Let’s take a deeper look at the best credit card to use at Costco locations within the US, along with alternatives and how we determined ranking.

Disclaimer: Some of the links below contain an affiliate link that may earn us a commission, and in turn help support this blog. We’ve clearly indicated these links as such. It’s certainly not a requirement for you to use these links, but we definitely appreciate your consideration. Thanks!

What are the best credit cards to use at Costco? If you’re in the United States, Costco accepts Visa credit cards. Meanwhile, other locations like Canada might accept other issuers (MasterCard).

The best credit card to use at Costco (Quick Answer)

Our pick for the best credit card to use at Costco is the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve. It wins on simplicity with a 3% return on mobile wallet payments, an option at Costco locations.

A short list of alternatives include the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards, Capital One Venture X, and Costco Anywhere Visa.

Short comparison table of the top credit cards at Costco

How to choose the best credit card to use at Costco

Our methodology for choosing the best credit cards that work at Costco comes down to the following considerations:

• Visa over MasterCard: Costco locations in the United States accept Visa credit cards in store. Meanwhile, other countries might accept MasterCard (as Canada does). Our list prioritizes Visa as the intent of the list is to specifically give guidance to US-based shoppers. However, online purchases can be made with either Visa or MasterCard.
  
• Cash back beats store credit: what would you prefer getting back between cash that can be used anywhere or store credit that only works in one place? We agree, cash back is preferred between the two choices. That’s ultimately why the Costco Visa credit card falls in the list in comparison to the others. We prefer the Costco Visa credit card alternatives.
  
• Transferrable points are more flexible than cash back: we prefer funding our travel with transferrable points from banks like Capital One, Citi, Chase, and others. It can be a more cost-effective way of booking a hotel or taking a business class flight. The exact value of points will vary, making this a little less concrete, but those looking to maximize points will get far more than 1 cent/point.
  
• Simplicity is great: when all else fails, what we want most of all is something with an easy elevator pitch. The more loopholes you need to go through to get maximum value, the more energy it will take to make sure you’re doing it correctly.

And with that out of the way, let’s talk a little more about the best credit cards to use at Costco.

1. U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve

Link: not currently available for new applicants, but expected to return at some point

Why this is the best card for Costco: 3% back everywhere when using a mobile wallet

Rationale: Expecting us to say the Costco credit card is the best? If only things were that simple! We would argue the best card actually is the U.S. Bank Altitude Rewards credit card. If you’re like us, you want simplicity when you go to make a purchase. We don’t want to deal with first buying gift cards or other workarounds. Rather, we just want to show up at the store and pay for our purchase and reap the rewards.

That’s what makes the U.S. Bank Altitude Rewards card so great: just load it to your phone’s mobile wallet–whether it’s Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. On all of those purchases made via mobile wallet–which does work at Costco in-store–you’ll earn 3X on the first $5,000 each billing cycle.

These points are worth 1 cent each when deposited directly into your US Bank checking account. If you don’t have one, you can redeem as a statement credit at a worse ratio (0.8 cents each). US Bank has hinted they want to build a transferrable points currency, but so far it seems to not be imminently happening. Would be nice if that changed!

But even as it stands, we view the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve as the best credit card for Costco purchases.

2. U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card

Link: https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/bank-smartly-visa-signature-credit-card.html (not an affiliate link)

Best features: Up to 4% return on the first $10,000 spend monthly

Rationale: The default cash back rate on this card is 2%. However, it can climb much higher than this if you have either a U.S. Bank Smartly Checking Account or a Safe Debit account. If you do, your earnings on the first $10,000 monthly can jump to:

• 2.5% total with a qualifying balance between $10,000 and $49,999
• 3% total with a qualifying balance between $50,000 and $99,999
• 4% total with a qualifying balance of at least $100,000

In other words, you need $100,000 in the bank to unlock its full potential. This isn’t just the best cash back card for Costco in pure numbers–it’s the best cash back card period if you can swing the large deposit. Why isn’t it at #1 in our list? Because we prefer the simplicity of the Altitude Rewards more and not needing to lock up $100,000 in the bank.

Still, in terms of pure cash back, this is currently tops.

3. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards

Link: https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/cash-back-credit-card/ (not an affiliate link)

Best features: Up to 3.5% return at wholesale clubs

Rationale: Your potential return is higher here than among other cards. And the good news is that this return comes to you in the form of cash. But the downside to this card–and why we wouldn’t rank it higher–is that you’ll need Platinum Honors with Bank of America. That’s Bank of America’s fancy way of saying you need at least $100,000 in Bank of America or Merrill Lynch accounts. That might be tough for some to achieve.

If you don’t bother depositing any cash into Bank of America or Merrill Lynch accounts, you’ll earn a not-bad 2% return at wholesale clubs. Thankfully, there are interim benefits depending on how much you have deposited:

• Gold Tier ($20,000 to $49,999 on deposit) = 2.5% return at wholesale clubs
• Platinum Tier ($50,000 to $99,999 on deposit) = 3.0% return at wholesale clubs
• Platinum Honors Tier ($100,000 to $999,999 on deposit) = 3.5% return at wholesale clubs
• Diamond Honors Tier ($1,000,000 and above on deposit) = 3.5% return at wholesale clubs

This one is a little more complicated and requires some investment from you, but the returns could be greater if you qualify for the highest level.

On top of that, there are some changes coming to the program where you’ll earn up to 25% less bonus cashback starting as early as May 26, 2026. That may cap the return to just 3% under the best-case scenario. It’s still better than other cards on this list, but with the work involved, some might not view it as worthwhile.

4. Capital One Venture X

Link: https://i.capitalone.com/JFuS8boHH (refer-a-friend link)

Best features: 2X points everywhere, can be transferred to travel partners

Rationale: I know what you’re already thinking. “But the Costco card also earns 2X on Costco purchases, so why rate this card higher?” Yes, it’s true that the Capital One Venture X earns 2X everywhere, which is in line with the Costco credit card. But the key difference is in the details:

• The Costco credit card earns a rebate (Costco certificate) that expires at the end of the year in which it was earned.
• The 2X return on the Venture X comes in the form of either cash back (making this a 2% cash back card) or as a transferrable points currency that can help reduce travel expenses even further.

Even if you throw out the travel partners that complicate the math, we’d rather have 2% cash back that could be used anywhere over a restrictive 2% cash back that can only be used at one store. But if you include the ability to transfer to partners, suddenly that takes this to a new level.

The Venture X has a higher annual fee than other cards on this list at $395/year, but it comes with its own set of credits that help offset the fee. If you’re concerned about the fee, consider the regular Capital One Venture card (refer-a-friend link) with a $95 annual fee.

5. Citi Double Cash

Link: https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi-double-cash-credit-card (not an affiliate link)

Best features: 2X points everywhere, can be transferred to travel partners

Important: This is a MasterCard, so it cannot be used in-store in the US

Rationale: This one also earns 2X everywhere, and like the Venture X, it too allows for redemptions good for 2% back in cash or transfers to travel partners. Again, the premise is earning 2% cash back that can be used anywhere rather than 2% good for only Costco. Citi’s transferable currency is called ThankYou points.

But this card has a bit of a different story. While it has no annual fee, it also is a MasterCard. Meanwhile, all other cards on this list are Visa credit cards. What’s the difference? At Costco stores in the United States, you can’t use anything but a Visa when shopping in person. However, when you’re making an online purchase, you can use a Visa or a MasterCard. On top of that, if you happen to be traveling internationally (such as to Canada), you can use it in-store there. We find we still buy many things online off costco.com, making this not too restrictive for us.

Ultimately, the Citi Double Cash has less use for those of us in the United States, but we still appreciate the versatility of Citi ThankYou points. However, do note that while this card issues ThankYou points, you will need a different card (like the Citi Strata) to transfer to airline partners.

6. Chase Freedom (the original)

Link: not directly available for new applicants, but you can product change another Chase card to this one

Best features: 5X points when there is a quarterly bonus on wholesale clubs (or gas)

Rationale: We love the ability to earn 5X points and, like with the Capital One and Citi cards mentioned above, it’s even better when you can get it as either cash or transferable points. Thankfully, you can do just this with the Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem.

Note that we’re specifically talking about the “O.G.” Chase Freedom card that’s a Visa. These days when you try applying for the Freedom, you might see references to the Freedom Flex card. That one is a MasterCard. There are slight differences in the card benefits, but the main difference is the card network.

What’s the big drawback on the Chase Freedom? You can only earn 5X on whatever Chase says are the bonus categories that quarter on the first $1,500 spend (registration required). It has been a while since wholesale clubs was a rotating category (Q4 2023 was the last time). However, gas stations is a frequent category bonus and Costco Gas does count for the 5X multiplier.

7. Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi

Link: https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi-costco-anywhere-visa-credit-card (not an affiliate link)

Best features: Usable at any Costco worldwide, decent earn structure

Rationale: If all you care about in life is Costco, the earn structure on their credit card isn’t that bad at first glance:

• 5% back on Costco gas
• 4% back on other gas stations or electric vehicle charging up to $7,000 in combined spend per year (1% thereafter)
• 3% back on restaurants and travel (including Costco Travel)
• 2% back on Costco and Costco.com
• 1% back on all other purchases

There are both a personal and business version of the card with identical benefits. But both options require you to already be a Costco member to apply. For the purposes of spend at Costco, the relevant amounts are 5% on Costco gas, 3% on Costco Travel, and 2% on all other Costco purchases.

The important thing to note is that this isn’t true cash back. The amounts earned on the credit card will be returned to you as a gift certificate to be used at Costco. This certificate will expire at the end of the year it was issued. Use it or lose it.

However, the good news is that even though this is a Visa credit card, you can actually use it at any Costco worldwide, including those that only accept MasterCard. Interesting, huh?

Bonus: Alchemy using Visa gift cards

Sometimes you just want the best return regardless of the number of steps involved in the process. Well, lucky you, because you can do that if you don’t mind using a credit card to purchase Visa gift cards. Costco (both online and in-store in the United States) accepts Visa gift cards. That opens up some extra avenues on how you could earn more cash back if you don’t mind the extra steps.

Focus on credit cards that offer a bonus at these locations, which sell Visa gift cards:

• Office supply stores
  • Example: Chase Ink Business Cash (refer-a-friend link)
• Gas stations (such as a certain convenience store that has a promotion every July 11)
  • Example: Wyndham Rewards Earner Business (not an affiliate link)
• Grocery stores
  • Example 1: Citi Custom Cash (not an affiliate link)
  • Example 2: American Express Gold Card (not an affiliate link)

Once you have Visa gift cards, you may want to first purchase a Costco Shop Card to make the buying process a bit smoother.

You might encounter some problems with Visa gift cards (potential fraud issues, cashiers that don’t let you proceed with the purchase, etc.) so this isn’t fully risk-free. But if you’re fine with the steps involved, you might find this to be more rewarding.

Costco credit card FAQ

What card do you like to use at Costco?

Suggested reading:

• Pro Tip: Keeping Your Credit Cards Open With Five Simple Tasks
• New Rules for Chase in 2025: Should You Be Worried?
• Keep or Cancel: How to Handle Too Many Credit Cards
• Our Ranking of Disney Parks