Costco is one of the only places where you can get 30 rolls of toilet paper, a pizza, and a full tank of gas all in one shopping trip. A lot of people, myself included, do a lot of their everyday spending at Costco, and depending on the credit card you use, you could be earning a lot of valuable points and miles (or cash back) on those purchases.
But you can't just swipe any card at Costco: Thanks to the company's exclusive relationship with Visa, you have to use a Visa credit card.
For loyal Costco customers, the costco_anywhere may seem like the obvious choice. You earn 2% back on Costco purchases, 4% back on gas and electric vehicle charging (up to $7,000), 3% back on restaurants and travel, and 1% back on everything else. That's all without paying an annual fee, you just need a Costco membership. Unfortunately, you have to wait a whole year for those rewards to hit your account.
That's not your only option, though. In fact, several Visa cards are arguably better to use at Costco if you want to earn monthly rewards, and especially if you want to rack up points and miles to cover your next family vacation or solo trip.
Top Credit Cards to Use at Costco
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
At the top of our list is the no annual fee cashback *freedom unlimited*. You'll get a base 1.5% back on all purchases, including at Costco.
With the current welcome offer bonus, though, you'll earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back, which puts it ahead of the Citi Costco Anywhere card. Plus, you don't have to wait a whole year to be rewarded for your Costco shopping.
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- Earn 6.5% cashback on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
- Earn 6.5% cashback on Lyft rides through March 2025.
- Earn 4.5% cashback on dining, including takeout and delivery services
- Earn 4.5% cashback at drugstores
- Earn unlimited 3% cashback on all other purchases
- Subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you won't get approved for the Chase Freedom Unlimited if you've opened five or more credit cards (from any bank, not just Chase) in the last 24 months.
- No Annual Fee
Cash back is great, but you can also turn those rewards into Chase Ultimate Rewards points you can redeem for flights and hotels. If also have either the *chase sapphire preferred* or *chase sapphire reserve*, you can transfer your points to your Sapphire card to redeem for flights and hotels in the Chase travel portal or through one of Chase's many transfer partners.
Learn more about the *freedom unlimited*.
Read our full review of the Freedom UnlimitedÂ
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
If you're looking to earn points and miles for travel, you need the *capital one venture card* . You'll earn 2x Capital One Venture Miles on all purchases, including Costco. That matches the Citi Costco card but blows it out of the water when it comes to the value of the rewards. While the card comes with a $95 annual fee, the card's list of travel benefits can easily help you come out ahead.
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- Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
- Earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- 15 airline and hotel transfer partners.
- Annual fee: $95
Venture Miles are some of the most valuable miles you can earn. You can easily redeem them for flights and hotels through Capital One Travel or use them to cover any travel purchases from Airbnbs and VRBOs to a bucket-list golf trip. Or, you can transfer them to any one of Capital One's 15 airline transfer partners to make them go even further.
To be able to tell all of your friends and family that you booked cheap or free flights with the points you earned from shopping at Costco, what a flex!
Learn more about the *capital one venture card*
Read our full review of the VentureÂ
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The *chase sapphire preferred*Â lands a spot on our list of top cards for how easy it is to earn travel rewards on your Costco purchases, but it's also just one of the best travel cards, period.
You'll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points on every purchase that you can easily redeem for travel, plus the Sapphire Preferred card comes with a generous welcome bonus offer.
While the card comes with a $95 annual fee, it's easy to justify the cost when you look at what you get in return.
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- Earn 5x total points on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal, excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit.
- Earn 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on dining
- 2x points on other travel purchases.
- Earn 1x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on all other purchases
- 14 airline and hotel transfer partners
- Up to $50 annual hotel credit for Chase Ultimate Rewards portal bookings.
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Purchase Protection, and more.
- 10% account anniversary bonus based on the total purchases of the previous year.
- Annual fee: $95
You'll earn just 1 point for every dollar spent at Costco, but those points are worth 1.25x when redeemed for flights or hotels in the Chase travel portal. Or, transfer them to a hotel or airline partner to unlock even more value.
Learn more about the *csp*.
Read our full review of the Sapphire PreferredÂ
Top Business Cards to Use at Costco
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
The *Ink Unlimited* is the small business version of the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, earning a base 1.5% cashback for all of your business expenses. If you're running a small business that requires frequent stops to the Costco Business Center to buy food and ingredients in bulk, those cashback rewards will add up fast.
Not sure if you're eligible to open a small business credit card? You just might be!Â
It's a great time to pick up a Chase business card, too. Chase business cards are offering the most lucrative offers that we've seen lately.
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- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back (1.5x Chase Ultimate Rewards) on all business purchases
- Earn 5% cash back (5x Chase Ultimate Rewards) on Lyft rides through March 2025.
- Primary rental car collision and damage waiver coverage
- Lost luggage insurance of up to $3,000 per person per trip
- Add employee cards at no additional cost
- Annual Fee: None
If you want to redeem the cash back you earn from the Ink Unlimited as Chase Ultimate Reward points, you'll need to pair it with another Ultimate Rewards-earning card like the *chase ink preferred*. That $750 bonus cash back would be redeemable as 75,000 Chase points. Similar to the Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Preferred combo, the Ink Unlimited and Ink Preferred is a powerful set-up for business owners to earn valuable cashback or points to book flights and hotels.
Learn more about the *chase ink unlimited*.
Read our full review of the Ink UnlimitedÂ
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Pumping Costco gas on the regular? You need to be using the no-annual-fee *Ink Cash*. You'll earn 2% cash back on up to $25,000 a year you spend on the card. While that's not quite as good as the 4% cash back on gas you get with the Citi Costco Anywhere card, you don't have to wait a whole year to cash in your rewards. Plus there's the welcome bonus to consider.
Pair this card with another Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning card like the Ink Preferred, and you can redeem any cash back you earn as Chase points to book flights and hotels.
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- Earn 5% cash back (5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points)Â on office supply purchases; internet, phone, and cable service charges (up to $25,000 in combined spending each account anniversary year).
- Earn 2% cash back (2x Chase Ultimate Rewards points) at restaurants and gas stations (up to $25,000 in combined spending each account anniversary year).
- Earn 1% cash back (1x Chase Ultimate Rewards points)Â on all other eligible spending
- Primary rental car collision and damage waiver coverage
- Lost luggage insurance of up to $3,000 per person per trip
- Add employee cards at no additional cost
- Annual Fee: None
Pair this card with another Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning card like the Ink Preferred, and you can redeem any cash back you earn as Chase points to book flights and hotels.
Learn more about the *chase ink cash*.
Read our full review of the Ink CashÂ
Bottom Line
Americans fill their fridges and homes with products purchased from Costco every day, spending countless hours and dollars at warehouses nationwide.
Don't leave cash back or valuable points and miles on the table: Using the right credit card at Costco can help you maximize your rewards on your purchases which could be extra money in your pocket or more points for budget-friendly adventures here and abroad.
Those are all good cards to use but a better strategy is one we use with Visa or MC gift cards we buy at Staples with our Chase Ink business cards when they have their “No Fee” Gift Cards!
If you have business credit card(s) with Chase, just buy the $200 GC’s at Staples and then use them to pay your bill at checkout at Costco.
That way we earn 5X Ultimate Reward points (200 X 5=1000 points) on the transaction with NO FEES!
When we transfer the points to our CSR card those 1000 points on each card become worth 1500 points to use for hotels, airfare, car rentals or experiences!
This is an easy way to use up those GC’s we get from Staples!!!!
The Chase Freedom has quarterly 5X bonus categories. This quarter includes wholesale clubs. We buy Costco Cash cards for future use. We don’t go wild. Just a couple hundred dollars. Be aware that this is the original Freedom card, not the Freedom Flex. The original Freedom is a Visa, the Flex is a MasterCard. In warehouse, only Visa CCs are accepted.
Thanks for these tips on cards to use at Costco. Glad to NOT see the Bank of America Alaska VISA travel points card. Last time i was at Costco, and left my phone in the car, they DECLINED my card as possible “fraud” when there was absolute reason. Spent more than 2 hours on the phone and no one could tell me why this happened. They sent a text to my phone, but it was in the card to see if the purchase was by me. So I told them that as a bank customer, i need to own a smart phone and have it in my hand when at the register. No points as we had to use my husband’s account which is one of the above and it worked fine. Bank of America strikes again. So glad to not see in in your list!
sorry — absolutely NO reason!