TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express

TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express

TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express

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TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express

TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express

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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

American Express Costco Credit Card

TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express

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NerdWallet rating 
NerdWallet rating 
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Annual fee

$0 Annual Fee with your paid Costco membership

Annual fee

$99

Annual fee

$199

Regular APR

15.99% Variable

Regular APR

21.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99%, Variable APR

Rates & Fees

Regular APR

See Terms

Intro APR

0% on purchases for 6 months

Intro APR

0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 21.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99%.

Intro APR

N/A

Recommended Credit Score
Recommended Credit Score
Recommended Credit Score

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NerdWallet review

By Mike Anderson

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

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.