Thursday, February 15, 2018

Top 5 Mastercard Cards to use at Costco - 2018 Update

This is an excerpt of a feature that appears on the main Rewards Canada site which has been updated to incorporate new cards and cards that have changed since the original feature was posted in 2015:

Now that we are in 2015, American Express is gone from Costco Canada stores and Mastercard is in. While Capital One® took the co-branded card away from American Express with essentially the same offering on their Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® it does not mean you have to have that card to shop at Costco. In fact any Mastercard card is accepted at Costco locations across Canada and with so many Mastercard cards to choose from here in the Great White North we thought it would be best to pass along our picks for the five best cards to use at Costco.

1. mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard - 2% return on Costco purchases

A very popular card right now on Rewards Canada thanks to some other Mastercards becoming weaker, the mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard is the best card to use at Costco thanks to its 2% return. Doesn't matter if you redeem it for travel or for cash back, which the card offers without dilution like most other programs. And you can choose to get that cash back in any month - not just once per year like the majority of cash back cards in Canada. Sure the card may not have as big of sign up bonus or as good of insurance package as most of the cards below but it also comes with a lower annual fee and if you do spend lots that extra 0.5% can easily make up the difference on the benefits side, that is if you even need them.

2. WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard - 1.5% return on Costco Purchases

The earn ratio goes down as we get through this list, the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard earns 1.5% WestJet Dollars for every dollar spent which means it is a 1.5% cash back card and that is the return you'll get on your Costco purchases. Add in the $99 to $399 annual companion fares, the $250 sign up bonus, first bag free on WestJet flights and you have yourself not only a good return at Costco but lots of other benefits!

3. BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard - 1.5% return on Costco purchases

This card isn't travel rewards related but it offers up a good cash back return of 1.5% on all purchases at Costco and everywhere else. Add the limited time offer of 4% back on all purchases in the first four months (up to a total of $250 cash back) and you can see why this card would be good to use at Costco. The card also offers one of the better insurance packages out there for a cash back card.

4. BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard - ~1.43% return on Costco purchases

This card used to be our number one card to use at Costco but that all changed on January 15, 2018. The rewards structure changed, so while the card still earns 2 points per dollar spent at Costco it now takes 140 points to get $1 worth of travel versus the 100 points prior to the middle of January. That drops the earn rate at Costco down to 1.43%. That's a significant drop hence the drop from first to third. The card does however come with a great insurance package, limited time first year free offers (no annual fee) and access to airport business class lounges.


5. National Bank of Canada World Elite Mastercard - 1.36% to 1.68% return on Costco purchases

This card comes in with an overall slightly lower earn ratio than the cards before it. Sure the card can get you a 2% return but that is for your spending between $40,001 and $80,000 on the card and when redeeming at higher levels. Prior to that the rate is lower and above that the rate lowers again so your average return will be below 2%. And you only get the best return if you redeem 50,000 or more points at a time. Kind of a convoluted program if you ask me but the card has other benefits like reimbursements for travel expenses like airport parking and airline baggage fees that try to make up for the lower earn rate compared to other cards.

Continue reading the full article here

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