Today we are dedicated to the Costco credit card offered in multiple countries. For those who don’t know, Costco is a wholesale buying club, but it sells retail. In other words, one pays an annual membership for which they receive very low prices on products that generally come in larger portions or packages than those of a supermarket, but generally with unbeatable prices and in some cases quality that is difficult to obtain.
One of Costco’s features is that it only accepts one credit card issuer. Until a few years ago, American Express was the only accepted issuer at Costco, although debit cards were. In this way, the company saves costs and prices reach our pocket.
A few things changed and Costco and Citi signed a deal, leaving American Express by the wayside in a surprising decision. With this also came new credit cards for Mexico and the United States, and the unique acceptance of VISA cards. In the case of Canada, there is a peculiarity, they only accept Mastercard.
But while many cash back or reimbursement cards can give us a good boost to our pocket when buying at Costco with Visa, it is important to see if our consumption pattern does not favor the adoption of the Costco credit card and its benefits outside the shopping club.
Costco Citi Banamex Mexico Visa Credit Card
One of the features Costco credit cards have in common is low (or no) annual fees and benefits that extend beyond the wholesale buying club boundary. At the same time, we should not expect thousands of welcome points from this card, since we will not get points. Everything will be Cash Back.
At the same time, it’s worth clarifying that we need an active Costco membership to get or keep the credit card active.
The Citi Banamex Costco Visa Credit Card promises the following:
- 3% annual cashback on all purchases at Costco. That includes Costco Mexico and USA warehouses, the online store, and Costco gas stations in Mexico.
- 2% annual reimbursement on purchases at any other establishment, without limit, including purchases outside the country.
- 2.3% savings on each purchase within Costco Mexico for the cash price
It is interesting to clarify that the first year has no cost, and from the second the annuity will be only MX$ 450 + VAT. Beginning with the second year of membership, we should spend MX$15,000 per year just on purchases at Costco to cover the annual renewal fee. This without counting the rest of the purchases at 2%. Nothing bad.
A different feature from other cashback cards is that the Costco credit card offers annual reimbursement in the final summary of the month of December. So we can count on it as an additional payment that we will receive at the end of the year.
Protections and insurance Visa Costco Mexico
If the annual cost of the card and the simple and effective reimbursement still do not attract your attention, your purchases will always be supported by the VISA accessory benefits that have no additional charge:
- Purchase Protection Insurance
- price protection
- Extended warranty
- car rental insurance
With only the first 3 benefits we are covered for all our purchases, without spending a single additional penny. This means that we do not only have the approval of Costco and its eternal money-back guarantee. Yes, basically we can buy a mattress today and return it in 3 years because we are not satisfied. Incredible in 2019. Restrictions generally apply to televisions, computers, and appliances (among other items) that require a return prior to 90 days.
But without a doubt, any purchase we make with the peace of mind of Costco’s return and satisfaction policy, we will have the possibility of keeping our purchases insured, the price, and/or guaranteed operation for another year in the case of the guarantee. extended.
Citi Costco Anywhere Visa United States
Leaving aside Costco’s generous return policy that also applies to the United States and Canada, I want to focus on the Costco by Citi credit card in the United States. Here we will once again find a generous cashback structure, including some additional categories.
- 4% annual rebate on the first $7,000 spent on fuel, including Costco gas stations. From the dollar $7,001, the reimbursement will be 1%.
- 3% cashback on restaurants and select travel categories anywhere in the world.
- 2% cashback on all purchases made at Costco or Costco.com
- 1% cashback on everything else
We found that the American version of the Costco credit card reduces the benefit of purchases at Costco by 1 percentage point, but provides us with 4% at gas stations for an amount that should be enough for an entire family group. At the same time, it gives us the possibility of pocketing 3% of all our expenses in things such as restaurants and trips, which are usually two of the most used categories by all types of family groups. For the rest of the purchases, once again we lose 1 percentage point with respect to the Mexican version.
This does not mean in any way that it is a bad deal. Those who do not travel too often can create a combination of cards that provide cashback without having to be from the same bank. Still, Citi has the Double Cash credit card that offers 2% cashback on all purchases.
The difference between the two will be that our refund on Costco credit card purchases will be yearly, versus the monthly refund we get on the Double Cash card.
Ancillary Benefits and Costs of the Citi Costco Visa Card
This credit card has an annual cost of $0 but requires active Costco membership, which has an annual cost of $60 in the case of the cheapest version, and $120 in the case of the executive version. A very important mention is to explain that the executive membership version provides its members with a 2% rebate payable annually on all purchases made at Costco throughout the year.
What it means is that this 2% goes a different way than the credit card, so if we spend $4,000 a year at Costco ($333 a month in spending), we’ll get an $80 refund on one side, which covers virtually the entire cost of membership. But by another avenue we will have accumulated another $80 of cashback from the Citi Costco Anywhere Visa credit card (2%), which will give us an additional profit of $40 on top of the executive membership.
Other additional benefits from VISA that complement those that Costco offers us:
- Protection of purchases against theft and accidental damage for up to 120 days, except NY which is up to 90
- Extended warranty
- This credit card does not charge commission for purchases abroad!
Personally, it’s been at least a year and a half since I’ve been tempted to take advantage of credit card cashback. What happens is that with so much travel, most of my points and miles bank is still oriented to travel instead of fattening my reimbursement account. However, for those who do not put so much emphasis on travel, or who are interested in saving even more with every penny spent, this card is a WINNER.
Capital One Costco Mastercard Canada
Costco Canada has changed the rules with respect to its other two neighbors and accepts only Mastercard. The bank that offers the exclusive Costco card in Canada is Capital One, a bank that is also in the United States. Even in Canada, the benefits are different from those of its neighboring country…
- 3% cashback at restaurants
- 2% cashback at gas stations
- 1% cashback on everything else with a catch… on the first $3,000 spent outside of Costco, the cashback will be 0.5%… and this is proposed in fine print in some brochures
- Contactless technology by Mastercard
This card has a certain welcome offer, when you open the new account and spend $50 before July 16, we will get a $10 cash back as a welcome offer. You have to do the honor of mentioning it even if it’s only $10.
I think this card is the poorest of the 3 versions, putting me in the difficult decision between the United States and Mexico to choose #1. The lack of an additional cashback bonus category for purchases at Costco is highly conspicuous, and the idea of offering 0.5% cashback on the first $3,000 outside of Costco is ridiculous. There was no need.
Additional services of the Costco by Capital One Canada card
Here Mastercard is the one who saves Capital One’s clothes with the very poor and illogical decision to offer 0.5% cashback on the first $3,000 consumed. Let us remember that with the exception of some banks that negotiate to remove benefits, it is the issuers (Mastercard, Visa, AMEX) who propose the level of service of each one.
The Costco Canada credit card version offers the following benefits by Mastercard :
- Price protection (removed from virtually all credit cards in the United States)
- Purchase Protection Insurance
- Extended warranty
- Baggage Delay Protection
- Travel life insurance up to $250,000
- Car rental insurance for up to 31 days
It’s not necessarily an impressive set of benefits, but it beats what’s offered in the US by Citi and Visa.
Conclusions about Costco credit cards
Costco is a retail giant that caters to employees, customers, and shareholders alike. It surprises in categories where no one expects it to surprises, such as mortgages, car sales, travel, and multiple services where it delivers what it promises. It also has its flagship brand Kirkland, with high-quality products at unbeatable prices and is the envy of its competitors.
That’s why when talking about a Costco credit card we shouldn’t be surprised to find value. In my opinion, the US and Mexican versions have the potential to offer a lot of value to cardholders. In the case of Canada, perhaps it is a good idea to wait until Costco decides to change its contract with the bank and find a better offer.
