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Even for those who aren’t loyal Costco shoppers, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi may appeal to anyone who spends a meaningful amount on gas, EV charging, dining, and travel each year. The card overperforms for a card that charges a $0 annual fee.
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi is one of those rare store credit cards that you can use at locations other than the merchant printed on its face. To boot, this no-annual-fee credit card comes with some of the best return rates in its class. It earns:
A big downside is that there’s no publicly available sign-up bonus — but you may be able to get one anyway (I’ll explain).
This is a small-business credit card, meaning you won’t qualify unless you have a small business. Things like freelance writing, tutoring, and driving for a rideshare company can count, however. You don’t need a proper LLC to open a business credit card.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi.
The Costco Anywhere Business Card isn’t captive to Costco stores and Costco.com. It’s a Visa card that you can use anywhere — and its incentives are strong for a few everyday purchases.
The card unfortunately does not offer a welcome bonus publicly, but Costco members are occasionally targeted for a bonus when opening a Costco membership. If you begin to apply for the Costco Anywhere Business Card online and see no indication of a bonus, it could be worth heading to a Costco warehouse and inquiring.
You’ll receive 4% cash back on gas and EV charging purchases with this card on up to $7,000 in spending per year (then 1%). That earning rate tops the list in our guide to the best credit cards for gas purchases. If your primary motivation is cash back, this no-annual-fee card is difficult to beat.
If you purchase gas at any superstore, supermarket, convenience store, or warehouse club other than Costco — or if you purchase fuel used for non-automobile purchases — you’ll only earn 1% back (instead of 4%).
The card also accrues 3% cash back at restaurants and on eligible travel purchases. Again, these are some of the best returns among no-annual-fee credit cards — though you can receive significantly more value from your spending if you’re willing to open a proper travel credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card; it earns 3 points per dollar at restaurants, which translates to an effective 5.4% back in travel (per Insider’s estimations).
Eligible 3% travel purchases for the Costco Anywhere Business Card are limited to the following:
The Costco Anywhere Business Card earns 2% cash back for Costco purchases. This combines with the earning rate you receive from a Costco Executive membership ($120 each year) which also earns 2% cash back on Costco purchases. In other words, Costco Executive members can earn 4% back with Costco if they have this card — or 5% back if they’re making a purchase through Costco Travel.
A Costco Executive membership does not earn 2% at Costco gas stations or on an assortment of other products such as alcohol, tobacco, prescriptions, and Costco food courts.
The Costco Anywhere Business Card earns 1% on any other purchase that doesn’t fall into the above categories, with no cap.
Here are a couple of slight “gotchas” with this card:
Neither of these qualities is normal for a cash-back credit card, and they’re quite inconvenient.
In short, your rewards become available to you each year after your February billing statement closes. You’ll receive a “reward certificate” valid for the amount of cash back you earned during the previous year. You can redeem this for either cash back or merchandise at a Costco warehouse.
If you redeem for merchandise amounting to less than the cash back you’ve earned, you’ll receive the difference in cash at checkout. We recommend requesting cash back and then using your Costco card to purchase the merchandise you want, then using the cash back to pay off your bill. You’ll earn more rewards this way.
Also, if you’ve earned more than $10,000 in cash back, you may receive your reward in the form of a check or electronic transfer.
If you’re looking for a benefits-rich credit card, this isn’t it. However, its earning rates are complemented by a few useful benefits, such as:
If you’re looking to make an expensive Costco purchase, such as a new TV or computer, you want to use a card that offers these purchase protections. The fact that the card will also offer a 2% return on these purchases is just icing on the cake.
The card also comes with peripheral benefits, such as:
Authorized user cards are free with this no-annual-fee card — however, anyone who makes a Costco purchase must have a valid Costco membership. Costco membership starts at $60 per year.
The Costco Anywhere Business Card doesn’t add foreign transaction fees, so it’s a safe card to spend on when you’re out of the country.
Again, this card incurs no annual fee or foreign transaction fees. However, you will be charged an APR of 17.49% (Variable) if you carry a balance.
You’ll also be charged fees for cash advances, late payments, and returned payments. Interestingly, this card does not seem to offer the option for balance transfers — so there are no balance transfer fees to speak of.
Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
Citi® Double Cash Card
Annual fee
$0
$0
$0
Rewards rate
4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging worldwide*
3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases worldwide
2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
1% cash back on all other purchases
4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging worldwide*
3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases worldwide
2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
1% cash back on all other purchases
1 point per dollar (1% cash back) when you buy, plus 1 point per dollar (1% cash back) when you pay your bill
Welcome bonus
N/A
N/A
$200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening
Benefits
No foreign transaction fees
Can be used as your Costco membership card
No foreign transaction fees
Access to Citi Entertainment
Review
Costco Anywhere Visa Card review
Citi Double Cash Card review
Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
Annual fee
$0
$0
$0
Rewards rate
4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging worldwide*
3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases worldwide
2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
1% cash back on all other purchases
1.5% cash back (1.5x points) on all purchases
2% cash back on the first $50,000 spent on eligible purchases each year, then 1% (cash back is received in the form of a statement credit)
Welcome bonus
N/A
$750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
$250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your card in your first 3 months
Benefits
No foreign transaction fees
Can be used as your Costco membership card
Primary car rental insurance (when renting for business purposes)
Extended warranty
Purchase protection
Travel and emergency assistance services
Roadside dispatch
Extended warranty
Purchase protection
Secondary car rental insurance
Global Assist Hotline
Discounts and bonuses through Amex Offers**
Review
Ink Business Unlimited card review
Amex Blue Business Cash card review
To be considered for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi, you’ll need an excellent credit score — that is, a FICO score of at least 800.
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi is worthwhile for small-business owners who have expenses that match the card’s bonus categories. It’s particularly lucrative for those who spend a lot on gas, travel, and dining, as well as at Costco. However, because the card makes it a lot more difficult to redeem cash back compared to other rewards business cards, you should consider all the alternatives before applying.
Yes, you can use the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi outside of Costco, as long as the merchant accepts Visa cards.
For rates and fees of the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
**Enrollment required.
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Trip Delay Insurance, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance, and Cell Phone Protection Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company. Global Assist Hotline Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers. If approved and coordinated by Premium Global Assist Hotline, emergency medical transportation assistance may be provided at no cost. In any other circumstance, Card Members may be responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers. Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection, and Baggage Insurance Plan Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.