CIBC Costco Mastercard Review
The CIBC Costco Mastercard is beloved by many Costco members. It has no annual fee and the earn rate at Costco.ca is 2% cash back. That said, you still need to pay for a Costco membership to apply for this card and the earn rate at Costco warehouses is just 1%. Despite these drawbacks, this is the most convenient card for Costco purchases. Read my CIBC Costco Mastercard Review now for all the details.
CIBC Costco Mastercard
- No annual fee
- 3% cash back on restaurant purchases
- 3% cash back at Costco Gas, 2% at non-Costco gas stations on the first $5,000 (1% after)
- 2% cash back on Costco.ca purchases up to $8,000 (1% after)
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Mobile device insurance
Welcome bonus and earn rate
The CIBC Costco Mastercard has no welcome bonus. This is disappointing since many of the best no fee credit cards in Canada have a basic welcome bonus.
As far as the earning rate is concerned, it’s not bad. You get 3% cash back at restaurants and at Costco Gas, 2% on other gas stations and Costco.ca, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Note that Costco warehouse purchases only earn you 1% since it falls under all other purchases. There are spending caps of $5,000 for Costco gas and $8,000 at Costco.ca. Once you reach those limits, you’ll earn 1% cash back.
That earning rate will leave many Costco members wishing for more since there’s no real benefit to using this card at Costco stores. Many of the best Costco credit cards in Canada have a higher earn rate at the warehouses.
CIBC Costco Mastercard benefits
Let’s go over the benefits in this Costco Mastercard review. For a no fee card, you don’t get much, but some of the included perks can be very useful.
Doubles as your Costco membership
When entering or paying at a Costco warehouse, your CIBC Costco Mastercard can be used to prove your membership. Even though you don’t pay an annual fee for the CIBC Costco Mastercard, you still need to have a Costco Membership to sign up. A Gold Star membership costs $60, while an Executive Membership is $120. This may seem odd to some people, but that’s how the Costco credit card work.
Free supplementary cards
You can add up to three supplementary cardholders to your account without paying an annual fee for any of them. The advantage here is that any cash back earned by the additional users gets pooled into the primary cardholder’s account.
Mobile device insurance
The included mobile device insurance covers cell phones and tablets for up to $1,000 from loss, theft, or damage. For the insurance to be valued, you must charge the full amount of your device to your CIBC Costco Mastercard. If you’re on a subsidized device plan, you must charge your monthly bill to your CIBC Costco Mastercard. There’s also depreciation to factor in if you ever need to make a claim. It’s worth mentioning that the CIBC Costco Mastercard is one of the few credit cards that have mobile device insurance and no annual fee.
Purchase insurance
- Extended warranty (up to 1 additional year)
- Purchase protection (90 days)
Any items that are charged to your CIBC Costco Mastercard will have their manufacturer’s warranty doubled, up to one additional year. With purchase protection, your goods are covered from loss, theft, and damage for 90 days.
Send money abroad
One little-known benefit of the CIBC Costco Mastercard is that cardholders can send funds internationally without paying a transfer fee or any cash advance charges. You are charged the same currency exchange fees that existing CIBC clients have with the CIBC Global Money Transfer solution
Features of this benefit include:
- No transfer fees and no cash advance charges
- Transfer limit of up to $12,000, depending on the cardholder’s available credit limit
- Access to different payout methods, including digital wallets (Alipay), bank accounts, international VISA debit/credit cards, MoneyGram cash pickup locations, and more
- Get up to $175 on your first Simplii Global Money Transfer
What’s appealing is all Costco cardholders instantly gain access to a top tier remittance solution using the card with no need to set up a new account or provide any further personal/payment details. Just go to the CIBC Global Money Transfer solution and send to friends and family worldwide.
When your cash back is paid out
The cash back you earn with the CIBC Costco Mastercard is paid in the form of a Costco gift certificate every January. Alternatively, you can redeem your gift certificate digitally at Costco warehouses with the CIBC mobile app. Note that to get your cash back paid out, your account must be in good standing and your Costco account must be active. You can also track how much cash back you’ve earned to date via the CIBC mobile banking app.
CIBC Costco Mastercard eligibility
- You’re a Costco member.
- You’re a Canadian resident.
- You’re the age of majority in the province or territory where you live.
- You have an annual personal income of $15,000.
There’s not specifically stated credit score for this card, but it’s recommended you have one of at least 660 before applying. It’s worth noting that if you have a minimum personal income of $60,000 or a household income of $100,000, you may qualify for the CIBC Costco World Mastercard. This card is exactly the same as the regular CIBC Costco Mastercard, but you get a few extra World Mastercard benefits, such as free Boingo Wi-Fi and a Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass (no free passes).
How the CIBC Costco Mastercard compares
As the official co-branded Costco credit card, the CIBC Costco Mastercard is arguably the best Costco Mastercard in Canada. No other credit card in Canada gives you a higher earn rate at Costco.ca.
CIBC Costco Mastercard vs. WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard.
Although it may seem like an odd comparison, the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard is worth taking a look at. With the WestJet Card, you’re paying an annual fee of $119, but you’ll earn a 1.5% in WestJet dollars on all purchases. That’s a higher earning rate than what the CIBC card offers. In addition, the WestJet card typically comes with a welcome bonus of up to $450. You also get an annual WestJet companion voucher, which could save you hundreds of dollars a year.
CIBC Costco Mastercard vs. Rogers Mastercard
A more comparable card might be the no fee Rogers Mastercard. If you have at least one qualifying service with Rogers, Shaw, or Fido, you’ll earn 2% cash back on all purchases. That’s double the base earn rate offered by the CIBC Costco Mastercard. In addition, those who hold the Rogers Mastercard get five free Roam Like Home days and a 30% bonus when redeeming your cash back on Rogers services. Instead of waiting a year for your cash back, the Rogers card allows you redeem your rewards at any time on any purchases made in the last 90 days. Note that there is a minimum of $10 when making redemptions.
CIBC Costco Mastercard vs. PC Financial World Elite Mastercard
Another no fee option available is the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard. Although the earning rate of the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard is the same as the CIBC Costco Mastercard when making purchases in-store at Costo, many people prefer the PC Card. That’s because when making purchases with this card, you’ll earn Optimum points. This loyalty program gives you a lot of value and many people try to accumulate as many points as possible.
Final thoughts
My CIBC Costco Mastercard review is positive. Although the earning rate at Costco warehouses is only 1% in cash back, it’s still a great card for people in the following situations:
- You don’t want to pay an annual fee – With this card, you don’t pay an annual or monthly fee.
- You shop a lot at Costco – Not only does this card double as your Costco membership, but you’ll also earn 2% cash back at Costo.ca.
- You want mobile device insurance – As long as you pay for your mobile device with the CIBC Costco Mastercard, you’ll be insured up to $1,000.
Some people don’t like how this card doesn’t come with many benefits, but for a no fee card, I don’t think it matters. The perks you do get can be useful in certain situations. More importantly, you’ll earn cash back that can be used at Costco.
I am no expert but it appears that the new CIBC card does not include the car rental insurance that the Capital One card had. If this is true, that is a huge change and should be highlighted in the information package we got from CIBC. Some card users may waive the insurance when renting a car not realizing that they are no longer covered. Also, it appears that the extended warranty coverage has been reduced from a maximum of two years to a maximum of one year.
I note that the Capital One benefits document was on heavy card paper in fairly large font with dark print, which was easy to read. The CIBC document is on thin paper, in smaller font with light grey print which is hard to read. If my perceptions are correct, I wonder what other deficiencies there are with the new card. My observations lead me to believe that, in the switchover from Capital One, CIBC is being deceptive and manipulative. This is made worse for me because I am a CIBC shareholder.
Bruce,
The new Costco card loses the travel insurance as well as a few additional things. Price protection is gone, extended warranty goes down to one year, and purchase protection is now good for just 90 days.
As a long standing Costco member. It surprises me how Costco Canada may not know its members as well as it should. Capital One is viewed as a lower credit credit card provider.The car rental coverage was a benefit, including the extended product warranty. Many members may already have this coverage with a non Costco credit card,myself included. Good for those who didn’t,spending rebate for others.The fuel rebate isn’t a benefit to those who don’t drive gas vehicles, or who spend above $5000 on fuel. Canadian members in the( largest) cities are/will be migrating to PHEV/EV due to a member’s environmental views , government policy, and wildly fluctuating gas prices. “3% cash back at Costco Gas, 2% at non-Costco gas stations on the first $5,000 (1% after)” CIBC’s system wasn’t ready to support the Costco activations. Costco Canada needs to address any credit bureau problems for late payments caused by a less than smooth CIBC transition from Capital One.
Fully agree and setting up automated payment was a nightmare as getting any info from them…I’m not using the card and instead I use the PC Mastercard as well.
Meh. I’ll stick with my CTC mastercard for Costco purchases. Free roadside assistance which we previously paid for before learning that benefit. Scotiabank momentum infinite visa for everything else. We do collect Optimum points but we do fine with regular earning on those.
Susan,
Yes, the CTC is such a great card. I also love PCO. I need to take advantage of points events more often. Sometimes I got obsessed with sale items, but I was looking at the current points event, and it’s like 40% off in points even though you’re paying regular price.
Also I believe you are still using your optimum plus program which is awesome if you buy certain things like diapers. You have to be a bit intentional when collecting points. I even bought some English muffins once at Shoppers just to hit the $50 mark.
Shoppers prices in general are high but they have some great loss leaders like eggs. We only buy items that are a good value and that we need.
We usually end up using the redemption events like the 300,000 points for $450 around Christmas. One year we redeemed points for a Samsung galaxy watch and another year for a TV.
Susan,
I literally just did an online order at Loblaws just to take advantage of PC Points days. Spend $20 on Pepsi/Montellier get $8 back in points. Spend $20 on Perrier products, get $8 back. That’s 40% off and a better deal than when there are sales.
Also, you’re right about Shoppers. My mom is a senior so she buys me eggs and milk there on seniors day since it’s even cheaper. I did redeem my points for a Dyson hairdryer once during the bonus points events and it was the best deal ever.
On a separate thought I think you should do an article about what happens to your points when you die. It sure if you have covered that before. Different programs have different rules. You can’t will them to people but most programs have a process to transfer them.
I actually wrote an article on that for a client a few years back. I need to write something for my site since I’m sure things have changed since then.
You had a small comparison to PC Financial MC, but one thing that PCF does NOT support at the moment is MINT! I have been super frustrated that PCF is not working on Mint, so I am very tempted to switch over to this card if only to get transaction tracking on my grocery (Loblaws/No Frills & Costco) and gas card.
Are there other good alternatives than Mint? (Or just switch to this MC, since I am fully in the CIBC world.)
it’s such a disappointment for the lost coverage. But the dealbreaker would be a change takes effect on June 19, liability for loss, maximum liability is $50.
It’s in the fine print. So if you lose the card or it’s being stolen, all you get is $50 for damages that could be thousands of dollars
Horrible customer service (long wait)
I try to change my PIN on my new Costco CIBC MasterCard but failed mane time on phone (2-3h each). I give up after a month trying. Now I try to cancel my card but have to go thru customer wait x2 (the first agent can’t do it, waited for 4h) and to get hang up by the second agent after 3h wait and only 2 minutes in cancel process to get hang up. .. I’m still trying now… I will give bad review where I can till I my card get cancelled.
COSTCO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????
VK
OMG,I forgot to add this call wait time problem. Per my review, there’s little benefit for me with the high rebate item, gas. Pre current gas prices, having only EVs, my premium gas easily hit $5000,or higher if you add rentals for business, or pleasure. Car rentals now offer electric vehicle options,no gas use again. Costco should offer the same 3% for EV charging costs.