@LReyes66 wrote:My fiancee and I shop at Costco frequently but have been using her dad's Costco card to get in and check out via self checkout past few years so we haven't had to sign up to be members.
Now I'm thinking of purchasing a new TV for our new home and now debating if I should sign up for a Costco Citi card. It would also entail that we sign up for our own Costco membership.
Welcome to the forum!
If your fiancee is her dad's designated second-card holder, then she is able to apply for the Citi Anywhere card with that membership account. The membership fee would continue to be billed to her dad. Of course, this wouldn't work if you're just borrowing his membership card.
The caveat is, once she (or her dad) enables auto-renewal of Costco membership, eventually her card would be changed to become the default billing method.
@Wavester64 wrote:
@chiefone4u wrote:
@LReyes66 wrote:My fiancee and I shop at Costco frequently but have been using her dad's Costco card to get in and check out via self checkout past few years so we haven't had to sign up to be members.
Now I'm thinking of purchasing a new TV for our new home and now debating if I should sign up for a Costco Citi card. It would also entail that we sign up for our own Costco membership. Im not seeing any perks that stands out to me, 2% cash back on Costco purchases is just ok.
Are there any additional perks to make the credit card worth while? I currently use the major chase credit cards in rotation (freedom, freedom unlimited, Amazon chase card, and chase Sapphire reserve)
Depending on your spend at Costco...
Executive membership gives you 2%, plus the 2% from the Citi card (Citi Card gives you your rebate via emailed check following your February credit card bill... check must be used/cashed at Costco by primary account holder).
You get 3% on travel and restaurants and 4% on gas.
The potential is there, but with the correct combinations of other cards you can do just as good or better.
If you spend $6000 or more per year the 2% rebate for Executive membership covers the cost of membership...
Curious - how does that work? So your saying in actuality I am getting 4% CB shopping @ Costco using the Cit-Costco Card?
If you have an executive membership and use your Citi Costco card, yes... you technically are getting 4% cash back. If you have a Visa card with say 3% cash back on warehouse and have an Executive membership you'd get a combined 5% cash back.
@chiefone4u wrote:
@Wavester64 wrote:
@chiefone4u wrote:
@LReyes66 wrote:My fiancee and I shop at Costco frequently but have been using her dad's Costco card to get in and check out via self checkout past few years so we haven't had to sign up to be members.
Now I'm thinking of purchasing a new TV for our new home and now debating if I should sign up for a Costco Citi card. It would also entail that we sign up for our own Costco membership. Im not seeing any perks that stands out to me, 2% cash back on Costco purchases is just ok.
Are there any additional perks to make the credit card worth while? I currently use the major chase credit cards in rotation (freedom, freedom unlimited, Amazon chase card, and chase Sapphire reserve)
Depending on your spend at Costco...
Executive membership gives you 2%, plus the 2% from the Citi card (Citi Card gives you your rebate via emailed check following your February credit card bill... check must be used/cashed at Costco by primary account holder).
You get 3% on travel and restaurants and 4% on gas.
The potential is there, but with the correct combinations of other cards you can do just as good or better.
If you spend $6000 or more per year the 2% rebate for Executive membership covers the cost of membership...
Curious - how does that work? So your saying in actuality I am getting 4% CB shopping @ Costco using the Cit-Costco Card?
If you have an executive membership and use your Citi Costco card, yes... you technically are getting 4% cash back. If you have a Visa card with say 3% cash back on warehouse and have an Executive membership you'd get a combined 5% cash back.
So since getting the AOD 3% card in 2020, most times I am using that at Costo. At the beginning of this thread, I was thinking that maybe I was making a mistake doing that since it appeared that I might be losing out on 4% CB not using the Citi Costco. But your saying that since I have an Executive Membership AND I used AOD 3%, I am in fact getting 5%?
@Wavester64 wrote:
So since getting the AOD 3% card in 2020, most times I am using that at Costo. At the beginning of this thread, I was thinking that maybe I was making a mistake doing that since it appeared that I might be losing out on 4% CB not using the Citi Costco. But your saying that since I have an Executive Membership AND I used AOD 3%, I am in fact getting 5%?
Yes, to be precise, you are getting 3% from AOD at whatever frequency you receive/redeem rewards there, and you are getting 2% back once a year in the form of a Costco certificate that you can use for a purchase, or convert to cash at the service desk, adding up to 5%.
If you find the gas or travel benefits worth it then maybe. Other than that there are plenty of 2% cards that match the Costco benefit. If you transfer your UR points to your CSR using your CFU gets you a minimum of 2.25%... I know some have mentioned the extra 2% you get with executive membership. You get that with or without the card.
I am a long time wholesale club shopper, I was a die-hard Sam's club guy in college and only switched to the Costco world in 2019 after my wife and I borrorwed a friend's card. When we bought our house in 2021 we just happened to buy a place very close to Costco.
In 2019 and 2020 I didn't hit the $6000 spend to make executive membership really worth it, but we hit in 2021 with a couple of big purchases and frequent visits and on-track to hit it this year so I will keep executive membership.
I use the card for 4% fuel and 3% on dining as well, unless there is a 5% cashback in those categories on a different card.
It isn't the right card for everyone but it is pretty versatile and if you have the Costco spend it is well worth it to pair with the executive membership. For your TV you will get the extra warranty so I say go for it for the first year at least.
@sxa001 wrote:... In 2019 and 2020 I didn't hit the $6000 spend to make executive membership really worth it, but we hit in 2021 with a couple of big purchases and frequent visits and on-track to hit it this year so I will keep executive membership ...
@sxa001, remember that it only takes $3K (not $6K) to make the Executive Membership worthwhile. The difference in the two memberships is $60 ($120 versus $60) so you're only trying to make up $60 worth of additional cost, not the full $120. With the 2% Executive earnings, you get that back at $3K spend (or $250 average per month.) The next $3K spend up to $6K makes up the remainder of your Costco memberhship. Anything above $6K means you're shopping at Costco for FREE plus you're getting 2% back on what you buy.
You already get 3% or better back on your CSR for dining, so you don't need the Costco card for that. But unless you are transfering points from your Freedom Unlimited to your CSR, and then booking travel through the Chase portal for the supposed 50% increase, then the 2% you get back from the Citi Costco card will be better than the 1.5% back you get from CFU for Costco shopping. As for the complaint about getting the reward check that you have to take to Costco once a year, that is no problem for me. I just use it to pay for one of my shopping visits - easy peasy! Last year's Citi Costco Visa check was $578!
There is one other benefit I didn't see mentioned: Authorized Users (AU) get their own card number! This is handy just in case they lose their card, because then the primary account holder doesn't have to change all their automatic subscriptions - because only their number was comprimised and replaced. The other advantage of this is that spending can be broken down by user. With Chase personal cards, this is not possible. Chase AU's have the same number as the primary.
What I like about the Citi Costco Visa is that it doubles as my membership card, I max out the $7k 4% gas bonus every year, and it has the best warranty extension of any other credit card I have reviewed. So I put all my warranty spend on my Citi Costco card. For me this card is a no brainer. Let us know what you decided.
13Oct22 Exp F8: 812