This card has 5% cash back on Costco has and 2% cash back on all other Costco purchases. No annual fee. We would pretty much exclusively use it at Costco because our only other card is discover (not accepted at Costco) Are there better promos in stores? I’ve honestly never paid attention. Just for an ad in the mail and seriously considering it.
Appreciate any insight
I understand this is a longshot but it can't hurt to try.
I booked a long trip that had to be cancelled due to a wildfire. I'm sure it's relevant that the hotel itself is not under evacuation order, but the travel destination relatively nearby is.
I'm able to get 50 percent back through canceling where I got the reservation. Honestly, I'm pretty happy if it was left at that.
However, is there a chance the credit card can give me the rest back as well through some travel benefit?
Of course I intend to call the credit card, but I figured I'd arm myself with knowledge a bit before I call.
Edit I called and they said no, which isn't too surprising. They do not offer travel interruption coverage any more.
Chase Freedom does apparently. I still have to read the fine print but if it's what it seems to be, then that'll be my go to travel card from now on.
Purchased a flight using my Costco citi card few weeks ago. But with all that’s going on with the virus do I get any compensatory protection from Citi’s Costco perks? I declined cancellation protection through Expedia 😫
I plan to rent a car through Costco travel, however my primary auto insurance doesn't include collision. Does the Citi card rental insurance cover this and will the rental company accept the credit card's policy? Would I need any formal documentation?
Has anyone had any experience trying to use the citi card's policy for coverage? Really trying to avoid having to pay the rental company's fee for that.
We are planning on a vacation to Ireland this summer. I’ve been researching car rental insurance and I keep reading that Costco Citi card offers car rental insurance in Ireland.
I tried to ask the registration clerk at the counter but they didn’t know if the card offers that perk anymore. I don’t have the card yet but if they do offer it, I’d be getting one.
Has anyone recently traveled and used their Citi card for rental car insurance? And if so, any chance it was in Ireland?
From what I’ve read Ireland has some pretty weird car insurance rules which makes it extra complicated.
Hi all. I have a Executive Membership and I recently got the Citi Costco Card. Im not new to Costco Travel as I've booked a few trips but I am new to the Costco Credit Card. My question is, if I book my trip with the Costco Credit Card I get 3% back but do I also get my 2% back on my executive membership separate or is that included in that 3% on the credit card?
Hi, I recently booked a flight (Delta) and also bought the Allianz travel protection on my Citi card. Afterwards I remembered I have trip protection/insurance with the Citi card. I've read through the basic Citi brochure PDF but it doesn't seem to have specifics to compare specific things that are included with Allianz.
In other words, I'm trying to figure out if I should keep the additional Allianz insurance as well as Costco; the insurance was $36 and at first glance seems like it's more comprehensive than Citi. Also, if I keep Allianz, and I had to make a claim, can a claim be made both on Allianz and Citi? Thanks!
Edit: After calling Citi it sounds like the Allianz insurance is much more comprehensive in its coverage. I also asked about making a claim on both, and the Citi coverage be secondary to whatever Allianz didn't cover, if anything. So it looks like I'll be keeping the Allianz coverage.
So far this year I've purchased +$1,000 in flights on my Costco Citi card but my annual rewards summary is showing $0.00, even tho I should be getting 3% cash back. The flights were on Spirit and Southwest. Does anyone know why the cash back might not be eligible for these purchases?
I’m having a hard time figuring out if my credit card provides the right type of insurance so I can opt out of the add-on when I rent a car. Anyone have experience with this?
Has anybody actually filed a claim with using this credit card when renting in an international location and how was the experience? I am debating using this card versus Chase Ink God thank you
Hi all,
Booking done travel on Costco portal worth 800$ dollars.
Costco citi card gives 3x points in travel + 2% for Costco executive.
Chase preferred gives 2x on Costco travel but gives trip cancellation peace of mind..
So I think it's worth 1x .
What do you guys advice ?
I'm renting a car on an upcoming trip and want to know if anyone has experience with the Costco Visa card covering "loss of use" charged by a rental company as part of an insurance claim. We had a bad experience using American Express several years ago where this wasn't covered. I called Visa and couldn't get a specific answer. It's also not mentioned in their benefits brochure. (did the rental through Costco travel and got a great price)
So to start - I got the Citi Costco Visa in 2016 when it released. And I used the card a ton. Now, I don't use it at all - only to scan my membership barcode if I don't use the app.
Why? The value of the Costco visa has been eroded by three things:
Citi gutting the benefits. Citi has cut most of the benefits on the card, most notably the card industry leading extended warranty benefit. Without the benefits, the card has to lean on its rewards. With them, the card had tremendous value. An extended warranty claim can easily save you $500+ (which would cost tens of thousands of dollars to get in cashback).
Increased competition in the credit card industry for category rewards. When the Costco Visa was introduced, 4% on gas was basically unheard of (small CUs like PenFed excepted), and 3% on restaurants was also extremely generous. Now multiple cards have offer these categories with even higher cashback percentages.
Increased competition in the credit card industry for flat cashback rewards. 2% everywhere credit cards were few and far between in 2016; now, there are multiple to choose from, with sign-up bonuses. This makes the 1% cashback on "all other" spend on the Costco Visa extremely weak, and the 2% on Costco.com/Costco warehouse spend irrelevant.
With these three factors combined - the value of the Costco Visa is greatly eroded. It isn't even the best credit card for Costco and Costco.com spend anymore. Most Costco members would be better served with 1-2 other cards.
Now some might say:
"I don't want to juggle a dozen credit cards. The Costco Visa provides compelling value in multiple areas, and it's one card in my wallet."
That's a fair argument and I totally hear it. So let's compare the Citi Costco Visa against one other card: The Redstone FCU Visa Signature.
| Card/Cashback Category | Redstone FCU Visa Signature | Citi Costco Visa |
|---|---|---|
| Gas Stations | 5% | 4% |
| Restaurants | 5% | 3% |
| Eligible Travel | 1.5% | 3% |
| Wholesale Club | 3% (any wholesale Club) | 2% (Costco only) |
| Groceries, discount stores, utilities, phone and streaming services | 3% | 1% |
| All other spend | 1.5% | 1% |
I will disclaim these are capped on the Redstone FCU to $7000 a year in eligible spend per category. So a separate $7000 for gas stations 5%, separate $7K 5% for restaurants, separate $7K for wholesale clubs... so on and so forth for groceries, separate for discount stores, etc...
The Costco Visa in contrast is only capped to first $7000 eligible spend on gas, the other categories are uncapped. However, many members would have difficulty breaking the $7000 caps on the restaurant and wholesale club categories; even then, there are uncapped 3% wholesale club cashback Visas at other banks (more on that in a moment).
| Card/Feature | Redstone FCU Visa Signature | Citi Costco Visa |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up Bonus | Yes - $150 in rewards after spending $3,000 in 90 days | None - you might get a cooler bag applying in warehouse |
| Price Protection (reimbursed for price difference of item if you find it for less after buying) | Yes | No |
| Extended Warranty Benefit | Yes | No (eliminated start of 2023) |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None |
| Annual Fee | None | None |
Now we approach the other side: The Costco superspenders. Those who spend more than $7K/yr through Costco. These people could get 3% uncapped cashback on wholesale club spend (ANY wholesale club - some people have memberships at more than one) with the Venmo Visa Credit Card or the NIH FCU Visa Signature Card. Again, this puts the Costco Visa in a position where it's not even the most rewarding card to use at Costco itself.
Moving on to the miscellaneous questions / points:
Joining credit unions is hard. I'm not employed/working/living in Alabama to join Redstone.
You can join the Financial Fitness Association for $8/yr online. You only need to be a member when you join the credit union, and then you're a member for life. You can join most credit unions (including redstone) online.
EDIT: The Association of the United States Army is a free non-profit that can be joined online for Redstone FCU eligibility, thanks u/scrubrekker
I don't like carrying the Costco card separately from the credit card. This is important/very convenient for me.
As someone who has Costco Visa (from before Citi gutted it), I get this convenience, but not enough to sacrifice much greater cashback rates and still getting benefits like extended warranty coverage, etc. on what I buy. But the convenience should be weighed against the reward rate.
The Costco Visa can be used as a payment method in Canadian warehouses!
If you live near the border or enter Canada enough, this is a legitimate convenience; however, for ~99% of US members, this is a non-factor.
I like the Costco Visa because I get 4% cashback when I use it with my executive membership.
This isn't a benefit exclusive to the Costco Visa. You earn a 2% executive reward no matter how you pay - cash, check, debit, or non-Costco Visa credit. If you use a card that gives you 3% on wholesale spend, you'd earn 3% on that, 2% on the executive, for 5% effective combined on your Costco spend.
Hi all,
I've been using both cards for travel-related expenses but this question always linger in the back of my mind: Which one is better for tours booked through various travel agents and tour companies?
Break down: C1 Venture X has 2X on all purchases. 5x and 10x are only through portal bookings. I use them for their premium hotel bookings or when prices are the same vs outside.
Costco visa has 3x cb on travel related purchases. The fine print says it should cover purchases from travel agent, including Costco's own travel agent. Can someone confirm this? Did you actually get 3x cb for travel agent purchases outside Costco travel?
Debating the options: Assuming Costco Visa has 3x vs VentureX's 2x, we now have to consider travel protection benefits. VentureX's is better but, from what I've read, VentureX's travel protection does not extend to travel agent bookings. Is that true?
I usually put a large amount towards travel agent/tour company bookings then book my flights separately (usually airline's sites instead of C1's portal) so this accounts for a huge chunk of my annual spends. 1% cb difference could be huge.
Looking to book a vacation package through Costco Travel. Requesting suggestions on which credit card would be the best to put this on. I have the following credit cards:
Capital One Venture X - would be good to rake points, but will probably accrue just 1x instead of 5x or 10x since I am not booking from Capital One Portal
Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5% cashback
Costco Citi Visa Card - 2% Costco online cashback
Chase Freedom - I think it's just 1% since I am not booking through Chase Portal
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards - I can switch to 3% (don't know if this purchase would be categorized as Travel or Online)
Other cards: Discover More, Amex Blue Cash Everyday
In addition to just earning cashback, I would also like to avail card benefits for Trip Protection, Travel Delays, Rental Insurance, etc.
Two weeks ago, before our big trip, I went into Citi.com to let them know "hey, gonna be traveling internationally for the next 10 days" and after a LOT of digging for where to set up "travel plans", found something that says, basically, "Hey, we have it all figured out and you don't need to set anything up - no worries!"
Of course: 5 days into my trip to Barcelona, a couple of charges get denied. I look at the app on my phone and there's an URGENT message that I should call them at (US 1-855 number) "... or some of your charges may be denied".
Who is the brain-dead administrator who said "people don't need to tell us when they're on a trip" and do they work in the same company as the fraud-alert people who see "hey, this guy doesn't USUALLY run charges from Europe"? Good grief.
Thankfully, using the WiFi in my hotel room, I could use my US cell service to call the number and tell 'em "Y'know what? I am TRAVELING". After some time and some account verification, the nice lady on the end of the line says "I've set up a travel plan for you". Good grief, that's exactly what I was trying to do 2 weeks ago and was told it wasn't necessary. I asked her "so, do I just need to call every time before I take a trip, now?" her response: "That's up to you...". Super.
So - be WARNED when traveling with this card. I had a 2nd card I could have used if I'd needed it (it would be dumb to travel with just one card), but gosh darnit, I shouldn't have to do so.
Rant mode off - it's time for some more sangria.
EDITED TO ADD: Apparently it's my USAA (backup) card that doesn't allow for travel plans. I got an email from CITI telling me that they'd noticed from my purchases that it looks like I'd be traveling, and that they'd set up a travel plan for me. Apparently I should have double-checked what they set up.