on the first $7,000 of gas, 1% thereafter (includes Costco gas stations but excludes superstores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and warehouse club)
- 3% on travel and at US restaurants
- 2% on Costco purchases
- 1% on all other purchases
Redeeming Rewards
As far as I know you can only redeem your rewards on an annual basis at Costco, the reward year starts in February and ends after twelve billing cycles.
Is This The Best Card For Costco Purchases?
This card earns 2% back for Costco purchases. At the moment several credit cards are earning at higher rates on warehouse club purchases, but starting next year I expect that to lessen. Of course there are other cards that earn 2%+ cash back on all purchases that might be worth considering. There are multiple other cards that earn at a high rate on gas purchases as well.
Our Verdict
Unless this card comes with a big sign up bonus (and I very much doubt it will) owning this card won’t make any sense what so ever. Â I have no doubt Citi will get a lot of people signing up for this card due to the strong Costco brand, but in reality you should be giving this card a wide berth.
