As of March 4, 2022, CIBC became the exclusive issuer of Costco credit cards in Canada. We break down if it’s really the best card for frequent Costco shoppers.
Advertisement
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
As of March 4, 2022, Costco has officially made the switch from the Capital One Costco Mastercard to the CIBC Costco Mastercard. Here’s what you should know if you’re considering this card—or have automatically been switched over from the Capital One card. Since opening its first Canadian warehouse store in 1985, Costco has become a staple shopping destination for people who want deep discounts on bulk buys. The catch? Costco requires a membership for you to shop there. (It’s $60 for a Gold Membership and $120 for an Executive Membership.) Once you have one, you can reap the benefits of the low prices it offers on everything from groceries, homewares, furniture, electronics and prescriptions to vacations, gas, tires and more. As you can imagine, the savings can be significant.
Does Costco take Visa?
No. In fact, until 2014, the only credit card accepted by Costco was a store-branded American Express. Unless you were carrying that card, you’d have to pay in cash at the till, making the shopping experience clunky and inconvenient. This deal changed in 2015 when Costco partnered with Mastercard instead. In general, this was seen as an improvement—American Express isn’t accepted at nearly as many places as Mastercard.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Today, in addition to cash and debit, Canadians can pay for their Costco purchases using any Mastercard. Previously, the store had one branded credit card—the Capital One Mastercard for Costco members. But as of March 2022, that partnership ended and CIBC acquired the existing Canadian Capital One Costco Mastercard portfolio, becoming the exclusive issuer of Costco credit cards in Canada.
So, is the new CIBC Costco Mastercard the best one to use in store? What are the alternatives? If you have the Capital One Mastercard, what happens now? Read on to learn the details of the CIBC Costco Mastercard and learn about seven of its most attractive alternatives.
What will happen to my Capital One Costco Mastercard card?
If you’re a cardholder of the Capital One Costco Mastercard, there’s no need to worry. Essentially, all eligible Capital One Costco cards will be transferred to the new CIBC Costco Mastercard. Your CIBC card should arrive before August 31, 22, but in the meantime you can continue using your the Capital One card as usual.
Once your new CIBC card is activated, you (and any authorized users) will no longer be able to use the Capital One Costco Mastercard. All of your previous card details (like card number and PIN) will remain the same, as does your credit limit. Your pre-authorized payments should not be interrupted, either. For more details on the transfer read this.
CIBC Costco Mastercard review
The new CIBC Costco Mastercard will remain a no fee cash back card, just like its Capital One predecessor. But, there are a few key changes. First, you’ll earn 3% cash back at restaurants and Costco gas stations (the Capital One card gave 3% back at restaurants but only 2% on gas). You’ll also get 2% cash back at other gas stations, which is handy when you’re on the go, and 2% back when you shop at Costco.ca. For all your other purchase categories, you’ll earn 1% cash back (including at Costco). This card also comes with mobile device insurance, with up to $1,000 of repair or replacement coverage when you charge or finance the price of a mobile device on your card. With certain eligible purchases, you can also get security insurance and extended warranty insurance. If you meet certain requirements, like an income of over $60,000 per year, you may qualify for the CIBC Costco World Mastercard, which is essentially the same card, but includes World Mastercard benefits like car rental insurance, travel perks and more.
However, there are a few drawbacks. While there is technically no annual fee, to truly reap the benefits of this card, it’s worth noting that you (obviously) have to have a Costco membership, which is upwards of $60 per year. Another point: there’s no limit on how much you can earn throughout the year. But, the cash back earn rate you receive does come with a cap. When you reach your annual spend in a certain category, you’ll still earn cash back—it will just be at the 1% rate for the remainder of the calendar year in that category. For gas, you will receive the 3% cash back rate (and 2% cash back rate at other gas stations) only on the first $5,000. After that, you’ll earn the 1% cash back rate. For Costco.ca purchases, the cap is $8,000 before you return to the 1% base rate. The way you can utilize the cash back might be considered a downside, too. While some cards pay it out monthly, straight on your statement or into your savings account, the CIBC Costco Mastercard gives it to you in the form of gift certificates, issued in January, that you can redeem for anything in the Costco warehouse.
While Costco’s official credit card benefits Costco members, there might be other Mastercard products, all of which can be used at Costco, that will better meet your needs. This no-annual-fee card doesn’t match the perks of some of the cards we’ll discuss below.
Earn rate: 3% cash back when you spend at restaurants and at Costco gas, 2% back at other gas stations and at Costco.ca, 1% on all other purchases (including Costco)
Welcome offer: No welcome offer at this time.
Income requirement: $15,000
Additional benefits: Mobile device insurance and extended warranty insurance. Your CIBC Costco Mastercard also doubles as your Costco membership card, so there is no need to carry both. You can also use the CIBC Pace It feature to create a payment instalment plan on Costco purchases.
For regular, in-store Costco purchases, you’ll earn 1.5% cash back—more than you will with the CIBC Costco card. Plus, like the CIBC card, this is also a no fee card with some solid benefits, like a robust suite of insurance products and access to airport lounges. That said, this card isn’t very accessible to many Canadians (the income requirement is $80,000 annually). If income requirement is a concern, we suggest considering the Tangerine card below.
The MBNA Rewards World Elite card offers cardholders an earn rate of 5 points per $1 spent at Costco (up to $50,000, combined with other categories). And when redeemed on travel, it works out to a very healthy 2% return. This card doesn’t come with included travel emergency medical insurance but it does have common carrier collision coverage, rental car collision damage coverage and also offers a discount at Avis and Budget car rentals.
Earn rate: Earn 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership and household utility purchases until $50,000 is spent annually in the applicable category, and 1 point for every $1 on all other eligible purchases.
Welcome offer: earn 20,000 bonus points (approximately $165 in cash back value) after you make $2,000 or more in eligible purchases within the first 90 days.
This offer is not available for residents of Quebec.
Income requirement: $80,000 (personal) or $150,000 (household)
Additional perks: Car rental collision damage waiver; discounts at Avis and Budget car rentals; purchase assurance, price protection and extended warranty
This no-annual-fee card combines good earning potential with a flexible redemption program so you can use your Points for cash, flights, hotels and merchandise. Card holders earn 2 MBNA Points for every $1 spent on restaurants and groceries (up to $5,000 annually per category), and 1 point per $1 on everything else, including Costco, which doesn’t fall under the grocery store category. And, your points never expire. To start you off, MBNA is offering new applicants the ability to earn bonus points on eligible grocery and restaurant purchases (up to 5,000 points). And more when you sign up for paperless billing.
Welcome bonus: earn 10,000 bonus points ($50 in cash back value). Plus, get 4 points per $1 spent on eligible restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership and household utility purchases during the first 90 days.
Earn rate: 2 points per $1 spent on groceries and restaurants ($5,000 max annual spend per category); 1 point per $1 on everything else
Travel perks: $1M in common carrier accidental death and dismemberment, collision damage and accidental death and dismemberment on car rentals and personal effects coverage; purchase assurance, price protection and extended warranty
If you’re an Air Miles collector, there is no better card to help you collect points and get you closer to your goal. Like the BMO World Elite Mastercard above, this Air Miles branded card has a strong suite of travel protection and perks including the BMO Air Miles World Elite Travel and Medical Protection. However, for Air Miles collectors, it’s the eye-catching 1 Mile per $12 earn rate that is of interest (and three times the Miles at Air Miles partners). If you paid for a $500 Costco purchase with this card it would put 50 Miles in your account. Two more features worthy to note: Complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass, and an exclusive 25% discount on one worldwide Air Miles flight redemption during the calendar year.
Welcome bonus: You can earn 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles! * That's enough for $310 towards purchases with AIR MILES Cash!* Plus, get the $120 annual fee waived for the first year.
Earn rate: 1 mile for every $12 spent, three times the rewards at Air Miles partners and two times at eligible grocery stores
Perks: Complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass, exclusive 25% discount on one worldwide Air Miles flight redemption during the calendar year, and the BMO World Elite Total Travel and Medical Protection package provides insurance including out-of-province/out-of-country emergency medical protection up to $5 million, trip interruption/delay, car rental collision damage coverage; purchase protection and standard warranty
Affiliate (monetized) links can sometimes result in a payment to MoneySense (owned by Ratehub Inc.), which helps our website stay free to our users. If a link has an asterisk (*) or is labelled as “Featured,” it is an affiliate link. If a link is labelled as “Sponsored,” it is a paid placement, which may or may not have an affiliate link. Our editorial content will never be influenced by these links. We are committed to looking at all available products in the market. Where a product ranks in our article, and whether or not it’s included in the first place, is never driven by compensation. For more details, read our
MoneySense Monetization policy.
Really? There are many other alternatives to Costco Capital one master cards. MBNA known to reduce credit limits without any warning what’s so ever. Its probably the worst cards on the planet. I would rather pick any capital one on a heart beat over MBNA. Tangerine not far behind MBNA in the worst categories.
HSBC master card 1:1 point
National Bank Echo Master card 1.5% CB on Gas, Grocery, entertainment and 1% on all
Desjardins Master card 2% eat, entertainment, public transportation, subs and .5% all other.
not pleased with cibc costco card…i wish capital one did not send us over to cibc…it’s the worst experience, when i go online to view my transactions, they are rarely posted, and my payments are always posted late….i don’t feel looked after as a costco card holder for years since the switch to cibc costco………today i called to discuss my transactions, and i was transferred 3 x’s to different agents…the last one hung up on my and did not call back…….cibc has made a
bad impression and i will be sharing my bad experiences with my colleagues…terrible terrible service!!!
Worst experience. After placing a hold on the card and not for going over the limit, the agent on the phone after verifying my information informed me that I had to go to a branch to verify my identity. When I got to the branch with 30 mins left to close, the security closed the doors saying that we have reached the limit -with 5 people ahead of us. With visa they have questions, security questions that can verify your identity over the phone..what if you were out of country? The agent was rude..worst service ever. If I did not go to Costco, I would never hold this card.
I am very disappointed when calling and speaking to an agent when I am having an issue to cibc costco………today i called to discuss my transactions, and i was transferred 2x’s to different agents…the last one hung up on my and did not call back……they can’t explain why my card expiration wasn’t match to what they have in my file. cibc has made a
bad impression and I will be sharing my bad experiences with everyone including my family and friends …terrible very very bad service!!!
After the first few months of use, I was trying to use my new Costco-CIBC credit card for an online purchase at Amazon. It did not go through and the, it didn’t work when I tried for a number of in-store purchases.
I called about three times to the number on the card and, every time waited almost two hours to get to a person. They did not resolve anything and the person who attended call on Monday, Oct 17th at 10:00 am. treated me in a very disrespectful and rude manner due to my slow way to talk. I am not that fluent in English, so my husband of 39 years, help me to translate, so that I could understand and answer properly. With other cards, they allowed with my permission to allow my husband to talk on my behalf. Not in this case. Finally I had to go to a CIBC branch, which could not address the issue. After another attempt on the phone, I was directed again to a CIBC branch so them could confirm that I was the person that I said I was. I had to wait on the phone for over 1.5 hours until somebody attended the phone, and then, in presence of a very kind CIBC office branch’s staff, the person on the other side of the line exposed me to the hardest scrutiny of my person in a police-style interrogatory. I had to show my Alberta ID, Canada passport, and more personal information, and details on each one of the latest purchases until I gave up and exclaimed that I was ready to close this account/card. Then, they decided to un-block my card without giving any reason on why they blocked it. I had never been treated in such a horrendous and inconsiderate manner by any bank!
I am pleased with my CIBC Costco Card with the exception that I would like to receive an email two weeks before payment is due like it was with CapitalOne. Despite my request, it has not been changed. I always receive the email when it is due (or close to it) and it causes me stress.
The CIBC changed my statement to e-statement without my intention and consent, then as a result I missed my payment so they could charge me. Sneaky cheep importunate bores with their renown poor service! Each time you give them a chance they screw it up for the last 30 years.
I just got my CIBC MC. The first ever customer service agent Myrian and her attitude was outrageous, ever heard an agent talking to a customer like a school teacher? just because you did not understand one of her so called security questions. Well, you certainly can have that pleasure by calling CIBC MC French service and ask for her. Disgusting behaviour to cut it short!
How to beat inflation: First, tackle lifestyle creep
Managing lifestyle creep is challenging financially and psychologically, especially with inflation. Expert strategies keep day-to-day spending in check.
Really? There are many other alternatives to Costco Capital one master cards. MBNA known to reduce credit limits without any warning what’s so ever. Its probably the worst cards on the planet. I would rather pick any capital one on a heart beat over MBNA. Tangerine not far behind MBNA in the worst categories.
HSBC master card 1:1 point
National Bank Echo Master card 1.5% CB on Gas, Grocery, entertainment and 1% on all
Desjardins Master card 2% eat, entertainment, public transportation, subs and .5% all other.
The service at CIBC Costco Mastercard is beyond pathetic – avg. wait time is more than an hour. Capital One’s wait time was 10 – 15 minutes top.
not pleased with cibc costco card…i wish capital one did not send us over to cibc…it’s the worst experience, when i go online to view my transactions, they are rarely posted, and my payments are always posted late….i don’t feel looked after as a costco card holder for years since the switch to cibc costco………today i called to discuss my transactions, and i was transferred 3 x’s to different agents…the last one hung up on my and did not call back…….cibc has made a
bad impression and i will be sharing my bad experiences with my colleagues…terrible terrible service!!!
These idiots can’t even turn my credit card on. They want to send me a password and I have to use theirs password? How is that secure. Idiots!!
Worst experience. After placing a hold on the card and not for going over the limit, the agent on the phone after verifying my information informed me that I had to go to a branch to verify my identity. When I got to the branch with 30 mins left to close, the security closed the doors saying that we have reached the limit -with 5 people ahead of us. With visa they have questions, security questions that can verify your identity over the phone..what if you were out of country? The agent was rude..worst service ever. If I did not go to Costco, I would never hold this card.
I am very disappointed when calling and speaking to an agent when I am having an issue to cibc costco………today i called to discuss my transactions, and i was transferred 2x’s to different agents…the last one hung up on my and did not call back……they can’t explain why my card expiration wasn’t match to what they have in my file. cibc has made a
bad impression and I will be sharing my bad experiences with everyone including my family and friends …terrible very very bad service!!!
After the first few months of use, I was trying to use my new Costco-CIBC credit card for an online purchase at Amazon. It did not go through and the, it didn’t work when I tried for a number of in-store purchases.
I called about three times to the number on the card and, every time waited almost two hours to get to a person. They did not resolve anything and the person who attended call on Monday, Oct 17th at 10:00 am. treated me in a very disrespectful and rude manner due to my slow way to talk. I am not that fluent in English, so my husband of 39 years, help me to translate, so that I could understand and answer properly. With other cards, they allowed with my permission to allow my husband to talk on my behalf. Not in this case. Finally I had to go to a CIBC branch, which could not address the issue. After another attempt on the phone, I was directed again to a CIBC branch so them could confirm that I was the person that I said I was. I had to wait on the phone for over 1.5 hours until somebody attended the phone, and then, in presence of a very kind CIBC office branch’s staff, the person on the other side of the line exposed me to the hardest scrutiny of my person in a police-style interrogatory. I had to show my Alberta ID, Canada passport, and more personal information, and details on each one of the latest purchases until I gave up and exclaimed that I was ready to close this account/card. Then, they decided to un-block my card without giving any reason on why they blocked it. I had never been treated in such a horrendous and inconsiderate manner by any bank!
I love my Costco CIBC card. Only had a question one. Only waited 1 min to get through. Use it instead of my debit. Have earned $140 in 5 months.
I am pleased with my CIBC Costco Card with the exception that I would like to receive an email two weeks before payment is due like it was with CapitalOne. Despite my request, it has not been changed. I always receive the email when it is due (or close to it) and it causes me stress.
ughhh… rewards kind of suck compared to my other free credit cards..
here’s how it should be that would make more sense..
120$ Membership
3% In-store shopping, Online shopping, Costco Gas
2% Restaurants + Groceries
1% every thing else
60$ Membership
2% In-store shopping, Online shopping, Costco Gas
1.30% Restaurants + Groceries
0.5% everything else
The CIBC changed my statement to e-statement without my intention and consent, then as a result I missed my payment so they could charge me. Sneaky cheep importunate bores with their renown poor service! Each time you give them a chance they screw it up for the last 30 years.
I just got my CIBC MC. The first ever customer service agent Myrian and her attitude was outrageous, ever heard an agent talking to a customer like a school teacher? just because you did not understand one of her so called security questions. Well, you certainly can have that pleasure by calling CIBC MC French service and ask for her. Disgusting behaviour to cut it short!