Citi Double Cash vs Costco Visa for Dining?

[Anonymous]

Given a choice between paying for dining with Citi Double Cash (2%) or Costco Visa (3%) which would you use?

My wife has the Costco Visa, but you have to wait until once a year to get any rewards. The Citi DC is redemmable whenever you want it.

Is waiting for once a year worth the extra 1%?

Annual dining is maybe $2500=3000 annually.

And no, I do not want another "dining" card.

Thanks !!

[simplynoir]

I wouldn't even waste a HP on an app unless you want the Citi DC card to be a daily driver for you to cover all your nom-category spending

Edit: I'm still waking up even several hours later to realize you might already have the DC. If that's the case I'd still leave it on Costco card. Even at 2500 a year in dining that's an extra $25 so a lump sum of $75 is pretty good every year, consider it like a tax return 😂

[imaximous]

Agreed ^
Unless you prefer to have access to the rewards much quicker OR if you have other TYP cards because then the value of DC easily more than doubles. (No pun intended).

[JNA1]

If I understand it correctly, the model of the Costco (and I think Sam’s card too) with yearly redemption as store credit has never appealed to me. I’m personally only interested in cash back or statement credit that I can use to buy whatever I want, wherever I want. That said, I would personally use the 2% until I got another card that paid higher.
If you’re cool with the yearly redemption at Costco, then go that route. That just wouldn’t work for me.

[simplynoir]

No clue on how Costco works but Sam's Club til last year issued a yearly check every February for your cashback. Now it works as it being loaded to your membership and having several redemption options including statement credit or cashback at a register in Sam's Club

https://help.samsclub.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1557/~/cash-back---sams-club-mastercard

[BearsCubsOtters]

The Costco card gives you an annual voucher that you take to Costco and either get it cashed or redeem it for merchandise. A little more legwork than getting cashback credited to the account or an ACH deposit into a checking account, but cardholders can still get cash. 

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Given a choice between paying for dining with Citi Double Cash (2%) or Costco Visa (3%) which would you use?

My wife has the Costco Visa, but you have to wait until once a year to get any rewards. The Citi DC is redemmable whenever you want it.

Is waiting for once a year worth the extra 1%?

Annual dining is maybe $2500=3000 annually.

And no, I do not want another "dining" card.

Thanks !!

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I use The DC or Penfed PCR at the Golf course restaurant, because it does not code as dining. I have tons of Dining cards,

and honestly 1% will never change My lifestyle. I don't spend $50K a year on Dining out

[Anonymous]

Using the time value of money, and not figuring in redemption methods and amounts, and simplifying that it takes exactly a year to redeem a dollar earned today, waiting a year to get a 1% higher return is not a very good return. So that means the DC 2% back is a better way to go.

[kerplunk]

This is a math equation. Just matters what inputs you give it. Are you including the Costco membership fee in this? The hassle to redeem the rewards? The year’s worth of time where you won’t have the reward money?

[kdm31091]

Obviously an extra 1% is not going to change your life either way. If it’s a hassle to wait for a year then just take the DC 2%. It’s such a small amount of money at the end of the day that it’s really just preference, not something that’s going to make any difference in your financial goals or anything.