Costco visa

[Trooper2003]

Can anyone give me some data points on the Costco visa? Just got a Costco membership and was thinking their card offer. Thanks all your input.

[FinStar]

Can you share with the community more information about your profile? This can provide a better assessment on the odds for your particular profile. Alternatively, you can search in the Approvals subforum which would yield any Costco Visa approval DPs. 

[Trooper2003]

Yes, my equifax is 728 trans union is 780 experian is 783 2% utilization.  2 new accounts in the past 6 months. No cards with citi as of now.

[lgtwriter]

Not sure what you are looking for @Trooper2003. I applied for the card in mid August and received a $1200 credit line which is much lower than my other citi cards and my other cards in general. Citi tends to be more conservative with credit limits and the Costco tends to be more conservative with limits than other citi cards. As with anything ymmv.

Citi pulled Equifax for me. At the time I applied, I had a FICO in the low 720s. I should have waited until my utilization was a bit better to get a better limit. I had 4 inquiries on Equifax but only 2 in the last year. My ficos are now in the high 750s now that I have utilization around 12 percent or so. I would probably get a better limit if I applied today.

Citi is also excessive inquiry adverse. If you have a lot of inquiries you might want to wait to apply.

The Costo Visa is a citi "core" card and not a citi retail card and therefore most likely has different underwriting standards on the whole than the retail cards like Macy's and Home Depot. 

[4sallypat]

I enjoy the Citi Costo card a lot - it's my gasoline and groceries card.

I also use it for tech where their warranty doubles using the Citi card.

If you show low inquiries, they tend to give you generous automatic CLI.

My initial $5K SL went to $8K in a year of solid use. 

Never allow for revolving - always PIF using twice a month billing.

[Hoben02]

It's only useful for me as a gas card. Can find other cards that give higher rewards returns for Costco purchases. Also a big drawback is the reward is dispensed annually

[xenon3030]

If you want it to shop at Coscto, it is not the best card for Costco since it gives only 2% (unless you want it for gas). You may use BOA cards with 3% cashback for online shopping (if platinum tier: 3%*1.75~5.25%) or simply use Citi DC to shop at Costco.

[staticvoidmain]

It has its merits. It's a useful card if you shop at Costco.

- Citi does give SP CLI. I have a very decent limit on the card.

- 2% in Costco can be useful, considering many flat 2% cards are Mastercard (not accepted in Costco).

- 4% Costco gas. You save on gas too, because Costco has the cheapest Top Tier gas I know of.

- Electronics warranty. You get 2+2 years. It's one of the few Citi cards to retain benefits.

- No need to carry a separate membership card. The credit card IS the membership card. (Fun Fact: Your photo will be in color vs the black and white on the regular membership card). You use the same card to scan for membership and pay for stuff (in self-checkout).

Personally, I use it for travel except when I am flying Delta. I also use it for food currently.