Costco and Citi have released their new co-branded Costco Visa card, which will be dubbed as the ‘Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi‘ – and there are some notable cash back reward improvements! The new card, of course, replaces the retired TrueEarnings Costco American Express card. This article will compare the Costco Anywhere Visa to the old Costco AmEx card, detail the cash back rewards and benefits, and help you determine if the card is worth adding to your wallet.
The Costco Anywhere Visa has Better Cash Back Rewards than the Old TrueEarnings Costco American Express Card
As I originally had speculated, the new Costco Anywhere Visa Card has cash back rewards earnings benefits that exceed the old Costco card. And, unexpectedly, it does so in almost every category (1% on everything else is the same).
| Reward Category: | Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi cash back rewards: | TrueEarnings Costco American Express cash back rewards: |
|---|---|---|
| Gas | 4% back on gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations (on up to $7,000 spent per year), then 1% | 3% back on gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations (on up to $4,000 spent per year), then 1% |
| Restaurants & Travel | 3% back on restaurants and most travel purchases | 2% back on restaurants and most travel purchases |
| Costco | 2% back at Costco and Costco.com | 1% back at Costco and Costco.com |
| Everything Else | 1% back on everything else | 1% back on everything else |
Update: the Costco Visa Card launched 2 upgrades in 2025 to its cash back rewards – 5% cash back on Costco gas and 4% cash back on EV charging (with zero downsides). Here is the new rewards structure, as of 1/19/25:
| Reward Category: | (Pre-2025 Upgrade) Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi cash back rewards: | (Post-2025 Upgrade) Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi cash back rewards: |
|---|---|---|
| Gas | 4% cash back on gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations (on up to $7,000 spent per year), and then 1% thereafter | Earn 5% cash back on gas at Costco and 4% cash back on other eligible gas and electric vehicle (EV) charging. The 5% and 4% earn is on a combined $7,000 spend per year, and then 1% thereafter. |
| Restaurants & Travel | 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel, including Costco Travel | 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel, including Costco Travel |
| Costco | 2% cash back on all purchases from Costco and Costco.com | 2% cash back on all purchases from Costco and Costco.com |
| Everything Else | 1% cash back on all other purchases | 1% cash back on all other purchases |
Overall, the 2% cash back at Costco and on Costco.com makes a lot of sense, and it is what I was hoping for prior to the incorrect leak showing it at 1%. This alone makes the Costco Anywhere Visa one of the best credit cards for Costco purchases. There are other Visa cards that pay more than 1% cash back on all purchases and since Costco will be accepting all Visa cards, it would not have made sense for their own branded card to offer less cash back than non-Costco branded cards already in the market.
If you spend a few thousands dollars per year at Costco, as I do, the increase is not insignificant. The (now) 5% cash back at Costco gas stations (and 4% at other gas stations) up to $7,000 per year (1% after), and 3% at restaurants and on travel are also significant and help make the Costco Anywhere Visa worth getting, in my view. As with the old AmEx, rewards will be sent in the form of an annual check redeemable in store.
Sadly, the extended warranty that the Costco Visa card added ended in January of 2023.
Do these enhancements to the new card make you a happy Costco member? If not, check out Costco’s gas prices or Costco’s alcohol prices. ;-)
Update: I wrote an article on how to run the numbers on whether a Costco membership (and Executive Upgrade) is worth the cost. With this no annual fee card, it’s hard not to find the value to justify at least the base membership.
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That’s a very attractive card for people who drive, eat out, and travel frequently and are members at Costco. I currently have one cash back credit card that earns me 1% back on all purchases.
In the future, I may get another rewards credit card – probably for travel.
If you’re just going to do one card, you can do better. There are several 2% everywhere cards on the market now, the best (in my opinion) being the Citi Doublecash. 100% more cashback than you’re getting right now.
The rewards back percentages are incorrect as the rates mentioned for the Citi card are for the Small Business loyalty program. The consumer loyalty program by Citi are the same rates offered by American Express. Please look at the SEC filing again and look under “Consumer Card Loyalty Program (Cash Rebate portion only”.
I just received a mailer from Citi that confirms the numbers presented in this article and positioned the Anywhere card as the replacement for my AmEx. So, it’s very possible that there was a change and there are new SEC filings. I guess we’ll find out for sure in May.
Ireceived new Costco Visa Card thank you
That,s a very attactive Card for people who drive eat out travel and are members at Costco.
This is nonsense….just do what it says, “setup Costco” card………
…..and silence prevails….. I will leave now, never to bother you again…..
All I want to do is setup my citi card for Costco, nothing else, without downloading stuff or more stuff….Peter Blanchard
The switch appears to be working very well. May it continue.
I already made a comment and one is enough!
Here is a query, the answer to which I cannot find anyplace: I have a balance on my AmEx/Costco card. Does that get transferred to Citi, and does it include the rebate? Also, what if I do not want to deal with Citi. How can I retain my rebate? If I take out a different card, transfer my old AmEx balance to it, and avoid using the new Citi card altogether, will I still get my rebate in February? I think the whole thing is a sham, and I will not use the new card or shop at Costco anymore, but I don’t know how I can keep my rebate.
What is the name of the App for this new card? I already
Have a Citi Card and I cannot log on that app so where
is the new App to check new charges.
I enroll as Costco instructed so where do I now find whatever
I enrolled into , this is way to complicated should be
pretty straight forward am very computer literate
It’s impossible to get technical support. You get put on hold forever. I spent 3 days on hold and even went to a CITI branch and the same thing happens to them (3 hours ). I can’t set up an account even though I have an activated COSTCO card. They say I can’t change my password because they don’t have my security questions. Well, you have to log on to give them security questions I’m cutting it up as I can’t use it with online banking. What a bunch of crap. COSTCO, do your homework. This bank is a joke. The one time I actually got a person, in India, he transferred me to the same BS line. I waited 30 minutes but no more. Don’t waste your time.
I do not have the new Costco city cards yet I have called as instructed and get the runaround. This is B S what is wrong with Costco?
Is there a annual limit to the amount of earnings you receive in the Costco Cash Rewards Program