So the first question is whether you buy enough Costco gas to carry its card, and the second is which Visa should pay for your cart. Costco’s gas stations accept Visa and no other credit card as well, according to Costco’s membership terms, while Costco.com also takes Mastercard.
The store’s own cards come first, then flat-rate cards that pay the same rate on every purchase, then cards that pay more as your balance at their bank grows.
Best for Costco gas: Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
At 5%, a household that buys $3,000 of gas a year at Costco’s pumps earns $150 with this card, against $60 on a 2% card.
- What Sets It Apart: 4% to 5% on gas and 3% on dining with no annual fee beyond the membership
- Rewards: 5% at Costco and 4% at other eligible stations and EV chargers on the first $7,000 a year combined, then 1%; 3% on restaurants and eligible travel; 2% on other Costco and Costco.com purchases; 1% on everything else
- Features: Doubles as your Costco membership card; no fee for authorized users who hold a Costco membership
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 18.99% to 26.99% variable
- Cost: No foreign transaction fee
- Eligibility: A paid Costco membership, $65 a year for Gold Star or $130 for Executive
- Pros: 3% on dining and travel; no foreign transaction fee
- Cons: Rewards come once a year as a certificate redeemable only at U.S. Costco warehouses by Dec. 31; 1% outside its categories; gas at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Kroger, and other excluded stations earns 1%
For more information, read our full Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi Review.
Best for business: Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi
Business owners who buy gas and supplies at Costco get the personal card’s rates on business spending, and each employee who holds a Costco membership can get a card at no fee.
- What Sets It Apart: Pays 5% at Costco’s own pumps and doubles as your Costco membership card
- Rewards: 5% on Costco gas and 4% at other eligible gas stations and EV chargers, on the first $7,000 a year combined, then 1%; 3% on restaurants and eligible travel; 2% at Costco and Costco.com; 1% on everything else
- Features: Cash back paid yearly as a certificate, redeemable in person at U.S. Costco warehouses through December 31; free employee cards; 120-day purchase protection; car rental insurance
- Annual Fee: $0 with a paid Costco membership, $65 a year at the Gold Star or Business level
- APR: 18.99% to 27.49% variable
- Cost: No foreign transaction fee; cash advances $10 or 5%, whichever is greater; late payment $41
- Eligibility: A Costco membership in your name and in each employee cardholder’s; business use only, with no minimum business size
- Pros: 4% to 5% on gas; 3% on restaurants and travel; employee cards at no fee; purchase protection
- Cons: Rewards once a year, redeemable only at Costco; lost if you close the card before the certificate, unless the business closes; no welcome bonus; 1% outside its categories
For more information, read our full Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi Review.
Best for big spenders: Robinhood Gold Visa® Card
With Robinhood’s $50-a-year Gold membership, it pays 3% in the warehouse and at the pump, and after that fee it beats a no-fee 2% card once you charge it more than $5,000 a year.
- What Sets It Apart: A flat 3X on almost everything, paid out as brokerage cash
- Rewards: 3 points per $1 on nearly every purchase, worth 1 cent each as Robinhood brokerage cash or gift cards
- Features: Free plastic cards for up to 7 authorized users; trip cancellation and interruption coverage up to $2,000; points to brokerage cash in any amount
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 29.99% variable
- Cost: 3% foreign transaction fee on accounts opened on or after July 1, 2026
- Eligibility: A Robinhood Gold membership, $50 a year
- Pros: One rate with no categories; soft credit check before you accept; no added cost for members who’d keep Gold anyway
- Cons: $50 Gold fee a free 2% card doesn’t charge; waitlist to apply; no points on tax payments or government services; statement credits worth less than a cent per point
For more information, read our full Robinhood Gold Visa® Card Review.
Best for plain cash back: Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
Members who want one card with no annual fee and nothing else to join get 2% from it in the warehouse, at the pump, and everywhere else.
- What Sets It Apart: 2% on everything with no annual fee, plus an intro period on purchases and transfers alike; cell phone protection when the card pays your phone bill
- Welcome Offer: $100 bonus once you spend $500 in 3 months
- Rewards: Flat 2% cash rewards
- Features: Visa Signature card; up to $600 per claim in cell phone protection with a $25 deductible; rewards as a card or Wells Fargo account credit, gift cards, or PayPal checkout
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months
- APR: 18.74%, 24.74%, or 28.74% variable after the 0% period
- Cost: 3% balance transfer fee (at least $5) for 120 days, then up to 5%
- Pros: No categories to track; 0% on purchases as well as balance transfers; coverage for every phone line on the bill; rewards don’t expire while the account is open
- Cons: 3% foreign transaction fee; less than a category card pays in its bonus categories; balance transfer fee during the 0% period; no coverage for a phone that goes missing
For more information, read our full Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card Review.
Best for investors: Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card
Fidelity investors earn 2% in the warehouse, as Costco’s own card does, but the cash back goes into a Fidelity brokerage, retirement, or college savings account instead of onto a Costco certificate.
- What Sets It Apart: 2% paid as a deposit into up to five Fidelity accounts; automatic monthly deposits; no foreign transaction fee
- Rewards: 2 points per $1, worth 1 cent each as a Fidelity deposit
- Features: Up to 10,000 points toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years; auto rental collision coverage up to $75,000
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 16.74% to 26.74% variable
- Pros: Flat 2% with no categories or caps; deposits can go to a family member’s account; points don’t expire while the account is open
- Cons: Other redemptions get a different value; no sign-up bonus; IRA deposits count toward the current year’s contribution limit
For more information, read our full Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card Review.
Highest warehouse rate: U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card
U.S. Bank customers with $10,000 already in Smartly Checking, and a Smartly Savings account, earn 2.5% in the warehouse, and 4% at $100,000, on up to $10,000 of purchases a billing cycle.
- Best for: U.S. Bank customers who keep $10,000 or more in Smartly Checking
- What Sets It Apart: Checking balances, not spending categories, set its rate, up to 4%
- Rewards: 2.5%, 3%, or 4% on the first $10,000 of eligible purchases a billing cycle with $10,000, $50,000, or $100,000 in Smartly Checking or Safe Debit; 2% otherwise; 6% on prepaid hotels and car rentals in U.S. Bank’s Travel Center
- Features: Boost needs a Smartly Savings account; waives the $5 Smartly Savings and $12 Smartly Checking monthly fees
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% for 12 billing cycles on purchases, and on balance transfers in the first 60 days
- APR: 18.49% to 28.49% variable
- Cost: Balance transfer fee 5% ($5 minimum); foreign transaction fee 3%; cash advance fee 5% ($10 minimum); late fee up to $41
- Credit Needed: Good to excellent
- Pros: Flat 2% with no annual fee or bank account needed; up to 4% without tracking categories; fee waivers on two U.S. Bank accounts; 0% intro APR on purchases and transfers
- Cons: Only checking balances count, and checking pays almost no interest; no welcome offer; 3% foreign transaction fee; no boost on insurance, tax, gift card, or education purchases
For more information, read our full U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card Review.
Best for BofA customers: Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
Bank of America checking customers in its BofA Rewards program earn 2.2% at wholesale clubs like Costco, or 3% once their deposit and investment balances there average $100,000, up to a quarterly cap.
- What Sets It Apart: A 3% category you pick and can change once a month; BofA Rewards adds 10% to 75%, up to 5.25% in the category
- Welcome Offer: $200 bonus after $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days; 6% in the category the first year
- Rewards: 3% in one category: gas and EV charging by default, or online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement; 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs; both on up to $2,500 combined a quarter, then 1%
- Features: Cash back in any amount; rewards don’t expire while the account is open
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 billing cycles on purchases and on balance transfers made in the first 60 days
- APR: 17.74% to 27.74% variable
- Cost: Balance transfer fee 3% for the first 60 days, then 5%; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Pros: Phone, internet, cable, and streaming bills count as online shopping
- Cons: $2,500 quarterly cap shared with groceries and wholesale clubs; 1% past the cap; 3% foreign transaction fee
For more information, read our full Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card Review.
At Costco, gas is where its own card leads, and the cart is where a flat rate or a bank balance decides what you earn. Put Costco gas on the Costco Anywhere Visa and pair it with a no-fee 2% Visa for the cart, or with the Robinhood Gold Card if you’d put over $5,000 a year on it.
Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page – including the order in which they appear – but it does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.
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