TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express
TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express
American Express is a NerdWallet Partner
TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express
Card details
Earn cash back: 3% US gas stations up to $4,000 per year in purchases; 2% US restaurants & eligible travel; 1% other purchases. See details
You will receive your cash back annually in the form of a reward coupon
The Two-In-One Card: it's an American Express® Card and Costco membership Card, with no annual fee for Costco members
Maximize your cash back: Add additional Card Members to help get more cash back for you, also with no annual fee for Costco members
Terms and restrictions apply
Rates, fees & offers
Annual fee
$0 Annual Fee with your paid Costco membership
Rewards rate
1.00%
Bonus offer
Earn cash back: 3% US gas stations up to $4,000 per year in purchases; 2% US restaurants & eligible travel; 1% other purchases. See details.
Intro APR
0% on purchases for 6 months
Ongoing APR
Purchase: 15.99%, Variable
Penalty APR: 27.99%, Variable
Cash Advance APR: 25.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
3%
Foreign transaction fee
2.7%
Recommended credit score
Compare to other cards
TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express | ||
---|---|---|
Learn more | Learn more | |
Annual fee$0 Annual Fee with your paid Costco membership | Annual fee$99 | Annual fee$199 |
Regular APR15.99% Variable | Regular APRSee Terms | |
Intro APR0% on purchases for 6 months | Intro APR0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 21.24%-29.99%. | Intro APRN/A |
Recommended Credit Score |
Recommended Credit Score |
Recommended Credit Score |
NerdWallet review
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Rating details
4
Editor's overall rating
Pros and cons
Pros
No annual fee
Cons
Editor’s Note: On March 31, 2016, Costco will stop partnering with American Express and TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express will be discontinued. Citi, Costco's new partner, will send TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express cardholders a new Visa card co-branded by Costco as a replacement.
The TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express is a versatile card: it earns you 3% on gas, 2% on restaurants and travel and 1% elsewhere. It’s true that, for each of those categories, you can find slightly stronger rewards rates with some other cards – we discuss some below – but we still recommend this one because this card’s rewards are so well-rounded. Plus, there’s a $0 Annual Fee with your paid Costco membership.
For gas, the TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express is a strong card for most Costco members. The wholesaler’s gas happens to be among the cheapest options out there; you also happen to need an American Express to pay with credit anywhere on Costco premises, and this card is a fine choice.
The gas-rewards cap isn’t ideal – only your first $4,000 in annual spending is eligible for that full 3% – but for most it won’t be a problem. To hit that cap, you’d have to spend about $76 on gas a week, but the average American spends just $51.
Travel benefits are decent, too. You’ll earn that 2% specifically on airfare, hotel rooms, car rentals, cruise lines, travel agencies, tour operators and purchases from Costco Travel – a broad swath of items.
Rewards Redemption
You can redeem only at the end of each year, when Costco mails you a coupon, can you redeem all that cash back.
Your rewards expire, too, so set your calendars: on August 31 every year, your annual rewards coupon will expire. Before then, you have to redeem for Costco merchandise. You can redeem for cash, too, but you’ll have to visit your local Costco to do it.