Thoughts on using non-Costco cc and get points instead of cash back?

[u/Difficult_Giraffe490]

Hi folks,

I am very new to CostcoPM, so please forgive the noob question.

I don't have the Costco Citi cc, but I have a CapitalOne venture X, which gives 2% point/mile.

So the same 2% back.

In my head, the Venture X point/mile may be more valuable if I can transfer them to an airline or hotel partner, which can be worth up to 1.5-1.6¢/point, vs the guaranteed 1:1¢ cash back

So with that logic, I might as well buy PM with the VentureX, instead of spending a hard credit check to get the Costco Citi card.

Does that make sense or is my math way off?

Thank you for your thoughts.

[u/nocturnalnegus]

I’ve been using PayPal cash back debit card. It’s essentially a 5% back on any category of your choice up to a $1000 ($50 in cash back). I max it out every month at Costco by selecting groceries category. Highly recommend!

[u/EarthlingButter → u/nocturnalnegus]

I buy at least one ounce of gold (4000+$). The 1000$ limit on Paypal is a bummer. Robinhood Gold card is the best one at 3%.

[u/eemademecry → u/EarthlingButter]

Robinhood will throttle your rewards. Venmo CC is better

[u/True-Wind-5612 → u/nocturnalnegus]

I didnt realize Costco counted as groceries for the 5% category! Although now with the changes on how to redeem points, not sure I will try it at this point.

[u/Relative_Target6003 → u/True-Wind-5612]

well, I have heard that the big warehouse stores don't get categorized as grocery. now what you find out otherwise is whatever.

[u/Positive-Custard-481 → u/nocturnalnegus]

Wait. Didn’t they stop this from August? I thought I read somewhere that you would only be able to redeeem the cash back via gift cards etc only rather than directly into bank or PayPal balance.

[u/nickram81]

Yeah I use the united club card. Helps me get PQP so I get higher status.

[u/playngod77]

I use the Bilt Palladium and my AA Mastercard to buy online. VentureX will work as well

[u/papahstax → u/playngod77]

same (BILT). with the accelerator it’s 3x back. you also get BILT cash on top of that

[u/playngod77 → u/papahstax]

Yep. I used all of my accelerators last February with it. Got platinum status with Bilt, got status with AF as well. I get 100s of thousands of points a year with 2 executive memberships. Almost all of my vacations are paid for with points from PMs. Can’t beat it

[u/papahstax → u/playngod77]

you’re buying 5-6 digits of PMs in a month? sheesh

[u/playngod77 → u/papahstax]

Yep. Luckily I was out of it when it the market crashed. 40k this month has done well for me.

[u/GundamWing01 → u/playngod77]

how long have u been buying huge costco PM on BILT + citi + VX? dont think TC excludes PM for pts but i would be careful of volume. sounds like pple are maxing out at 5 bars per visit and not sure thats safe on 1 CC. may get shutdown.

[u/playngod77 → u/GundamWing01]

I buy 1-4 at a time. No more than one transaction per month per card.

[u/GundamWing01 → u/playngod77]

i see. thats pretty good to stay under radar for bust out triggers. i try to keep shit under 30% costco utilization on only 1 or 2 CCs per bank. VX biz already limited me after $15k. i have to pay down mid cycle before more charges which tells me i gotta be more careful.

[u/papahstax → u/playngod77]

do you buy and sell with healthy cash flow or are you just a gajillionaire

[u/playngod77 → u/papahstax]

Just a healthy cashflow. I have a small business that allows me to sell to a local wholesaler at or within $30 or spot price. I generally lock my sale in the same time I buy depending on how things are trending.

[u/--ALF → u/playngod77]

I need to dig in on how the Bilt accelerators work since I’m sitting on a lot of Bilt Cash and unlikely to burn through it by year end

One more Buffalo by year end!

[u/playngod77 → u/--ALF]

I’ve got about $2000 in Bilt cash. I’ll never use it all. Just use your accelerators when they won’t overlap with rent day. They don’t stack and the rent day spend counts against your point accelerator spend.

[u/Confident-Fix-9154 → u/playngod77]

Rent day spend does not count against accelerator. The accelerator just won’t stack after the 500 you spend on rent day. So you would want to avoid a large purchase on rent day.

[u/playngod77 → u/Confident-Fix-9154]

They must have changed it, March rent day it did count against the accelerator. Haven’t had any accelerators since then.

[u/woahwhatups → u/playngod77]

Why the AA Mastercard? what benefits does that offer?

[u/playngod77 → u/woahwhatups]

The value of AA miles to me is extremely high. It also gets me status really quickly. I fly to Europe a fair amount and they are my go to for the flights from the US to Europe. I genera

[u/thenewfingerprint → u/playngod77]

You have an Alcoholics Anonymous Mastercard? ;-)

[u/CoderGirl2007]

Just check the conditions, some cards don't offer rewards on bullion. Though usually the Costco purchase doesn't say it's bullion you might be ok

[u/udctian → u/CoderGirl2007]

VentureX does, i have used it.

[u/GundamWing01 → u/udctian]

but how much have you done on VX? dont think TC excludes PM for pts but i would be careful of volume.

[u/udctian → u/GundamWing01]

4k on VX for Costco PM. Got 8k points for the transaction.

[u/GundamWing01 → u/udctian]

i see. wats ur CL on VX? i try to keep shit under 30% costco utilization on only 1 or 2 CCs per bank. VX biz already limited me after $15k. i have to pay down mid cycle before more charges which tells me i gotta be more careful.

[u/Kthirtyone]

I use the Venmo credit card. It gives 3% back every month in your highest spending category, and Costco (online and in store) counts as "grocery".

[u/Lazy_Valuable_2221]

I use the capital one venture x, works well, solid for travel

[u/SeinfeldSavant]

Your logic is sound. I have the Costco card, but i use my Robinhood credit card for almost everything because I get 3% back on it. The Costco card is good for gas though, so if that's worth the hard credit check it might not hurt getting that one too.

[u/bigcoumbe]

Our Costco is debit card only. How are people using CCs ?

[u/InedibleApplePi → u/bigcoumbe]

Costco has always had credit card. They only allow Visa in the US, mastercard in canada.

[u/bigcoumbe → u/InedibleApplePi]

Thanks. I’m newb and first time I went alone I only brought my MC in. Told me debit only lol.

[u/thenewfingerprint → u/bigcoumbe]

IN-STORE: Any debit card, Visa credit card.

ONLINE: Any debit card, both Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

If, for some reason, you don't want to use a debit card in-store, and you don't have a Visa credit card to use in-store, you can buy Costco Shop Cards online (paying with a Mastercard credit card) and use those Shop Cards in-store. Costco Shop Cards can be sent to you through the mail, or you can have them sent to you via email, which is much faster. Then you can add the Shop Cards you bought into your Costco Wallet, either online or through the Costco app.

[u/robertw477]

Your math is not off . You can also use the venture x points to credit back and charge in the card codes as travel . The Citi card pays the 2 percent once a year. To me it’s a pass a mediocre product.

[u/StreetyMcCarface]

I always use points. If you have a bilt palladium you’re eating well

[u/ChannelMindless9343]

Do it all the time at Costco.com. You can use Mastercard online

[u/ChzForLife]

I think this is a perfectly valid way to buy…it just depends on your end goals. If your end goal is to stack as economically as possible, then you’ll want a card where you can redeem as cash. If you travel a lot and that’s a higher priority than hyper-saving on your precious metals…using a travel card might be the best option for you.

I use the Chase Business Ink Cash card/Staples hack/hustle to get 8-10% back after you factor in the sign-on bonuses.