Does Costco Have a Business Credit Card? (w/Examples) + FAQs

Yes, Costco has a business credit card. It is the no-annual-fee Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi. You need a paid Costco Business or Executive membership to qualify. Its cash back on gas, travel, and Costco purchases pays out once a year, as a single certificate, not as monthly cash.

That once-a-year payout matters more as a business's Costco spending grows. Citi also dropped the card's extended warranty benefit in 2023, so buyers get less protection than before. As of NerdWallet's January 2026 review, the card still earns up to 5% back on Costco gas. A fleet or delivery business can turn that into real yearly savings, as long as it accepts once-a-year, in-person redemption.

Rewards rates, fees, and benefits here reflect Costco and Citi's published terms as of January 2026. Costco has changed this program before, most recently cutting extended warranty coverage in 2023. This guide is educational, not personal financial advice, so confirm current terms with Costco and talk to an accountant before applying. Every number below assumes the paid Costco membership behind the card stays active, since a lapsed membership closes the card too.

What the Costco Business Card Covers

Costco does not extend credit itself. Citi issues the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card under a licensing deal, the same structure most co-branded retail cards use. Costco supplies the brand and the warehouse network, while Citi handles underwriting, billing, and customer service.

A sole proprietor, an LLC, or a corporation can all apply for the card. Every applicant needs an active, paid Costco Business or Gold Star membership in their own name first. Some applicants lie about their business revenue or income to look better to the bank, but Citi checks that number against tax records, and a card opened on inflated numbers can get closed later.

The card itself carries no annual fee, which is unusual for a card tied to a paid membership. That savings comes with a catch, since Costco's own membership still costs money every year. Cancel that membership, and Citi closes the credit card right along with it.

Costco's Gold Star or Business membership costs $65 a year. The Executive tier costs $130 a year and adds its own separate rewards. Either tier keeps the credit card active, since eligibility depends on staying a paying Costco member.

Costco only accepts Visa-branded credit cards at its own registers and gas stations. That policy has confused shoppers who carry a Mastercard or American Express business card everywhere else. The Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card sidesteps that limit, since it also doubles as the cardholder's Costco membership card.

Away from Costco, the card works anywhere Visa is accepted. It charges no foreign transaction fee, a real advantage for a business that buys supplies or travels abroad. That combination, wide acceptance plus no foreign fee, is worth more to some businesses than the card's bonus categories.

The card used to bundle broader purchase protections. These included an extended warranty that added two years of coverage on eligible purchases, until Citi cut that benefit in January 2023. The card still keeps its travel protections, like travel accident insurance and roadside dispatch. Citi stripped that same coverage from other cards back in 2019, but not from this one.

Applying takes about ten minutes online through the Costco business card page. The form asks for standard business details: legal name, structure, and either an EIN or the owner's Social Security number. Citi runs a personal credit check on the primary applicant, since even a business card relies on personal credit for approval. One approved applicant reported that Citi tossed a limit and opened the account before any prior relationship existed with the bank, which shows approval does not require an existing Citi account.

Which Business Situation Fits the Card

The Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card rewards a narrow set of spending well, and almost everything else at a flat 1%. Whether that trade-off pays off depends on how much of a business's spending already runs through Costco, gas, travel, or dining. The four situations below cover most of the businesses that search for this card.

The high-mileage delivery or trade business

A landscaping crew, HVAC business, or local courier fits this card well. These businesses fuel several vehicles at the Costco pumps every week. Gas earns 5% back at Costco stations and 4% back at any other pump or EV charger.

Both bonus rates apply only to the first $7,000 in combined gas spending each year. After that point, the rate drops to 1% for the rest of the year. Hitting that cap tops out gas rewards around $315 to $350, which still beats most flat business gas cards paying 2% to 3%. A common mistake is assuming the bonus rate lasts all year no matter what, when it quietly resets to 1% the moment the cap is crossed.

A business with an EV fleet still qualifies for the elevated rate, since Costco groups EV charging into the same 4% bonus category as outside gas. That detail helps a mixed fleet of gas and electric vehicles earn a consistent bonus rate across both fuel types. Pairing this card with a separate fuel rewards card rarely helps once a fleet already sits near the $7,000 cap.

The frequent business traveler

A small consulting firm or sales team often books flights, hotels, and rental cars through Costco Travel. That spending earns 3% back, and restaurant meals earn 3% back too, anywhere the card works. An Executive member can stack the card's rate with the membership's own 2% travel rebate, worth up to $1,250 a year.

Stacking those two rewards pushes total Costco Travel cash back as high as 5%. That combination beats most general business travel cards, which usually top out around 3% unless the business also pays a $95-or-higher annual fee. The upside disappears fast once a business books travel directly with an airline or hotel chain, since direct bookings often earn only the flat 1% rate. A trip booked outside Costco Travel, even to the same destination, can earn far less in rewards.

The wholesale buyer stocking a storefront

A café, small retailer, or contractor that buys supplies from Costco warehouses earns 2% back on every Costco and Costco.com purchase. Add an Executive membership, and that climbs to as much as 4% combined. The membership's own 2% Costco rebate stacks directly with the card's 2% rate.

For a business spending $20,000 or more a year at Costco, that combined rate can return $800 or more annually. That return usually justifies the extra $65 jump from Gold Star Business to Executive. The reward still lands as a single certificate months later, so this works better as a savings habit than a source of monthly cash flow. A business expecting monthly credits, like most cash-back cards pay, will be surprised by the wait.

The occasional Costco shopper

A consultant or freelancer who visits Costco once or twice a year gets little value here. Every purchase outside the bonus categories earns a flat 1%. Plenty of general business cash-back cards pay 2% or more on every purchase, including at Costco, without requiring a paid membership at all.

A business in this position is usually better off carrying a flat-rate card for daily spending. It can still keep the Costco card, if it wants one, for the few categories where it beats 1%. The membership fee alone, $65 a year at minimum, is hard to justify against a card a business barely uses. Skipping the Costco card entirely is often the simplest choice for a low-Costco-spend business.

A simple test settles the question fast. Pull last year's total Costco receipts and compare that figure against overall annual spending. If Costco spending sits far below what a flat-rate card would earn on the same dollars, the co-branded card is not worth the membership fee it requires.

Worked Example: Calculating a Year of Costco Card Rewards

Consider Ramon, who owns a three-truck plumbing business. He fuels up at Costco gas stations, buys shop supplies at the warehouse, and books two work trips a year through Costco Travel. His business spends $6,500 a year on Costco gas, $9,000 on Costco warehouse purchases, $3,000 on Costco Travel, and about $40,000 on everything else. None of his gas spending crosses the $7,000 combined cap, so every gallon earns the bonus rate all year.

Ramon's card earns him $995 for the year. That reward arrives the following spring as a single certificate, redeemed in person at a Costco warehouse. A flat 2% cash-back card would have paid roughly $1,170 on the same $58,500 in total spending, redeemable as cash anytime. The Costco card only wins here because gas and Costco spending make up a large share of Ramon's total budget.

This example simplifies the real math. Actual spending rarely sorts as cleanly into categories as a worked example suggests. A purchase can also fall into more than one possible bonus category, depending on how a merchant codes the transaction. Card issuers decide that code, not the cardholder, so the only reliable method to confirm a rate is to check a monthly statement.

Ramon's numbers also show what happens near the edge of the gas cap. If his Costco gas spending rose to $10,000 a year instead of $6,500, the first $7,000 would still earn 5%, worth $350, but the remaining $3,000 would earn only 1%, worth $30, for $380 total instead of continuing to scale up. That extra $3,500 in spending would add only $55 in rewards, a steep drop from the 5% rate on every dollar before the cap. A fuel-heavy business should watch that threshold closely, since crossing it quietly shrinks the return on every gas dollar that follows.

Where Business Owners Get Tripped Up

The rewards math above assumes everything goes smoothly. The card's fine print catches business owners in a few predictable spots. Four situations below show where its rules differ from what a typical business card trains people to expect. None of them repeat the gas-cap math above, since these are about rules, not rewards rates.

Priya runs a five-person catering company. She expected her Costco card to work like her other business cards, crediting cash back every month. Instead, Citi bundles a full year of rewards into one certificate that lands after the February billing cycle closes, and Priya has to redeem it in person at a US Costco warehouse. Some cardholders find this frustrating, since they would rather have liquid cash rewards than wait a year for one certificate they can only spend at Costco.

Dave runs a two-person landscaping company. He kept his Chase Ink Business Preferred card for its travel perks and assumed it worked everywhere, including at Costco. Costco's registers and gas pumps only take Visa-branded cards, so Dave's Mastercard-network Ink card gets declined at checkout, even though Chase accepts it almost everywhere else. Some business owners value their Costco membership enough to keep a separate Visa card in the wallet only for Costco runs.

Elena owns a bakery-supply route and holds the Executive membership for its own 2% Costco rebate, worth up to $1,250 a year. In a year with $25,000 in Costco purchases, that rebate alone pays her $500. The card's separate 2% rate adds another $500, for $1,000 combined. The two rewards arrive as two separate payouts, since Costco and Citi pay them on their own schedules.

Marcus wanted to add two employees as authorized users on the business card, like he could on his Chase Ink cards at no extra cost. Citi will not activate an authorized-user card until that employee has their own paid Costco membership, currently $65 a year at the Gold Star Business level. Marcus ended up buying two extra memberships to hand out cards. That hidden cost stacks on top of the membership his business already carries, and it is easy to miss until an application stalls waiting on someone else's membership.

Costco Anywhere Visa Business vs. the Chase Ink Lineup

Costco is not the only wholesale-adjacent business card worth comparing. Chase markets its Ink Business lineup as accepted at wholesale clubs including Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's, since any Visa-network card works at Costco's registers. The real question is not whether a Chase card gets accepted at Costco, since it does, but which card earns more for a given business.

Ink Business Cash mirrors the Costco card's tiered structure, but flips the top category to office supply stores, internet, and phone service. It pays out monthly instead of once a year. Ink Business Unlimited trades every bonus category for a flat 1.5% on every purchase, a better fit when spending is too scattered for one bonus category. Ink Business Preferred charges a $95 annual fee but earns triple points on travel and select business categories, which suits heavy travel and marketing spend more than heavy Costco spend.

For a business near the break-even point, the deciding factor is often not the rate but how the money arrives. Ink Business Cash pays out monthly, so a business that wants steady cash flow may prefer it, even at a slightly lower reward some years. The worked example earlier in this guide walks through Ramon's exact numbers, and the same math, run against a business's own spending, settles this better than either card's marketing page.

Mistakes to Avoid With the Costco Business Credit Card

These are the mistakes that cost Costco cardholders money or access most often:

• Letting the Costco membership lapse. Citi closes the credit card automatically once the linked membership expires, cutting off both warehouse access and your payment method at the same time.
• Assuming rewards arrive monthly. The cash back accrues all year and pays out once, as an annual certificate, not as an ongoing statement credit like most business cards.
• Losing track of the $7,000 combined gas cap. Once a business crosses that threshold, the gas rate drops from 5% or 4% down to 1% for the rest of the year.
• Swiping a Mastercard or Amex business card at a Costco register. Costco only accepts Visa-branded cards in its warehouses and gas stations, so anything else gets declined at checkout.
• Adding an employee as an authorized user before they have a Costco membership. Citi will not activate that card until the employee holds a paid membership in their own name.
• Assuming the Executive membership upgrade always pays for itself. Its 2% Costco rebate caps at $1,250 a year, so a business needs roughly $62,500 in qualifying Costco spending to hit that ceiling.
• Booking travel directly with an airline or hotel and expecting the travel rate. Only Costco Travel bookings and certain eligible travel purchases qualify for the card's 3% rate; direct bookings often earn the flat 1% instead.
• Assuming the card still carries its old extended warranty benefit. Citi eliminated that coverage in January 2023, so a big purchase made today gets no extra warranty protection from the card.

Weighing the Card: Do's, Don'ts, Pros, and Cons

Do

• Confirm your Costco membership will stay active for as long as you want the card, since a lapsed membership closes the account with it.
• Track your combined Costco and outside gas spending against the $7,000 annual cap so you know exactly when the rate drops to 1%.
• Add employees as authorized users only after they hold their own paid Costco membership, so the card activates without delay.
• Compare the no-annual-fee cash-back math against Chase's Ink Business Cash before assuming the Costco card is the better fit for your spending.
• Redeem the annual reward certificate before it expires at the end of the year Costco issues it.
• Book through Costco Travel specifically, not directly with an airline or hotel, if the travel rate is part of why you want this card.

Don't

• Don't expect monthly cash back; the reward pays out once a year as a single certificate.
• Don't carry a Mastercard or American Express business card as your only Costco payment method; Costco's registers only take Visa.
• Don't assume the card still includes its old extended warranty benefit; Citi dropped that coverage in January 2023.
• Don't let an employee apply for an authorized-user card before they have their own Costco membership; the application will stall.
• Don't upgrade to Executive membership purely for the card's rebate if your Costco spending falls well short of the level where it pays for itself.
• Don't rely on this card as your only business card if most of your spending happens outside Costco, gas, travel, and dining.

Pros

• No annual fee on the credit card itself.
• Strong 5% and 4% gas rewards that suit a fleet, delivery, or trade business.
• Rewards stack with an Executive membership's own 2% Costco rebate.
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside the US.
• The card doubles as a Costco membership card, so it is one less thing to carry.
• Travel protections the card kept even after Citi trimmed them from other cards in 2019.

Cons

• Rewards arrive once a year instead of monthly.
• Redemption happens mostly in person at a US Costco warehouse.
• The card requires an active, paid Costco membership to qualify at all.
• Spending outside the bonus categories earns a flat 1%.
• Citi removed the extended warranty benefit in January 2023.
• Employees need their own separate Costco membership before they can get an authorized-user card.

What to Do Next

Work through these steps in order to decide whether this card belongs in your wallet:

1. Add up last year's Costco warehouse purchases, Costco gas, Costco Travel bookings, and restaurant spending to estimate your bonus-category total.
2. Check whether your business already holds an active Gold Star Business or Executive Costco membership, since the card requires one.
3. Compare your estimated Costco card rewards against a flat 1.5% to 2% cash-back business card using your full annual spending.
4. Apply through Costco's card page if the co-branded card wins, and gather your business's legal name, structure, and EIN or Social Security number first.
5. Set a calendar reminder for your combined gas spending each year so you notice before you cross the $7,000 cap.
6. Talk to your accountant before upgrading to Executive membership purely for the credit card math, especially if your Costco spending varies a lot year to year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a sole proprietor qualify for the Costco business credit card?

Yes. A sole proprietorship can apply with the owner's Social Security number instead of an EIN. The owner still needs a paid Costco Business or Gold Star membership first.

Do I need an EIN to apply for the Costco business card?

No. Costco and Citi accept either an EIN or the owner's Social Security number. A single-owner business without a formal EIN can still apply.

Can I use the Costco business card anywhere other than Costco?

Yes. It works everywhere Visa is accepted, earning 1% back outside the card's gas, travel, dining, and Costco bonus categories. There is no foreign transaction fee on international spending.

Does Costco accept American Express or Mastercard business cards?

No. Costco's registers and gas stations only accept Visa-branded credit cards. That policy applies to every network except Visa, no matter who issued the card.

What happens to the card if I cancel my Costco membership?

Citi closes the account. Eligibility depends on holding an active, paid Costco membership. A lapsed membership ends the credit card along with it.

How is the business card different from the personal Costco Anywhere Visa Card?

The rewards structure is nearly identical. Both earn tiered cash back on gas, travel, dining, and Costco purchases with no annual fee. The business version reports to business credit bureaus and lets a company add employee cardholders.

Can my employees get their own card on the business account?

Yes, but each authorized-user employee needs their own paid Costco membership first. Citi will not activate an employee's card until that membership is in place.

Is there a minimum credit score to qualify for this card?

Costco and Citi do not publish one. Approval depends on the primary applicant's personal credit history, since even a business card relies on the owner's credit for underwriting.

Does the Sam's Club Mastercard offer similar rewards for a warehouse-club business?

It offers a comparable but not identical structure. Sam's Club's business Mastercard pays bonus rates in different categories than Costco's card. A business that shops both clubs should compare the two directly.

When does the annual cash-back certificate arrive?

Shortly after your February billing statement closes. Costco issues one reward certificate a year covering the prior year's spending. That certificate expires if it goes unused by the end of the year it was issued.

Can I redeem the Costco reward certificate for cash instead of merchandise?

Yes, in most cases. The certificate can be redeemed for cash or a check at a US Costco warehouse. Redemption still has to happen in person rather than online.

Does the Costco business card charge foreign transaction fees?

No. The card charges no foreign transaction fee. That makes it a reasonable choice for a business that pays vendors or travels outside the US.

Is the Costco business card worth it if my business rarely shops at Costco?

Usually not. Spending outside the card's bonus categories earns a flat 1%. A business with little Costco, gas, travel, or dining spending typically earns more with a flat-rate cash-back card instead.