TrueEarnings Cash Back Card from American Express and Costco
Warehouse stores such as Sam’s Club and Costco usually offer exclusive deals to their customers. These deals usually consist of special promotions and savings on products, but reward credit cards often don’t apply. A good credit card that that offers substantial cash back rewards will be especially popular with customers of warehouse stores. Costco has teamed up with American Express to create the TrueEarnings® credit card. This card features high cash back rates for a wide variety of purchases. This credit card helps Costco customers save money when making purchases.
I’m a big fan of shopping at warehouse and club stores because when you have young kids at home it is a big savings when you can stock up on the necessities. So, finding a credit card that will let me get a good deal of cash back on gas plus everything from travel to shopping at Costco is nice.
Card Features:
- 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 annually in the form of a reward coupon
- The Two-In-One Card: it’s an American Express® Card and Costco membership card, with no annual fee for Costco members
- Cardmembership offers access to benefits such as Global Assist and Purchase Protection* *Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company
- Terms and restrictions apply.
Cash Back Rates
The TrueEarnings® credit card offers 3% cash back on gasoline for purchases up to $4,000 per year. For gasoline purchased over the $4,000 limit, the cash back rate falls to 1%. The card also offers 2% on restaurant purchases, 2% on travel purchases and 1% on almost everything else, including purchases made at Costco. This method of calculating cash rewards makes it easy to project in advance how much cash cardmembers will earn. Budgeting becomes much easier when using this schemata.
Travel
Cardmembers can easily access foreign currencies when traveling. American Express can mail foreign currency bills or traveler’s checks to their cardmembers within five to seven days. The card also offers insurance for rental vehicles and legal, financial or medical advice is offered on demand. American Express also provides up to $100,000 in travel accident insurance, and the security of having access to cash from over 500,000 ATMs globally. American Express can provide international cell phone rental through Vodaphone with $20 worth of free airtime with rental periods of one week or more.
Entertainment
The card also offers great deals on entertainment, from sports to movies to operas. Cardholders enjoy exclusive access to low ticket prices in select markets and the chance to grab tickets before they become generally available. By using the code AMEX, cardmembers can even earn cash back on entertainment purchases. The rates vary based on the type of venue and the season. Get advance notice of shows and concerts and enjoy some of the biggest Broadway hits.
Shopping
Purchases are automatically protected when using the TrueEarnings credit card. Find savings and deals from merchants on products like dinners, electronics and clothing. American Express can extend the term length of the original manufacturer’s warranty up to one year, as long as the warranty is for five years or less. If an item breaks, cardmembers can get it replaced, repaired or even reimbursed for the amount that was originally put on the card . Finally,in cases of fraud, American Express TrueEarnings cardholders will not be held responsible for the charges.
Other Features
One of the best things about American Express is the great online interface they have put together for managing your accounts. It couldn’t be easier to login and make payments, set up automatic payments, or check the status of your rewards and cash back. With some companies it’s a real pain, so the fact they have spent time perfecting the system is a nice bonus.
Final Thoughts
This is a well-rounded cash back card. Yes, it is American Express and it may not be accepted in as many places, but considering the best cash back rates are on things like gasoline, dining, and travel, you should find it will be accepted in most of those places just fine. Besides, if you’re already a Costo member there’s no annual fee, so it’s a no-brainer.
Of course, there is always one last word of warning when it comes to credit cards. Getting rewards or cash back is great, but if you are someone who has struggled with credit card debt and can’t pay off the bill in full each month don’t go and sign up for a bunch of reward cards just for the sake of getting some cash back. Carrying any sort of balance on cards like these will almost always wipe out any savings or benefit. So, use these cards wisely.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser’s affiliate programs.
Author: Jeremy Vohwinkle
My name is Jeremy Vohwinkle, and I’ve spent a number of years working in the finance industry providing financial advice to regular investors and those participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
