Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi

Key Benefits

All Benefits

• No traditional welcome bonus / sign-up bonus: the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi does not offer a public welcome offer of any cash back or statement credit for new cardmembers; this is one of the only major rewards cards in the market with no SUB, confirmed on Citi's product page and across independent reviews (NerdWallet, The Points Guy, Bankrate, ValuePenguin), making the card a long-term keeper rather than a churn play
• Earn 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases worldwide for the first $7,000 in combined gas + EV charging spend per cardmember year, then 1% thereafter; eligible merchants include gas stations and EV charging stations, but exclude gas purchased at Costco gas stations (those earn 2% under the Costco purchases category), warehouse clubs other than Costco, supermarkets with fuel, convenience stores, and certain other non-gas-station merchants per the Citi card benefits guide
• Earn 3% cash back on restaurants worldwide (including takeout and eligible delivery services that code as restaurants) and on eligible travel purchases including Costco Travel, airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruise lines, travel agencies, and passenger railways, with no annual cap; this 3% tier is uncapped, unlike the gas/EV $7,000 cap
• Earn 2% cash back on all purchases from Costco and Costco.com (including Costco gas station fuel and Costco optical, pharmacy, food court, and tire center purchases when they ring up as Costco; also applies to Costco Travel purchases made through Costco, though Costco Travel may be claimed under the 3% travel category in some cases per Citi's terms — the higher rate applies)
• Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases with no cap and no rotating categories; this is the base earning rate for anything not in the 4%/3%/2% buckets
• $0 annual fee on the credit card itself, but the card requires an active paid Costco membership to apply for and to maintain: Costco Gold Star membership is $65/year and Executive membership is $130/year (Executive earns an additional 2% reward on Costco purchases up to $1,250/year, which stacks with the card's 2% earn at Costco); if you cancel your Costco membership, Citi may close the credit card
• Rewards are issued once per year as a single Costco Cash Reward Certificate that is mailed (or made available digitally) in February each year, reflecting all cash back earned in the prior calendar year February-to-January reward cycle; you cannot redeem rewards monthly, as statement credits, or as direct deposit — the annual certificate is the only redemption path
• The Costco Cash Reward Certificate must be redeemed in person at a U.S. Costco warehouse (or at Costco gas pumps in some cases) and can be used either toward merchandise at checkout or exchanged for cash back from a Costco cashier; the certificate can be partially redeemed for merchandise with the remainder returned as cash, per Costco's redemption policy
• Certificates are valid through December 31 of the year they are issued (about 10-11 months from the February mailing); unredeemed certificates expire and are forfeited if not used in person by the December 31 deadline (this is a frequent complaint and a notable downside vs cards with flexible cash back redemption)
• Active Costco membership is required to redeem the certificate at a warehouse; if you let your Costco membership lapse, you cannot redeem your earned rewards, which makes the $65 Costco membership effectively a soft prerequisite for getting full value from the card
• No foreign transaction fees on any purchase made outside the United States or in a foreign currency, making this a viable backup travel card for international spend (especially for gas, restaurants, and travel categories that earn 3-4%); confirmed on Citi's product page and across independent reviews
• Visa Signature network benefits: requires a minimum credit line of $5,000 (Visa Signature tier on the Costco Anywhere Visa); benefits include access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection (room upgrades when available, complimentary breakfast for two, complimentary Wi-Fi, $25 food/beverage credit, and late checkout when available), Visa Signature Concierge service (24/7 by phone), and access to special offers via the Visa Signature portal
• Damage and Theft Purchase Protection via Visa Signature: covers eligible new purchases against damage or theft for up to 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder per year (subject to Visa's Guide to Benefits terms and exclusions; this is a Visa network-level benefit, not a Citi-issuer benefit, and is one of the few protections that did survive Citi's 2019 benefit cuts because it is provided by Visa)
• Extended Warranty: Visa Signature extended warranty doubles the original manufacturer's warranty of two years or less, up to one additional year, on eligible purchases made with the card (subject to Visa's Guide to Benefits terms); like purchase protection, this is a Visa network benefit, not a Citi benefit
• Roadside Dispatch via Visa: pay-per-use roadside assistance available 24/7 by calling 1-800-847-2869; flat per-service fee (currently around $79.95) covers towing up to 5 miles, tire changing with your inflated spare, jump starts, lockout service, fuel delivery (up to 5 gallons, cost of fuel extra), and winching; this is a Visa network benefit, not free roadside coverage, but is available to all Visa cardholders
• Travel and Emergency Assistance Services via Visa: 24/7 hotline for referrals to legal, medical, and emergency transportation services while traveling more than 100 miles from home; this is a referral and coordination service, not insurance — you are responsible for any third-party costs
• Lost or Stolen Card Reporting and Emergency Card Replacement via Visa: emergency cash advance and replacement card delivery typically within 24-72 hours when traveling
• $0 fraud liability: you are not liable for unauthorized charges made with your card, per Citi's Zero Liability policy (standard across all Citi consumer credit cards)
• Citi Entertainment access: complimentary access to presale tickets and special experiences for concerts, sporting events, dining, and live performances; shared across all Citi credit cards
• Citi Identity Theft Solutions: complimentary identity theft assistance — specialists help you cancel cards, contact credit bureaus, and resolve fraudulent activity (assistance service, not insurance reimbursement)
• Digital wallet support: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and contactless tap-to-pay built into the chip card; the card is widely accepted as the in-warehouse credit card at U.S. Costco locations (Costco accepts Visa exclusively in the U.S. and the Costco Anywhere Visa is the official co-brand)
• 24/7 customer service via phone, chat, and the Citi Mobile App; app supports card lock/unlock, transaction alerts, dispute filing, FICO Score access, and Citi Flex Pay for converting eligible purchases of $75+ into fixed monthly installment plans
• Authorized users may be added at no additional cost and earn rewards back to the primary cardmember's account; the primary cardmember is responsible for all charges
• Choose Your Payment Due Date: Citi allows you to pick a payment due date that fits your billing cycle, configurable through online account servicing
• Pre-qualification tool: Citi offers a soft-pull pre-qualification check on Citi.com that does not affect your credit score; useful for gauging approval odds before submitting a hard-pull application
• Transfer to airline or hotel partners: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (this card earns Costco Cash Reward certificates only, not Citi ThankYou Points; the rewards cannot be converted to ThankYou Points or transferred to any airline or hotel transfer partner regardless of what other Citi cards you hold — the rewards currency is fundamentally different and locked to Costco redemption)
• Statement credit, direct deposit, check, or PayPal redemption: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (rewards are issued exclusively as a once-yearly Costco Cash Reward Certificate redeemable only at a Costco warehouse register; there is no option for flexible redemption like statement credit, ACH deposit, mailed check, or merchandise via an online portal — this is the single biggest structural limitation of the card)
• Lounge access (Priority Pass, Admirals Club, Centurion, Capital One Lounge, etc.): Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (this is a $0 annual fee co-brand cash back card; lounge access on Citi is reserved for the Citi Strata Elite and the AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard)
• Global Entry / TSA PreCheck application fee credit: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (no application fee statement credit benefit is listed on the Citi product page or Guide to Benefits; reserved for Citi's premium travel cards like the Citi Strata Premier and Strata Elite)
• Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance, Trip Delay Reimbursement, Baggage Delay Insurance, and Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa beyond any baseline Visa Signature coverage that may apply; Citi removed most travel insurance benefits from its consumer cards in September 2019 and the Costco Anywhere Visa is not listed as having issuer-provided trip protection on the current Guide to Benefits — travelers should rely on a dedicated travel card for trip protection
• Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) / Auto Rental Insurance: Not offered as a Citi-provided benefit on Costco Anywhere Visa (Citi eliminated rental car CDW from its consumer cards in September 2019); Visa Signature does not include primary or secondary auto rental CDW as a guaranteed network benefit on this card per the current Guide to Benefits — you must purchase the rental company's CDW or rely on another card's coverage
• Cell Phone Protection: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (Citi does not provide cell phone protection on this card; cards like the Wells Fargo Active Cash, Chase Ink Business Cash, and U.S. Bank Visa Platinum offer cell phone protection that this card does not match)
• Annual statement credits (travel credit, hotel credit, dining credit, ride share credit, streaming credit, etc.): Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (no annual or monthly statement credit benefits are bundled with the card; the only ongoing benefit is the cash back earning structure itself)
• Hotel or airline elite status: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (no automatic elite status with any hotel or airline program is granted by holding the card)
• 0% intro APR on purchases or balance transfers: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (the card does not offer an introductory 0% APR period on either purchases or balance transfers; the standard variable purchase APR applies from day one — currently 20.49% to 28.49% variable per Citi's pricing terms as of recent disclosures, and balance transfers carry a 5% fee with no intro APR window, making this card a poor choice for financing purchases or consolidating debt)
• Rotating quarterly bonus categories or 5% category cards: Not offered on Costco Anywhere Visa (the bonus categories are fixed at 4% gas/EV / 3% restaurants and travel / 2% Costco / 1% everything else; there is no quarterly rotation or category selection — this is a fixed-tier rewards structure)