Citi Double Cash vs Costco Visa for Dining?

[wasCB14]

We're not talking about much money either way, but waiting a year to get 3% instead of getting 2% (almost) right away is like getting a 50% return on your money.

Of course, if there's a chance you might cancel your membership then the numbers change.

[Aim_High]

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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.

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I agree that either way it's a negligible difference.

But implying the difference requires waiting a FULL YEAR is way off!!

It's not. 

BOTH cards are issued by CITI and both cards have complications

including delays in the way they pay out the bonuses.

Minimum payout on DC is $25.

And you don't earn the 2nd 1% until you pay and it posts (30 days later).

And the other thing is, we're comparing JUST the

Dining Out spend on each card to see how it compares.

If Dining Out spend is $2500 per year, that is $208.33 per month.

Cash Back on the DC on that amount is approximately $4.17 per

month at 2% when you buy/pay.

So to be able to actually REDEEM any of that dining out spend,

you'd have to dine out for six months ($25/4.17 = 6)

But then you'd have to wait an additional month to get the final 1% when you pay. 

Seven months total.

So your delay in getting your money is only FIVE months, not TWELVE months.

And by waiting that five months, you're getting the full extra 1% cash back.

I think the Costco Card is a better bargain for dining out, even with having to wait for an annual check, at least comparing these two particular cards.  Now if you were to compare the PenFed Power Cash Card or the PayPal Mastercard, you are losing more of that entire year since those cards have 0.01 cent minimum redemptions.  THOSE are the cards where you can literally "get your money whenever you want it," not either the CITI Costco or CITI DC.  That minimum redemption is one reason among many that I dislike the Double Cash card and think there are many other better options available for most consumers.

[imaximous]

Your math may be correct but that’s assuming OP uses the card for dining and nothing else, which I doubt is the case.
If they use the card for other expenses, redemption could be easily every month.
We don’t even know what other cards they have that could sway spending one way or the other.

[jimmy2000]

I personally shop at Costco that the reward certificate once a year actually feels like a reward.  Costco Visa is used for all of my spending with exceptions to clothes and anything that Amex offers a discount on.

But if you don't want to wait then you've got no choice but Citi DC.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to mention that I also have Chase Freedom, which mainly lives in SD, but when they have a 5% "restaurant" quarter, I will use that card. They DID NOT have this category last year, which was a big disappointment. They also did not have warehouses. In fact, Chase categories are getting real 'meh'  lately. I wish that they would come out with a 'pick your categories' card like US Bank Cash +.

Thanks for all the input, and by the way, CITI DC is my daily driver. I use for everything except gas and groceries on AMEX BCP.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Leave it to MFers to go 50/50 lol. Math was involved so @K-in-Boston would be proud

[kdm31091]

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@Aim_High wrote:

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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.

---

I agree that either way it's a negligible difference.

But implying the difference requires waiting a FULL YEAR is way off!!

It's not. 

BOTH cards are issued by CITI and both cards have complications

including delays in the way they pay out the bonuses.

Minimum payout on DC is $25.

And you don't earn the 2nd 1% until you pay and it posts (30 days later).

And the other thing is, we're comparing JUST the

Dining Out spend on each card to see how it compares.

If Dining Out spend is $2500 per year, that is $208.33 per month.

Cash Back on the DC on that amount is approximately $4.17 per

month at 2% when you buy/pay.

So to be able to actually REDEEM any of that dining out spend,

you'd have to dine out for six months ($25/4.17 = 6)

But then you'd have to wait an additional month to get the final 1% when you pay. 

Seven months total.

So your delay in getting your money is only FIVE months, not TWELVE months.

And by waiting that five months, you're getting the full extra 1% cash back.

I think the Costco Card is a better bargain for dining out, even with having to wait for an annual check, at least comparing these two particular cards.  Now if you were to compare the PenFed Power Cash Card or the PayPal Mastercard, you are losing more of that entire year since those cards have 0.01 cent minimum redemptions.  THOSE are the cards where you can literally "get your money whenever you want it," not either the CITI Costco or CITI DC.  That minimum redemption is one reason among many that I dislike the Double Cash card and think there are many other better options available for most consumers.

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In fairness, many cash back cards have stipulations, and especially minimum redemption requirements. I do think in general, things are trending away from that, which is great for consumers. BoA, for example, dropped their minimum redemption threshold on the Cash Rewards card.

In terms of competitors to the Costco card, the BJ's card doesn't make you wait a year to cash out your rewards. They are loaded to your account and can be used on a rolling basis. It is interesting that Sam's and Costco hang on to the "once a year reward payout" model but my guess is that it encourages membership renewal.

On another note, I think if something like dining (or whatever the category being discussed is) is not a major/frequent item in your budget, a specific card for that purpose is probably not necessary, although some want to eek out every cent and that's fine too - pros and cons to both approaches.

[Aim_High]

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@imaximous wrote:
Your math may be correct but that’s assuming OP uses the card for dining and nothing else, which I doubt is the case.
If they use the card for other expenses, redemption could be easily every month.
We don’t even know what other cards they have that could sway spending one way or the other.

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You missed my point though. I purposefully left out that other spend.  It's irrelevant to the core question and a distraction to an accurate comparison. OP already acknowleged he has the DC and it's a daily driver, so I realize he isn't waiting seven months to get cash back since he doesn't use it for dining only. 

The core question is whether he is better off putting dining out spend on Citi DC or Costco. The dining out spend is the only variable unit, not total spend, so dining out spend is all that matters to make an accurate comparison.  So based on OP's data points, putting the dining out on the DC versus the Costco only affects the full 2% payout once every seven months, regardless of whatever other spend is there.   And therefore, the "cost" of waiting to redeem dining spend for an extra 1% is 5 months, not 12 months. This is true regardless of how much other spending and redemption he is doing on the DC card. 

[Deuter]

Given the 2 choices i would keep the Costco based on preference. 

If you already have the membership and are sure you will constantly renew (because you need it) then the Costco.

There are some other intangibles.. Costco card is a Visa.... that means that have some better standard protections than that of Citi is taking away from World Elite MasterCards. 

Costco doesn't have an FTF, and dining is worldwide.

It doesn't really make much difference, but i don't have a problem waiting for my rewards. 

[imaximous]

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@Aim_High wrote:

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@imaximous wrote:
Your math may be correct but that’s assuming OP uses the card for dining and nothing else, which I doubt is the case.
If they use the card for other expenses, redemption could be easily every month.
We don’t even know what other cards they have that could sway spending one way or the other.

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You missed my point though. I purposefully left out that other spend.  It's irrelevant to the core question and a distraction to an accurate comparison. OP already acknowleged he has the DC and it's a daily driver, so I realize he isn't waiting seven months to get cash back since he doesn't use it for dining only. 

The core question is whether he is better off putting dining out spend on Citi DC or Costco. The dining out spend is the only variable unit, not total spend, so dining out spend is all that matters to make an accurate comparison.  So based on OP's data points, putting the dining out on the DC versus the Costco only affects the full 2% payout once every seven months, regardless of whatever other spend is there.   And therefore, the "cost" of waiting to redeem dining spend for an extra 1% is 5 months, not 12 months. This is true regardless of how much other spending and redemption he is doing on the DC card. 

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The problem I see with your math is that you're trying to turn this scenario into exact science and it's not. You took total dining spend and divided it by 12 months to come up with your numbers. In a perfect world, that could make sense, but who spends the same amount every month eating out? Your math doesn't calculate spikes in spend, which is why having a flexible cashback structure may work out for some people. Besides, the difference between DC or Costco is only $25 - $30 per year based on $2.5k to $3k on dining.

Also if OP had said he also had a Premier card or another TYP card, I'd put even more value on the DC. Plus, you didn't know for sure that DC was a daily driver till after the posts were made. 

There's no right or wrong choice. It's a question of preference and it seems like OP would rather get cashback quicker than wait for an annual rebate. So, considering other daily spend is absolutely relevant.