Your Card Account will earn cash back rewards based on your purchases that can be redeemed for merchandise or cash back at any U.S. Costco warehouse, including Puerto Rico.
Earning Cash Back Rewards on Purchases:
You'll earn cash back rewards for purchases using your Card Account, minus returns and refunds, as follows:
- 5% cash back on gas purchased at Costco warehouse locations and 4% cash back on other eligible gas and eligible electric vehicle (EV) charging purchases worldwide for the first $7,000 per year in combined Costco and other eligible gas and/or EV charging purchases, and then 1% thereafter.
- Certain Non-Qualifying Purchases. You will only earn 1% cash back, not 5% or 4%, for gas or EV charging purchased at superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs other than Costco or for fuel used for non-automobile purposes.
- 3% cash back on restaurant (including cafes, bars, lounges and fast food restaurants) and eligible travel purchases worldwide, including airfare, hotels, car rentals, travel agencies, cruise lines and Costco Travel.
- Certain Non-Qualifying Purchases.You will only earn 1%, not 3%, for purchases made at bakeries and certain restaurants/cafes inside department stores, grocery or warehouse clubs. Additionally, you will only earn 1%, not 3%, for purchases made at timeshares, campgrounds, bed & breakfasts and for purchases of train and commuter travel.
- 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com.
- 1% cash back on all other purchases, including the non-qualifying purchases listed above.
What doesn't qualify as a purchase?
The following types of transactions don't qualify as purchases that earn cash back rewards:
- Use of checks that access your Card Account
- Balance transfers
- Cash advances
- Travelers checks, foreign currency purchases, money orders, wire transfers and similar cash-like transactions
- Lottery tickets, gaming chips and similar betting transactions
- Interest and account fees
- Unauthorized charges
- Items returned for credit
Merchant Classification for Rewards Categories:
Merchants are assigned a merchant category code ("MCC"), which is determined in accordance with Visa procedures based on the kinds of products and services the merchants primarily sell. We don't control the assignment of these codes and are not responsible for the codes used by merchants. When you use your card to make a purchase, we're provided an MCC for that purchase. We group similar merchant codes into categories for purposes of making rewards offers. Sometimes you may expect a purchase to fit within a rewards category, but if the code assigned to the merchant wasn't grouped into that category, as recognized by Citi, your purchase will not qualify for additional cash back rewards. For example, you won't earn additional rewards for purchases at a restaurant located within a retailer if the restaurant is assigned a "retailer" code instead of a "restaurant" code and you won't earn additional rewards for purchases at a gas station if it is assigned a "convenience store" code instead of a "service station" or "automated fuel dispensers" code. Please also note — purchases made through mobile/wireless technology may not earn additional cash back rewards depending on how the technology is set up to process the purchase. We reserve the exclusive right to determine which purchases qualify for additional cash back rewards.
Returns:
Returned items may result in credits being applied to your Card Account which will reduce or may eliminate accumulated cash back rewards and may result in a negative cash rewards balance. If your Card Account has a negative cash back rewards balance, any newly earned cash back rewards will be used to offset such negative cash back rewards balance until such balance has been brought to zero.
Receiving & Redeeming Cash Back Rewards:
Your reward is distributed annually once your February billing statement closes. Your reward is distributed in the form of a credit card reward certificate, unless your annual reward amount is greater than $10,000, in which case Citi and Costco reserve the right to distribute your reward in an alternative form (e.g., a check or electronic transfer), at Citi's and/or Costco's discretion. Credit card reward certificates are redeemable through December 31 of the year issued in a single transaction at any U.S. Costco warehouse, including in Puerto Rico, for merchandise or cash back. An alternative form for redemption other than within the warehouse may be provided at Citi and/ or Costco's discretion. The credit card reward certificate, or alternative-form distribution, will contain your cash back rewards balance based on your eligible purchases during the annual reward period. The annual reward period is based on January through December billing statements. Should you choose to redeem only a portion of the certificate for merchandise, you will receive the remaining balance in cash or an alternative form (e.g. check or electronic transfer), at the Costco warehouse's discretion. Requests to redeem the credit card reward certificate for cash may be fulfilled in an alternative form (e.g., a check or electronic transfer), at the Costco warehouse's discretion. Your credit card reward certificate must be redeemed in person on or prior to its expiration date of December 31 in the year in which it is issued, unless an alternative form for redemption is provided (at Citi and/or Costco's discretion). Any cash back rewards you have earned on purchases made by Authorized Users on your Card Account will be added to your cash back rewards total. Only you, the primary cardmember, are eligible to receive the annual credit card reward certificate; however, you or anyone you authorize may redeem the certificate as long as you or the authorized individual has a valid Costco membership. You will not receive a credit card reward certificate if your reward is less than $1 or your account is closed at the time your credit card reward certificate is scheduled to be sent. Any cash back rewards that had been accrued at that time will be forfeited, unless prohibited by law or otherwise indicated below. You must maintain your Costco Membership to redeem your credit card reward certificate, unless prohibited by law.
Account Closure:
If we are notified of your death, earned cash back rewards will be distributed via check to the executor or administrator of your estate.
If we close your Card Account for any other reason, you will no longer be able to earn cash back rewards, and you will forfeit any cash back rewards accumulated, but not yet distributed, unless prohibited by law. If you close or convert your Card Account prior to receiving the credit card reward certificate in your February billing statement, any earned cash back rewards will be forfeited, unless prohibited by law.
Forfeiture:
Any cash back rewards not redeemed by December 31 of the year of issuance of the credit card reward certificate will be forfeited.
Value of Cash Back Rewards:
Cash back rewards have no cash value until such time as they are redeemed.
Property Rights:
You have no property rights or other legal interests in cash back rewards. Cash back rewards may not be transferred to any other person including through such events as inheritance, bankruptcy or divorce. cash back rewards cannot be assigned or pledged.
Changes to Program Rules:
We may make changes to the cash back rewards Program at any time, and if required by law, will provide notice. We will give you advanced written notice if we make any of the following changes: a change that negatively affects the number of cash back rewards you can earn, a change that negatively affects how/when you may lose your cash back rewards, a change that negatively affects how you can exercise your rights with respect to cash back rewards, or if we cancel the program.
Fraud, Misuse, Abuse or Suspicious Activity:
If we see evidence of fraud, misuse, abuse, or suspicious activity, as determined by us in our sole discretion, we reserve the right to take action against you and your account. This may include, without limitation and without prior notice, any or all of the following:
- Taking away your accrued cash back rewards you earned because of fraud, misuse or abuse.
- Preventing you from earning cash back rewards.
- Suspending or closing your Card Account or cash back rewards account.
- Taking legal action to recover cash back rewards redeemed because of such activity and to recover our monetary losses, including litigation costs, and damages.
Examples of activities that may trigger such actions include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Using your Card Account in an abusive manner for the primary purpose of acquiring cash back rewards.
- Using your Card Account other than primarily for personal, consumer or household purposes.
