Costco Visa vs. Sam’s Club Mastercard: How They Differ
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If you're fortunate enough to live in an area that offers choices when it comes to wholesale-club shopping, you may have considered applying for one of the following:
Both offer rewards that on certain levels can compete with some of the best cash-back credit cards on the market, especially when it comes to gas and dining — but both cards also have their drawbacks. For one thing, while neither product carries an annual fee, you'll have to be a wholesale club member to qualify for either one, and there is a yearly membership fee for that.
That fee can be worth it, though, depending on your spending habits. Let's take a look at the cards side by side.
on Citibank's application
$0, but you'll need a Costco membership, which does have a yearly fee.
$0, but you'll need a Sam's Club membership, which does have a yearly fee.
Gold Star membership: $65 annually.
Gold Star Executive membership: $130 annually.
Club membership: $50 annually.
Plus membership: $110 annually.
N/A.
Typically N/A, though offers can vary depending on when and where you apply.
Gold Star membership: 2% back at Costco and Costco.com.
Gold Star Executive membership: Up to 4% back on eligible Costco purchases (2% back with the card, plus 2% back from the membership tier). The 2% from the membership tier is capped at $1,250 in rewards annually.
Club membership: 1% back at Sam's Club and samsclub.com.
Plus membership: Up to 5% back on eligible purchases (3% back with the card, plus 2% back from the membership tier). The 2% back from the membership tier is capped at $500 in rewards annually.
4% cash back on gas and EV charging purchases (both at Costco and other eligible gas stations) on up to $7,000 in spending a year, then 1% back.
5% cash back at EV charging stations and eligible gas stations worldwide (including stations at Sam’s Club), on up to $6,000 spent per year, then 1%.
3% back.
3% back.
3% back.
1% back. (As of January 2021, Sam's Club no longer offers elevated rewards on travel).
1% back.
1% back.
Rewards are issued once a year, in February, in the form of a certificate. (You'll get a check if you have more than $10,000 in rewards.) Certificates may be redeemed for cash via an electronic transfer or for Costco merchandise purchased in-store. Cash redemptions are only available if you have at least $300 in rewards.
Redeem rewards for cash or use them to pay for Sam’s Club purchases made in-store, online at samsclub.com, in the Sam’s Club app, via Scan & Go, or for curbside pickup.
No caps on most rewards earned. Gas rewards are an exception at $7,000 in spending per year.
Rewards overall are capped at $5,000 per year.
Strengths of the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
1. Rewards are straightforward and uncomplicated
While both cards put a cap on gas rewards, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has far fewer of those kinds of rules and limits to keep track of:
2. Annual rewards are unlimited
The Costco card imposes no limit on the total amount of rewards you can earn in a year. But for the Sam's Club® Mastercard®, it's $5,000.
3. Store rewards are decent for all members and easy to understand
The Costco card earns a flat 2% at Costco and Costco.com — not outstanding for a store card, but not terrible. And if you're an "Executive" member, you can double that rate to 4%.
With the Sam's Club® Mastercard®, you could earn as much as 5% back on Sam's Club shopping, which is excellent — or as little as 1% back, which is quite poor. And within that rewards range, there are all kinds of rules to keep in mind, especially for higher-tier "Plus" members:
The card's 3% rate applies to eligible in-store and online Sam's purchases, but the additional 2% back via your membership is for in-store shopping only.
The 3% back from the card is unlimited (up to the annual $5,000 rewards cap), but the 2% back from your membership tier is subject to a separate cap of $500 in rewards a year.
The 2% back from your membership tier is also subject to a $2,000 overall "maximum balance" at any given time — meaning that once you hit that threshold, you stop accruing cash back until you "reduce" that balance by redeeming rewards.
4. Travel is a bonus category
With the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, you can earn 3% cash back on your next vacation. You can also combine that rate with value on Costco vacation packages.
The Sam's Club® Mastercard® eliminated travel as a bonus category in January 2021. You'll earn only a 1% base rate on travel purchases now.
Reward rates aside, both cards travel well. Neither charges a foreign transaction fee, and both run on payment networks that are widely accepted all over the globe (Visa for the Costco card, Mastercard for the Sam's Club card).
Strengths of the Sam's Club® Mastercard®
1. Potentially superior rewards for some members
For Sam's Club members at the Plus level, the Sam's Club® Mastercard® is probably an unbeatable deal. At that tier, the card earns up to 5% back on eligible Sam's Club shopping — a stellar rate and in line with what some of the best store cards on the market offer.
With the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, the normal rate on Costco shopping is just 2% back, and at best 4% back.
It's also worth noting that the Sam's Club® Mastercard® tends to offer modest sign-up bonuses from time to time, while welcome offers are less common with the Costco card.
2. Less costly membership options, potentially less stringent credit requirements
You can join Sam's Club for $50 and still enjoy good benefits with the Sam's Club® Mastercard®, including its excellent rewards on gas and EV charging.
To join Costco and take advantage of what its co-branded credit card offers, you'll owe a minimum of $65. And its higher-tier membership level is also more expensive than the premium Sam's Club counterpart. And while you'll need excellent credit (FICO scores of at least 720) to qualify for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, you may be able to qualify for the Sam's Club® Mastercard® with only good credit (FICO scores of at least 690).
3. More flexible rewards redemption
The Costco card has one of the most unusual reward redemption policies among credit cards: Rewards are issued just once a year in February in the form of a rewards certificate. You won’t have to wait nearly as long with the Sam's Club® Mastercard®, as rewards are automatically loaded to your Sam’s Club membership every month.
Sam’s Club cardholders also have a range of redemption options:
Cash. (Members must go to any register at a Sam’s Club location and ask to redeem rewards for cash.)
Credit toward Sam’s Club purchases made in-store, online at samsclub.com, in the Sam’s Club app, via Scan & Go, or for curbside pickup.
Rewards may be redeemed for any amount starting at 1 cent.
In contrast, redeeming rewards earned with the Costco card can be a complicated affair. As noted earlier, you have to wait an entire year for your rewards certificate. The certificate may be redeemed for cash via an electronic transfer — but only if you have at least $300 in rewards, and you must submit a request online or in the Citi app. You can also put the certificate toward Costco merchandise purchased in-store — but not online. Another restriction: Costco card rewards must be redeemed in a single transaction. If the rewards exceed the cost of the purchase, cardholders will receive the difference in cash.
Finally, Costco reward certificates expire by December 31 of each year whereas rewards earned with the Sam's Club® Mastercard® don’t expire as long as the cardholder remains a Sam’s Club member.
4. Higher rewards on gas and EV charging purchases
The Sam's Club® Mastercard® out-earns the Costco card on gas and EV purchases.
Yes, the Costco card gives you a higher potential rewards cap in that category. But in reality, unless you're a long-haul trucker or business owner with a fleet of vehicles, you're unlikely to come anywhere close to either card's cap. The average U.S. household spends roughly $2,000 per year on gas.
So if, like most, the cap is irrelevant for you, then the card with the higher rate can be more valuable. And that's the Sam's Club card.
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