Costco American Express Ups 3% Cashback Limit on Gas Purchases
Update: Effective October 30, 2012, the Costco American Express will lose 0% Introductory APR for 6 months with flexibility to pay over time.
I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to Costco. I really like shopping at Costco but my problem is never getting out of the store spending less than a couple hundred dollars. Of course, that is exactly how Costco wants it, and it has even been documented in a CNBC documentary called The Costco Craze.
Even though we have been members for several years and spent countless dollars stocking up on essentials while trying to stay in the confines of the monthly coupon book, we had never purchased gas at a Costco before. However, when in Hawaii, we decided to try it out since it was cheaper than other locations. Turned out, the price of gas was about $0.40-0.50/gallon cheaper at the local Costco. So I started to see the merits of purchasing gas at a Costco station.
The Costco branded American Express is also making it a lot more intriguing to continue purchasing gasoline at a local Costco. Just this week I received a notice that the Costco American Express has increased the limit on gasoline purchases from $3,000 to $4,000/year, earning a nice 3% cash back. In addition, the Costco American Express card gives 2% cash back for restaurants and travel, and 1% Cash back at Costco and everywhere else.
I am actually surprised purchases at Costco only earn 1% cash back, but than again their margins are not that high considering they mark up everything 15% and make most of their income off the annual dues.
Regardless, while the Costco American Express may not always be the best card for gasoline rebates, it still sounds like a decent card to add to the wallet, especially considering there is no annual fee so long as you maintain your Costco membership.
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7/12/12- Originally published
Yeah, the AMEX card only gets 1% in the store, which is strange considering the fact that if you have an Executive Membership and pay with a debit card, they will give you 2% cash back in the store. I don’t know why its less with their credit card. They explained all this to me when my girlfriend was buying a TV. I made sure we would get the most cash back. Although, since my mom is the Executive Membership holder, she will be getting the 2% rather than me getting the 1%.
@Chris: When you factor in using the AMEX card in-store, paired with an Executive membership, you should effectively be earning 3% cashback (1% on the card + 2% earned back on your Costco account).