It isn't easy to find a credit card that can compete with the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, which gives a high reward rate in all those categories. You should consider applying for this card if you spend a lot of money on petrol, restaurants, and travel. The fact that rewards may only be redeemed once a year and come in the form of certificates that are often only redeemable in physical stores is the system's most significant downside.
Some customers may find it to be too traditional from their perspective. However, if you are willing to deal with the burden of paperwork, there are a variety of ways in which you may use the card to your benefit. The following is a guide on how to get the most out of your Costco Anywhere Visa® Card issued by Citi.
Leverage Bonus Categories
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is a wonderful card to use when purchasing petrol since it offers 4% cash back on gas and EV charging purchases on up to $7,000 of spending a year. Even compared with the top petroleum credit cards currently available, APR is quite competitive and remarkable. Even if you don't take advantage of the additional 1% cash back on petrol purchases made after you've reached the yearly maximum, you'll still earn $280 per year on gas alone if you meet the maximum annual limit.
Using the card for your expenditures at restaurants and on vacation is also a wise decision since it gets 3% cash back in each area, and there is no limit on how much you may spend in either category. It is a very competitive offer, even among the best credit cards for spending money in restaurants.
It's strange, but the rewards you get from using the card at Costco or Costco.com are less substantial than they usually are. You will get 2% cash back on such purchases, which is not a poor return rate by any stretch of the imagination. However, certain store credit cards, such as the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card or the Capital One® Walmart RewardsTM Mastercard®, provide you a rebate of up to 5% of your purchase price whenever you purchase from the same retailer.
Even if you often shop at a warehouse club like Costco, you may be surprised to learn that many top grocery credit cards offer rewards of 3% or more on purchases like these instead of the standard 2%. Verify that the credit card you want to use for your purchases at Costco offers the highest percentage of cash back.
Use Different Card If You're Only Going to Earn 1% Back
You'll only get 1% cash back on non-bonus category purchases made with the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, but you may get 1.5% or 2% back on all transactions with a different flat-rate cash-back card. You may get 1.5% or 2% cash back on purchases with that card.
If you use your Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi for petrol often, you may wish to switch to the flat-rate card after you hit the annual spending limit since your rewards rate drops to 1%. You could reconsider moving because of this.
Additionally, if you have another credit card that offers 5% cash back in bonus areas that vary periodically, this may alter your calculations even further. For instance, with the Chase Freedom FlexSM credit card, you may earn 5% cash back in revolving bonus categories on up to $1,500 every quarter (card activation needed; 1% cash back on all other purchases). Its prior bonus categories include overlapping with some of those that the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card gives by Citi. However, Chase has usually featured bonus categories that the Costco card does not, such as home improvement shops, streaming services, grocery stores, and Amazon.
Take Advantage of Perks and Protections
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is an excellent companion for traveling if you want a cash-back credit card. To begin, it does not charge any fees for transactions made in a foreign currency, and since it is a Mastercard, you will have extensive acceptance worldwide. In addition, the card comes with insurance for international automobile rentals, aid with travel and emergencies, and roadside assistance service.
When it comes to shopping, the card has your back with features such as damage and theft purchase protection (which kicks in if products bought with the card are destroyed or stolen within the first 120 days), as well as simple fraud protection to switch on and off. Additionally, the card comes with Citi Entertainment, which allows cardholders to get early access to tickets for various events, including concerts and sports events.
