Short answer: The Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi is a strong option for an existing Costco member who spends heavily on eligible gas, restaurants or travel and is comfortable receiving rewards as a once-a-year Costco certificate. It is not automatically the best card for every Costco shopper. Your result depends on category spending, whether you would keep Costco membership anyway, and how useful warehouse-based redemption is to you.
The rates and terms below reflect Citi and Costco pages checked October 13, 2026. Card pricing, rewards language, membership fees and benefit terms can change, so verify the live disclosures before applying.
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Is the Costco Anywhere Visa Card the best card for Costco?
There is no universal winner. The card’s published reward schedule is unusually valuable in a few categories, but ordinary purchases earn only 1% and the rewards are delivered through an annual certificate rather than an automatic bank-account credit.
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It deserves serious consideration when most of your spending falls into Costco gas, other eligible gas or electric-vehicle charging, restaurants, eligible travel or Costco purchases. It is less compelling if you rarely use those categories, want flexible monthly cash back, or would join Costco only to obtain the card’s no-annual-fee condition.
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- Gift Cards are shipped active and ready for use.
- This card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Funds do not expire. If available funds remain on your card after the valid thru date has passed, please call customer service for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout. No fees after purchase.
- To access your card information safely, type the complete website address shown on your Gift Card (MyGift.GiftCardMall.com) directly into your browser's address bar. Don't use search engines or shortened versions of the website address, as these may lead you to fake or fraudulent sites. Do not provide any Gift Card details (example: Card Number) to someone you do not know or trust. If you believe you've reached an illegitimate website, contact cardholder service at 1-888-524-1283. Be cautious of phishing sites, there are a variety of scams in which fraudsters try to trick others into paying with gift cards.
- To report your Lost or Stolen Physical Visa Card, call Customer Service 24/7 at 1 (888) 524-1283 to cancel your Gift Card as soon as you can. You will be asked to provide the Gift Card number and other identifying information.
- Use your Visa Gift Card in the U.S. everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including online.
Citi and Costco describe the card as having no annual card fee with an active or paid Costco membership. That does not make the overall arrangement free: membership is an ongoing cost, and it should be included when you compare the card with alternatives.
Citi’s card page and Costco’s card page list the following rates and core terms.
Rewards rates and the $7,000 gas limit
| Purchase category | Published reward | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Gas purchased at Costco | 5% | Shares a $7,000 annual gas/EV spending threshold with the next category; spending above the threshold earns 1%. |
| Other eligible gasoline and EV charging | 4% | Shares the same $7,000 annual gas/EV threshold; spending above the threshold earns 1%. |
| Restaurants | 3% | Applies to eligible restaurant purchases under the card program’s terms. |
| Eligible travel, including Costco Travel | 3% | Only transactions that qualify as eligible travel receive the elevated rate. |
| Other Costco and Costco.com purchases | 2% | Applies to eligible Costco purchases that are not in a higher-rate category. |
| All other purchases | 1% | Base rate. |
The 5% and 4% gas categories are not separate unlimited buckets. They use one combined $7,000 annual threshold. If you spend $7,000 total across Costco gas, other eligible gas and eligible EV charging, the elevated rate applies only up to that combined amount. Subsequent spending in those categories earns 1%.
What the threshold means in dollars
If all $7,000 of qualifying gas and EV spending earns the higher rate, $7,000 at 5% would produce $350 in rewards, while $7,000 at 4% would produce $280. Those are illustrations of the published rates, not guarantees of a particular certificate value. Once the shared threshold is used, another $2,000 of qualifying gas or charging at 1% would add $20 rather than $80 or $100.
For a household that fills up at Costco and also charges an EV, combine both types of spending before estimating the return. Do not calculate 5% on $7,000 at Costco gas and then add a separate $7,000 4% allowance elsewhere.
The membership cost changes the card’s real price
The card has no separate annual card fee when you maintain an active or paid Costco membership, according to Citi and Costco. Neither source used here establishes a dated membership price, and the price can vary by membership level and change over time.
Use this test:
- You already need Costco: If you would retain membership for warehouse shopping regardless of the card, treat the card’s incremental annual fee as $0, then evaluate whether the reward certificate and benefits justify using it.
- You are joining mainly for the card: Count the full membership cost as part of the card’s effective annual cost. The rewards must exceed that additional cost before the arrangement is financially positive.
- You are deciding between membership levels: Keep the card calculation separate from any other Costco membership benefit. Do not assume a higher membership tier’s reward is part of the credit-card rate.
A simple break-even calculation is: annual rewards from the card minus any membership cost you would not otherwise pay. Use your own spending and the current membership price shown by Costco, rather than a generic estimate.
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Rank #2
- Gift Cards are shipped active and ready for use.
- This card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Funds do not expire. If available funds remain on your card after the valid thru date has passed, please call customer service for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout. No fees after purchase.
- To access your card information safely, type the complete website address shown on your Gift Card (MyGift.GiftCardMall.com) directly into your browser's address bar. Don't use search engines or shortened versions of the website address, as these may lead you to fake or fraudulent sites. Do not provide any Gift Card details (example: Card Number) to someone you do not know or trust. If you believe you've reached an illegitimate website, contact cardholder service at 1-888-524-1283. Be cautious of phishing sites, there are a variety of scams in which fraudsters try to trick others into paying with gift cards.
- To report your Lost or Stolen Physical Visa Card, call Customer Service 24/7 at 1 (888) 524-1283 to cancel your Gift Card as soon as you can. You will be asked to provide the Gift Card number and other identifying information.
- Use your Visa Gift Card in the U.S. everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including online.
How Citi delivers the rewards
Citi does not describe these rewards as an unrestricted monthly statement credit. Its official wording says: “Cash back earned from your Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi will be provided as an annual credit card reward certificate once your February billing statement closes, and is redeemable for cash or merchandise at U.S. Costco Warehouses, including Puerto Rico.”
In practice, this creates three differences from a card that deposits cash or applies a credit every month:
- Timing: You receive the certificate after the February billing statement closes, so rewards accumulate for an annual issuance rather than becoming available immediately after each purchase.
- Where you redeem: The stated redemption locations are U.S. Costco warehouses, including Puerto Rico. The program is not described here as a direct deposit to a bank account or a universally usable cash balance.
- Form: The certificate can be redeemed for cash or merchandise at those warehouses. That can be convenient for regular Costco shoppers, but it is less liquid than rewards that can be used anywhere or transferred on demand.
Before choosing the card, ask whether you will still shop at a U.S. Costco warehouse when the certificate arrives. If you move, stop shopping at Costco or prefer monthly cash flow, the redemption design may outweigh the headline rates.
Do not combine the card reward with Costco Executive rewards
Costco’s Executive membership has a separate annual 2% reward program. Costco says that reward is issued around three months before membership renewal and is redeemed at Costco. It is not an additional percentage that should simply be added to the credit card’s 5%, 4%, 3%, 2% or 1% schedule.
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Keep the programs in separate calculations:
- Estimate the credit-card certificate using only eligible card purchases and the shared $7,000 gas/EV threshold.
- Estimate any Executive reward under Costco’s own membership rules and eligible-spending definitions.
- Compare each program’s timing and redemption restrictions independently before deciding whether the combined Costco arrangement works for you.
Because the two rewards arrive on different schedules and have different program rules, labeling a Costco purchase as “7% back” or “4% plus 2%” can mislead unless you explain exactly which program supplies each portion.
Where the card can be used
Citi says the card earns rewards wherever Visa is accepted. Costco also presents it as a card that doubles as a Costco membership ID. That combination makes it suitable for both Costco and non-Costco purchases, but the reward rate still depends on the transaction category.
A restaurant purchase made outside Costco can qualify for 3% if it meets the program’s definition. A purchase from another merchant that does not fit gas, EV charging, dining or eligible travel generally falls into the 1% base category. Review the merchant coding and Citi’s terms when a transaction’s category is ambiguous; a business’s name alone does not guarantee an elevated rate.
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- Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.
- Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
- Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.
- Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.
- No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.
Benefits beyond rewards
No foreign transaction fees
Citi advertises no foreign transaction fees. That can reduce a common card cost when eligible purchases are made outside the United States, but it does not guarantee that a merchant, ATM operator or currency-conversion service will add no separate charge.
Purchase damage and theft protection
Citi also advertises purchase damage and theft protection. Coverage is subject to limits, exclusions, documentation requirements and other conditions. Treat it as a potential benefit, not unconditional insurance. Read the card’s current Guide to Protection Benefits to confirm what purchases, time periods and losses qualify before relying on it.
What is not established by the available terms
The official page result reviewed for this article displayed variable APR fields without populated values. A current purchase APR, balance-transfer APR, cash-advance APR and approval criteria are therefore not established here. Use Citi’s live pricing disclosure for those figures and your own offer, because the rate you receive can depend on creditworthiness and can change over time.
Estimate your return before applying
The most reliable comparison uses a full year of your actual spending. Gather totals from bank statements or a budgeting app and put each expense into the closest published category.
- Record Costco gas spending. Include only purchases that qualify as Costco gas under the card’s terms.
- Record other eligible gas and EV charging. Combine it with Costco gas because both categories consume the same $7,000 annual threshold.
- Record restaurants and eligible travel. Include Costco Travel where applicable, but do not assume every transportation or lodging charge is eligible without checking the terms.
- Record other Costco and Costco.com purchases. Keep merchandise and other eligible warehouse purchases separate from gas.
- Record all remaining card spending. This uses the 1% base rate unless a transaction qualifies elsewhere.
- Apply the gas cap. Give the combined gas/EV total the elevated rate only up to $7,000; apply 1% to the remainder.
- Subtract the membership cost you would not otherwise pay. If you already plan to keep Costco, that incremental cost may be zero; if not, include the current membership price.
- Value the certificate honestly. Decide whether annual cash or merchandise redemption at a U.S. Costco warehouse is as useful to you as the alternatives you are considering.
Illustrative spending patterns
The following examples use the published rates and simple arithmetic to show how category mix changes the result. They are not forecasts and do not include membership costs.
| Illustrative annual spending | Calculation | Estimated card rewards |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 Costco gas, $4,000 other Costco purchases, $2,000 elsewhere | $1,000 × 5% + $4,000 × 2% + $2,000 × 1% | $150 |
| $7,000 Costco gas, $2,000 additional eligible gas, $3,000 restaurants | $7,000 × 5% + $2,000 × 1% + $3,000 × 3% | $460 |
| $3,000 other eligible gas/EV, $3,000 restaurants or eligible travel, $5,000 Costco purchases | $3,000 × 4% + $3,000 × 3% + $5,000 × 2% | $310 |
The second example demonstrates why spending beyond the shared gas threshold must be modeled at 1%. The third shows how a mix of eligible categories can matter even when Costco gas is not the dominant expense.
How to compare it with another card
A meaningful comparison needs more than a headline percentage. Use the same spending totals and examine these dimensions:
Rank #4
- Gift Cards are shipped active and ready for use.
- This card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Funds do not expire. If available funds remain on your card after the valid thru date has passed, please call customer service for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout. No fees after purchase.
- To access your card information safely, type the complete website address shown on your Gift Card (MyGift.GiftCardMall.com) directly into your browser's address bar. Don't use search engines or shortened versions of the website address, as these may lead you to fake or fraudulent sites. Do not provide any Gift Card details (example: Card Number) to someone you do not know or trust. If you believe you've reached an illegitimate website, contact cardholder service at 1-888-524-1283. Be cautious of phishing sites, there are a variety of scams in which fraudsters try to trick others into paying with gift cards.
- To report your Lost or Stolen Physical Visa Card, call Customer Service 24/7 at 1 (888) 524-1283 to cancel your Gift Card as soon as you can. You will be asked to provide the Gift Card number and other identifying information.
- Use your Visa Gift Card in the U.S. everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including online.
| Comparison question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What is the return in each category? | The Costco card is strongest in specific categories and drops to 1% for other purchases. A different card may reward your largest category more consistently. |
| Would you pay for Costco membership anyway? | If not, the membership cost can consume the card’s rewards. If yes, the card’s incremental annual cost is different. |
| How liquid are the rewards? | This card issues an annual certificate redeemable for cash or merchandise at U.S. Costco warehouses, including Puerto Rico. Alternatives may offer statement credits, direct deposits or other access patterns. |
| When do rewards become available? | The Costco certificate arrives after the February billing statement closes. A competing program may make rewards available more often. |
| Where will you use the card? | The card earns wherever Visa is accepted, but category qualification still controls the rate. Check whether another card better matches your non-Costco spending. |
| What are the current costs and protections? | Compare live APR disclosures, foreign-transaction fees and benefit exclusions. Those details can change, and the available official page result does not establish every current pricing field. |
Do not declare a market-wide “best” card without checking the other card’s current terms under the same assumptions. A higher advertised rate can be worth less if it has an annual fee, restrictive redemption or a category cap that does not fit your spending.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Assuming 5% gas rewards are unlimited
Problem: You calculate 5% on every dollar of gas purchased at Costco and 4% on a separate $7,000 of other gas or charging.
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Calling the certificate unrestricted cash back
Problem: You budget the rewards as if Citi deposits them monthly into your bank account.
Fix: Plan for issuance after the February statement closes and redemption for cash or merchandise at U.S. Costco warehouses, including Puerto Rico.
Ignoring the membership requirement
Problem: You compare the card’s rewards with a card that has an annual fee while treating Costco membership as free.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFix: Add the current membership cost whenever you would not otherwise maintain membership.
Best Value
- Cards are shipped active and ready for use.
- This card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Funds do not expire. If available funds remain on your card after the valid thru date has passed, please call customer service for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout. No fees after purchase.
- Double check if the URL/website is genuine before entering card details online. Do not provide any gift card details (example: claim code) to someone you do not know or trust. There are a variety of scams in which fraudsters try to trick others into paying with gift cards.
- If you believe that your Card has been lost or stolen, notify Mastercard immediately by calling 1-833-791-7288. You will be asked to provide the Gift Card number and other identifying information.
- Use your Mastercard Gift Card in the U.S. everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted, including online. Your Amazon.com Balance cannot be used to purchase Mastercard gift cards.
Adding Executive rewards to the card rate
Problem: You advertise a single combined percentage without separating the two programs.
Fix: Calculate the card certificate and Costco’s separate Executive 2% reward independently, including their different issuance timing and redemption rules.
Relying on protection without reading exclusions
Problem: You assume every damaged or stolen purchase is covered.
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Carrying a balance to earn rewards
Problem: Interest charges can exceed the rewards earned, especially when much of your spending receives only 1%.
Fix: Use the card only within a repayment plan that avoids interest whenever possible. Check Citi’s live APR disclosure before applying; the current APR was not established in the available page result.
Who is most likely to benefit?
A good fit
- You already pay for Costco membership and shop there regularly.
- You spend materially on Costco gas, eligible gas or EV charging without greatly exceeding the shared $7,000 threshold.
- You have substantial restaurant or eligible travel spending.
- You are comfortable waiting for an annual certificate and redeeming it at a U.S. Costco warehouse.
- You value no foreign transaction fees and may use the card where Visa is accepted.
A weaker fit
- You would not keep Costco membership without the card.
- Most of your purchases are outside the elevated categories and would earn 1%.
- You need monthly, automatic bank-account cash back or rewards usable at any merchant.
- You routinely exceed $7,000 in combined gas and EV spending and have another card that rewards the excess more strongly.
- You carry balances and the interest rate would outweigh the rewards.
A practical decision checklist
Complete these checks with your own numbers before submitting an application:
- Confirm the current Costco membership price and whether you would pay it regardless of the card.
- Download or total 12 months of spending in gas, EV charging, restaurants, travel, Costco and other purchases.
- Apply the shared $7,000 gas/EV threshold rather than separate caps.
- Calculate the card certificate value using 5%, 4%, 3%, 2% and 1% only where the transaction qualifies.
- Decide whether annual redemption at a U.S. Costco warehouse fits your cash-flow and shopping habits.
- Review Citi’s live APR, fee and protection disclosures, because the available page result does not establish every current field.
- Compare the resulting net value with alternatives using the same spending, membership and redemption assumptions.
Current-term verification
The rates and reward-delivery language in this review were checked against official Citi and Costco pages on October 13, 2026:
Check those pages again for the current membership price, APR, benefit terms, reward definitions and any changes before applying.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
