For a while now, we’ve known that a new Costco Credit Card from Citi would replace the existing TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express. But on Thursday, a sharp-eyed Nerd noticed that the terms of the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi has been posted on Citi’s Website. They’re much more better than we expected. Before we get into detail of the card, we also want to mention that Costco now accepts all Visa Credit Cards, not just the Costco Anywhere Visa Card!
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High Rewards Rates
An SEC filing in early 2015 promised that the new card would offer 3% cash back on gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations (up to $4,000 spent per year), also 2% cash back on travel and restaurants. This made the new card a reasonable competitor for other cash-back cards like the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express. We are also excited to report that the new rewards rates are even higher, and so are the spending limits for gas purchases:
- 4% back on gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations (up to $7,000 spend a year)
- 3% back on restaurants and most travel purchases
- 2% back at Costco and Costco.com
- 1% back on everything else
These rates make this one of the best cash-back credit cards out there, as long as you don’t mind maintaining a Costco membership and redeeming your rewards at a Costco Store. (The new card’s annual fee is 0, but the basic Costco membership start at $55 a year.)
TrueEarnings & AMEX Cardholders
More than a year ago, Costco announced that Citi was acquiring the entire portfolio on TrueEarnings Card from Costco and AMEX accounts. But Citi hasn’t been clear about whether it would perform a credit inquiry before sending new cards to existing cardholders. It is now confirmed that it will not pull cardholder’s credit.
This is significant because it can ding your credit score slightly when a credit card issuer pulls your credit. Many Costco fans were concerned that their credit would take a hit when the wholesale giant shifted its co-branded credit card from AMEX to Citi.
The timeline of the shift has also become clearer. If you got a TrueEarnings Card from Costco and AMEX in your wallet, a new Citi Card will be mailed to you in May. You can continue to use the AMEX version of the card until 6/19/2016, much later than the March 31 date that has been floated in the past.
Final Verdict:
If you spend a lot of gas, restaurants, and travel, then the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi has great rewards! The only question is whether you mind redeeming your rewards at Costco. This card is kind of an anomaly, it isn’t exactly a store credit card in the traditional sense because you can earn rewards at any store that accepts a Visa. But you do have to redeem those rewards at Costco for merchandise or cash and maintain your club membership. This means the company is ensuring you’ll be a loyal shopper if you apply for a credit card. If you are already a Costco member, you really can’t get wrong with the Costco Anywhere Visa Card By Citi. If you are not a member yet, this card should be enough to make you reconsider. If this card isn’t for you, then check out our full list of credit card bonus promotions.