For most people the best card at Costco is a no-annual-fee Visa that counts wholesale clubs as a bonus category. The Venmo Credit Card (3% when Costco is your top spending category) and Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards (2%, up to 3.5% for Preferred Rewards members) lead that group. If Costco gas matters more to you than groceries, the Costco Anywhere Visa’s 4% on fuel is hard to beat.
Two rules decide everything else, so start there.
Why your usual grocery card fails at Costco #
Costco warehouses only accept Visa credit cards. That has been true since Costco switched from American Express in 2016, and it applies at the registers and the gas pumps. Your Amex Gold and your Citi Double Cash (a Mastercard) will both be declined. Costco.com and the Costco app are looser and accept Visa and Mastercard. Neither channel takes Discover or American Express.
Most “grocery” bonuses exclude wholesale clubs. Card issuers classify purchases by merchant category code, and Costco codes as a warehouse club, not a supermarket. A card advertising 4% or 6% at U.S. supermarkets will usually pay its base 1% at Costco. We cover how issuers draw that line in what counts as a grocery store for credit cards.
So you want a Visa that either names wholesale clubs as a bonus category or pays a strong flat rate on everything.
The five best Visa cards for Costco #
| Card | Rate at Costco | Annual fee | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venmo Credit Card | 3% | $0 | Only when grocery is your top category that month |
| BofA Customized Cash Rewards | 2% (up to 3.5%) | $0 | $2,500 quarterly cap on bonus spend |
| Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi | 2% (4% on gas) | $0 with membership | Rewards arrive once a year as a certificate |
| Wells Fargo Active Cash | 2% | $0 | None worth mentioning |
| U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve | Historically 4.5% toward travel | $400 | Closed to new applicants since November 2024 |
1. Venmo Credit Card: best no-fee rate for regular shoppers #
The Venmo card, issued by Synchrony, pays 3% back in whichever of eight categories you spend the most on each billing cycle, 2% in the second, and 1% on the rest. Grocery is one of the eight, and Venmo’s grocery category includes wholesale clubs. If Costco plus supermarkets is your biggest monthly spend, which it is for a lot of households, Costco earns 3% with nothing to activate.
The weakness is that it’s automatic. A month with a big travel booking or a car repair can push grocery into second place, and your Costco run drops to 2%. You have to open the card through the Venmo app, and the rewards land in your Venmo balance.
2. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards: best if you bank with BofA #
This card pays 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, plus 3% in a category you pick. The 2% and 3% share a combined $2,500 cap each quarter. The multiplier makes it interesting. Bank of America Preferred Rewards members earn 25% to 75% more on every purchase, based on their combined BofA and Merrill balances:
- Gold ($20,000 or more): 2.5% at Costco
- Platinum ($50,000 or more): 3%
- Platinum Honors ($100,000 or more): 3.5%
At Platinum Honors that’s the best available rate at a Costco register, as long as you stay under the $2,500 quarterly cap. A household spending $800 a month at Costco would hit it.
3. Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi: best for Costco gas #
Costco’s own card earns 4% on gas and EV charging at Costco and elsewhere on up to $7,000 a year (then 1%), 3% at restaurants and on eligible travel, 2% at Costco and Costco.com, and 1% on everything else. There’s no annual fee as long as you keep a Costco membership. It also works as your membership ID.
The 2% at Costco is only average. The card makes sense if you buy a lot of gas, and Costco’s pumps are usually among the cheapest in town anyway. The redemption rules are the real drawback. Rewards arrive once a year as a certificate with your February statement, you have to spend it at a Costco warehouse, and it expires at year-end. If you cancel your membership or close the card before February, you lose the year’s rewards.
4. Wells Fargo Active Cash: best set-and-forget option #
A flat 2% on everything, no caps, no categories, no annual fee, and it’s a Visa. Active Cash won’t win at Costco, but it never loses either, and it pays 2% everywhere else too. If you’d rather carry one card than play category games, this is it.
5. U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve: only if you already hold one #
The Altitude Reserve used to be the top Costco card. It earned 3x points on mobile wallet purchases, and tapping your phone at Costco counts, which worked out to 4.5% when redeemed for travel. U.S. Bank closed it to new applicants on November 11, 2024. It changed the card’s benefits again in December 2025 and added transfer partners in August 2026. If yours is still open, check the current earn rates before assuming Costco still codes at the old 4.5%.
Stack it with the Executive membership #
An Executive membership costs $130 a year, $65 more than a Gold Star membership. It pays 2% back on most Costco purchases, capped at $1,250 a year. That 2% stacks on top of your card’s reward:
- Wells Fargo Active Cash + Executive: 4%
- Venmo card (top category) + Executive: 5%
- BofA Customized Cash at Platinum Honors + Executive: 5.5%
The upgrade pays for itself once you spend $3,250 a year at Costco, about $271 a month. Costco also added early 9 a.m. shopping hours and a monthly same-day delivery credit for Executive members, so the break-even comes a little sooner if you use those.
Two tricks worth knowing #
Buy Costco Shop Cards online with a Mastercard. Costco.com takes Mastercard, and Shop Cards (Costco’s gift cards) can then be spent in the warehouse. If you have a Mastercard with a bonus that applies to that purchase, you can move that rate into the store. Check how your issuer codes Costco.com first. Many treat it as a warehouse club, not online shopping, so a card with an “online shopping” bonus may not trigger it.
Put a new card’s minimum spend on Costco. A stock-up trip is a painless way to reach a sign-up bonus threshold without buying anything you wouldn’t have bought anyway. We walk through that in how to track minimum spend without stress, and in whether gift cards count toward minimum spend.
Grabbing the wrong card is the expensive mistake #
Most people lose money at Costco by pulling out the wrong card, not by picking the wrong one. The 5% card in your wallet is a Mastercard, the 4% grocery card doesn’t count warehouse clubs, and you’re at the register with a $400 cart.
Credit Card Central has a Which Card? screen that ranks the cards you actually own for a given purchase. It reads rates like “3% at wholesale clubs” from your card list, so you check it once before you get in line. The same app tracks minimum-spend deadlines and your daily pace toward a bonus, which helps if you’re timing a Costco trip to finish one. It’s free, needs no account, and never asks for bank logins.
Frequently asked questions #
Does Costco take Mastercard or American Express? #
Not in the warehouse. Costco stores and gas stations accept only Visa credit cards, plus debit cards, cash, checks, EBT and Costco Shop Cards. Costco.com and the Costco app accept Visa and Mastercard. American Express and Discover credit cards aren’t accepted anywhere at Costco.
Do grocery rewards cards earn bonus points at Costco? #
Usually not. Most issuers exclude warehouse clubs and superstores from their grocery category, so a supermarket card typically earns 1% at Costco. The exceptions are cards that name wholesale clubs specifically, such as Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards, or whose grocery definition includes them, like the Venmo Credit Card.
Is the Costco Anywhere Visa worth it? #
It’s worth it if you buy a lot of gas or EV charging (4% on up to $7,000 a year) and don’t mind collecting rewards once a year in the store. For warehouse purchases alone, its 2% is matched by flat-rate Visa cards that pay out whenever you like.
What’s the highest cash back possible at Costco? #
About 5.5%: Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards at the Platinum Honors tier (3.5%) plus the Executive membership’s 2%, within each program’s caps. A Venmo card in its top category plus Executive gets you 5% with no banking relationship required.
Can I use Apple Pay at Costco? #
Yes. Costco warehouses and gas stations accept Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, as long as the card behind them is a Visa.