TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express Review

TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express Review

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Last updated on January 3, 2019 Comments: 17

Editor’s Note: Thank you for your interest, this offer expired and is no longer available. Find more of the other best cash back credit cards offers.


In 2009, Congress passed enacted laws that require credit card issuers to be more direct with their terms and conditions. Companies can no longer get away with double-cycle billing and hidden fees, which were costing customers millions of dollars every year. There are still a few items found in the fine print that customers often aren’t aware of. For example, a 1% cash back credit card doesn’t always include all purchases. Warehouse clubs like Costco are restricted from generating cash back for shoppers on most credit cards, except for the TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express.

TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American ExpressNew cardholders of the TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express will receive a 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first six months. Once this introductory period expires, the purchase APR will be a variable rate, currently 15.24%. Unlike many other popular offerings from American Express, this is a credit card, not a charge card. Cardholders will have a credit limit based on the quality of credit history.

What makes the TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express so attractive to Costco members is the cash back. Currently, this card has a tiered approach to cash back rewards. Cashback on your TrueEarning Card from Costco and American Express is earned only on eligible purchases. Here is the breakdown of cash back rewards:

  • 3% Cash back at US gas stations and on gasoline at Costco up to $4,000 per year in purchases, then 1%
  • 2% cash back at US restaurants
  • 2% cash back on eligible travel purchases, including at Costco
  • 1% cash back on other purchases, including at Costco
  • Terms and limitations apply

You will receive your cash back in the form of an annual reward coupon on your billing statement, which you redeem in person prior to its expiration date for merchandise or cash at any U.S. Costco Warehouse.

As mentioned above, this is one of the only credit cards that offer cash back on Costco purchases. Even though other cards advertise up to 5% cash back on purchases, warehouse transactions do not qualify.

Another benefit for holders of the TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express is that there is no annual membership fee as long as you pay your Costco membership every year. Since this card is co-branded between Costco and American Express, you receive expected American Express perks for example purchase protection and extended warranty.

If you have the excellent credit require to obtain the TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express and are a paying member of Costco, this card may be worth exploring. While you can save hundreds of dollars just by shopping at a warehouse like Costco, when you combine these savings with the cash back offer this card promotes it’s top-notch cash back credit card. For more information about the terms & conditions, restrictions that apply or to fill out an application, visit the secure application page for the TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express. Terms and Restrictions Apply.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through the American Express Affiliate Program.


Important Note! The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that offers change frequently. Therefore, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit or charge card prior to applying.

Article comments

17 comments
Anonymous says:

Over all the hype that this card gets, I decided to take up an offer that looked good. 0% APR for the first 6 months. Despite excellent history, they imposed a credit limit of $2000 on my account and a call to customer service hit an agent who said that a machine controlled that number and that human beings at AMEX had given up control of it. Unless you are a student applying for his/her first credit card, you’ll be perplexed when you hear this.

Distant imagination makes me feel that the guys who built the website are trying to improve the number of hits that the “Make Payment” website hits, since with such a limit imposed upon customers, customers will log in over 4 times a month (4x hits).

More logical reasoning tells me that the algorithm is broken and the customer service is poor and plane stupid. I’ll update this review if they’re able to do anything about it. But if that doesn’t happen, my review for this card: 0.5 stars; Stay away from it!

Anonymous says:

BE CAREFUL. IT ONLY TAKES ONE LATE PAYMENT AND AMX WILL CHARGED YOU LATE FEE + INTEREST (UP TO 27.24%) FOR TWO MONTHS (even if you paid the full amount) WHICH WILL BE MORE $$$ THAN YOUR EARNINGS!!!

Anonymous says:

Most cards do this. The general idea is not to be late.

Anonymous says:

this sounds like a great card! (not that is matters, but it has a nice look as well) i do not have Costco near me or i would seriously consider it. i never knew that rewards were not given at stores like Costco, thank you for the information.

Anonymous says:

This sounds like a great card. Costco rocks. I may have to break my own rule about not applying for anymore credit cards to get this one. Thanks for the info!

Anonymous says:

We don’t have a Cosco, so no problem here. I use only one card, the other to keep it updated once in a while.

Anonymous says:

I used to use a cash back American Express similar to this card, but recently switched to a Capital One cash back MasterCard for a couple reasons. 1) it is accepted everywhere, which is not only easier when deciding which card to pull out at the register, but also because it leaves me with only 1 payment to make each month. 2) there are no tiers, so 2% is earned on gas and groceries forever and 1% for everything else. 3) the rewards are earned immediately as soon as the purchase has cleared, and 4) they are automatically applied to my statement balance as a credit as soon as they hit $25. I highly recommend this card!

Anonymous says:

I love this card. I use it for gas and costco purchases only because i have a 2% cash back on everything card and I can get the rewards sooner than once a year.

Anonymous says:

This is my primary card and I use it for everything. Nets me >$500 in rewards annually. The card is great in general and I recommend it. Its especially good for the 3% restaurant rewards. It also doubles as your Costco club card.

The only problem I have is the minor annoyance with having to go to Costco to cash in your rewards check which they give you in cash. I’d rather they just mail a regular check or credit my account, but its clear they are just trying to push you into their store with a pile of cash which you might spend there.

Anonymous says:

Although I would like to see monthly credit of the rebates, it is still a decent deal on the gas. The Costco gas is generally 5-15 cents below market prices for the area, the rebate is a nice extra.

Anonymous says:

I have this card and like it very much. However, one correction to your great article is in order. You state in part, “. . . and the rewards never expire.”

Actually they do. I received my annual rewards check and it specifically states that it expires on August 31, 2011.

Luke Landes says:

American Express seems to have removed the language that referred to the annual rewards check expiring — but anyone who issues any type of check may allow it to be rejected after 180 days. I often see “void after 90 days” or “void after 180 days” on certain business checks I receive. The point of “rewards never expire” is that you’ll always receive a check representing the full amount of cash back you earned. Checks can expire.

Anonymous says:

I don’t recall receiving my annual rewards check in the mail. I called today and was told It was for over $1000 but it expired in August and they will credit my AmEx balance for 1/4 the amount. I said that was not acceptable and they said “there is nothing else they can do”.

I live in California, and there are laws that prevent “gift cards” from expiring. Any idea of this gets covered by that law?

Has anyone ever complained to their state’s attorney general about this?

Thanks
Mark

Anonymous says:

Mark,

I too live in California and I just found myself in a similar situation, only Amex isn’t even offering me the 1/4 credit they offered you.

The membership department at Costco told me that Amex DOES reissue the checks, but a call to Amex and conversations with a customer rep and her supervisor ended with them insisting that they only do so before the expiration date.

Did you ever follow up on this? If so, please share what you learned. Thanks!

Joe

Anonymous says:

Sounds like a great card. I wasn’t aware of how these cards usually worked. Thanks for the info!

Anonymous says:

Only knock I have against this card is that rewards are only credited once a year. Other than that, it’s great.

Anonymous says:

wow, that is a little bit of a bummer. flexo may want to put that in the review.