By : Mr Credit Card

TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express Review

Note:: We are not offering this card on this website though it is available on American Express site.

Summary - In our opinion, the TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express is a really good cash cash back card for those who shop at Costco and also for earning rebates on gasoline and travel. This is the only credit card in the market today that lets you earn more than the standard 1% cash back on gasoline, travel and dining expenses.

Cash Back Formula - The TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express gives card members 4% cash on gasoline purchases^* for up to $6,000 in annual gasoline spending. You get to earn 2% cash back for restaurant spending and 2% for travel spending. For other regular purchases, you earn the standard 1% cash back.

How Do You Redeem Cash Back You Have Earned - Costco cash back are given once a year in the form of a certificate which you can use at Costco or exchange them for cash (at Costco) as well. So while you can redeem it for cash, chances are that you will use it to reduce your Costco bill when you actually go use the certificate! (very smart of them!)

Fees - There is no annaul fee for this card. But you get this card, you would have to be a member of Costco (which has an annual membership fee depending on your membership level).

Before we can reach a conclusion as to how good this card is, we've decided to compare it against some of it's peers.

Costo Business versus BJ's credit card - The BJ's credit card (which is a Visa) is issued by Barclays Bank. The card allows you to earn 2% rebates from BJ's purchases and 1% from everything else. The funny thing about Costco credit cards is that you only earn 1% rebates when you shop with them! But they do pay you higher rebates on gasoline (4%), restaurant (3%) and travel (2%) expenses. So while BJ's beats it in term of spending at one's own store, Costco is better in that you can earn rebates on other types of expenses as well.

Costco Business versus Sam's Club Discover Card - Sam's Club card is issued by Discover and runs through the Discover Network. In fact, only Discover Cards are accepted at Sam's Club (much like only Amex is accepted at Costco). It has a tiered rebate system that allows you to earn 2% rebates once your purchase is in the $10,000.01 to $250,000 zone. The rabates starts at 0.25% for spending less than $1,500 and tiers up to the maximum level. In terms of rebate formula, I'd say that the Costco business card is a much better deal as it does not have any tier system.

Versus the Consumer Costco version - Costco also has a regular consumer credit card and the only difference is that instead of being able to earn 4% on gasoline expenses, it only allows you to earn 3%. So it is better in this aspect.
 

Verdict - The TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express is a card that will likely suit a business owner like a restaurant owner who gets his or her supplies from Costco (yes - I've seen desserts at swanky Italian restaurants from Costco!). Furthermore, it is a card that will help you save on gasoline, restaurant expenses (when you do business entertainment) and travel expenses (when you travel on business). The only snag is that you get your cash in the form of a certificate once a year, which has to be redeemed at Costco. (So make sure there is a Costco around where you live). You can obviously also redeem your certificates for Costco purchases.

If you are a costco member, we highly recommend the TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express. Even if you are not a costco member and there is a Costco near your place, you might just want to consider becoming a member to save money by bulk buying some groceries and also to take advantage of the generous cash back from their credit card.

Note - you do not need to be a business owner to get this card. You will be treated as a sole proprietor if you apply as an individual.