How My Costco Anywhere Visa Makes Me Feel Rich Once a Year

One of the biggest reasons to use a credit card is to benefit from its rewards program. The points you rack up can often be redeemed for a host of perks, including statement credits or cash back that you can spend anywhere.

In many cases, credit card users can redeem their reward points or cash back every month. The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, which is my go-to credit card, works differently.

The Costco Visa Card tallies up your rewards over the course of a year and issues you a rewards certificate once annually. You can then take that certificate and spend it at Costco or redeem it for cold, hard cash.

Some people may not love the idea of having to wait an entire year to collect their credit card rewards. But I'm a big fan of this system for one big reason.

It's nice to get a giant payday from my credit card

This year, I'm expecting my Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi reward certificate to come to about $1,500 for my 2023 spending. Because my reward certificate isn't due to arrive until February, I'm not sure of the exact amount at this moment.

But either way, I'm expecting a giant payday from my go-to credit card, and that amount of money has the potential to do a lot of great things for me financially. I may decide to use that money to purchase some furniture for my kids' rooms, which is a larger purchase I'd normally have to save up for. Or, I may use that money for a family trip -- another thing I can't just do on a whim, but rather, have to save up for over time.

The nice thing about this system is that because I'm getting all of my credit card cash back at once, I'm not tempted to blow that money along the way. Rather, I can use it for something meaningful.

Before I started using the Costco Visa Card, I had another credit card I used regularly that let you redeem your rewards or cash back monthly. What I did back then was take my $50 a month here or $70 a month there and spend it on the spot, such as on a nice dinner or a fun purchase for my home. I didn't save it for bigger purchases because I saw it as free money.

Technically, my upcoming reward certificate is the same kind of free money. But because I'm expecting such a large lump sum, I know I'm not going to just blow it on something random. Instead, I'll put serious thought into how I'll use it.

A credit card perk I really appreciate

I know people who specifically don't use the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi for this very reason -- they don't want to wait that long to access their credit card rewards. And I get it.

But to me, having to wait is actually a plus. So on my end, I hope this particular feature of the Costco Visa Card doesn't change over time, because it really serves me well.

If you've struggled to save in the past, and you're a regular Costco shopper, then it could pay to sign up for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi. The card's rewards system might force you to save money by not giving you access to your cash back month after month.

Similarly, if you're trying to save for a bigger purchase, using this card could help make that happen. So it pays to consider it if you're already a Costco member.