Best card at a store
Best card for Costco in dollars (2026)
Published September 3, 2026. Updated September 14, 2026. Estimates use Pikt's card catalog and the same rewards engine as Pikt Checkout. Pikt personalizes each estimate to the cards you already carry, the purchase details, and any reward values you set. It compares supported earn rates, eligible offers, caps, and card constraints, then explains the result.
Answer
On a $180 purchase at Costco, Venture earns the most: 2x points, worth about $6.66. Venture X ties it at $6.66. Venture carries a $95 annual fee, which this one purchase does not cover on its own. This is a general ranking of 100+ personal cards. It does not use the cards in your wallet.
What counts as Costco
Costco warehouses and costco.com. Costco codes as a warehouse club, not a grocery store, so grocery bonuses do not apply. Costco takes only Visa in its US warehouses.
Pikt classifies Costco as warehouse clubs, so the ranking below uses each card's rate for that category plus any rate a card has for Costco itself.
Top cards at Costco, on a $180 purchase
The table compares 100+ personal cards still open to new applicants. Rotating 5% categories count only when the issuer's published calendar includes warehouse clubs this quarter, and those rows are marked. Rates you choose yourself appear separately below.
| # | Card | Rate here | Earns on $180 | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venture (opens in a new tab)Capital One | 2x points | $6.66 | $95 |
| 2 | Venture X (opens in a new tab)Capital One | 2x points | $6.66 | $395 |
| 3 | Capital One VentureOne for Good Credit (opens in a new tab)Capital One | 1.25x points | $4.16 | $0 |
| 4 | VentureOne (opens in a new tab)Capital One | 1.25x points | $4.16 | $0 |
| 5 | Air France KLM Visa Signature (opens in a new tab)Bank of America | 1.5x points | $3.78 | $89 |
| 6 | Sapphire Preferred (opens in a new tab)Chase | 1x points | $3.69 | $95 |
| 7 | Sapphire Reserve (opens in a new tab)Chase | 1x points | $3.69 | $795 |
| 8 | Active Cash (opens in a new tab)Wells Fargo | 2% cash back | $3.60 | $0 |
| 9 | American Eagle Real Rewards Visa (opens in a new tab)Synchrony | 2% cash back | $3.60 | $0 |
| 10 | Aven Home Card (opens in a new tab)Coastal Community Bank | 2% cash back | $3.60 | $0 |
Points are turned into dollars at Pikt's published redemption value for each program, so a points card and a cash-back card can sit in the same column. Welcome bonuses, spending caps, and card-specific credits are not included in this one-purchase number.
Annual fees as of September 2026. Issuers change terms often, so check the issuer's own page before you apply.
How Pikt got this answer
Pikt ran 100+ personal cards through the same rewards engine as Pikt Checkout. Each card is open to new applicants, and its earn rates have been checked against issuer terms. The example uses a $180 purchase classified as warehouse clubs at Costco. Points and cash back are converted to dollars. Read how Pikt turns points into dollars.
The store's category code, not the aisle, decides which bonus applies. Business cards, cards no longer open to new applicants, and cards whose rates Pikt has not verified are left out.
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