Sneak Peek At New Costco Capital One Platinum MasterCard
Costco members are getting a sneak preview of the new Capital One Platinum MasterCard. The co-branded card is set to replace the TrueEarnings Card once the Costco and American Express agreement expires at the end of the year. Card applications are already available online and at Costco stores, with details suggesting the card will be hit the market in late October.
The wholesale giant moved quickly to secure a new credit card agreement once talks with American Express broke down. It teamed up with Capital One to offer a co-branded card and struck a deal with MasterCard to allow credit card acceptance to MasterCard cardholders – which has already been rolled out across the 88 Costco locations in Canada.
The Capital One Platinum MasterCard looks to offer the same rewards as the TrueEarnings Card. You’ll get 3% back on restaurant purchases, 2% back on gas purchases, and up to 1% back on everything else. What that means is you’ll get 0.5% on your first $3,000 annual spend, and then 1% after that.
There’s no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn in any calendar year.
Double cash back
Apply now and you’ll get double cash back for three months after your account is opened.
Earn 6% cash back at restaurants and 4% at gas stations on all your purchases – up to a combined total spend of $1,500 for both during the three-month promotional period.
Earn 1% cash back on the first $3,000 you spend on all other purchases annually, and 2% after that. You’ll earn at these rates up to a total spend of $8,500 during the three-month promotional period.
You’ll earn double cash back until your three-month promotional period expires, or you reach the promotional spend limit within a category – whichever comes first. After that, you’ll earn cash back at the regular rates set out above.
Doubles as a Costco membership card
Like the TrueEarnings Card, the Capital One Platinum MasterCard will double as your Costco membership card, with your picture and membership number on the back of the credit card. Your Costco membership fee will automatically get charged to your credit card unless you tell Costco otherwise. There is no annual fee for the Capital One Platinum MasterCard.
Cardholders will be issued a rebate coupon once per year in January. Rebate coupons are good for one-time use and can only be redeemed for goods, services or cash at Costco warehouses in Canada.
Other benefits
What sets this card apart from the TrueEarnings Card boils down to the difference between MasterCard and American Express benefits. Here’s what you get when you use the Capital One Platinum MasterCard:
- Price Protection – When you buy a new item in Canada that is advertised for sale at a lower price within 60 days of purchase, Price Protection refunds the price difference up to $100 per item and $500 per calendar year.
- Purchase Assurance – Most personal items purchased are automatically insured against theft, loss or damage anywhere in the world for 120 days from the date of purchase.
- Extended Warranty – Automatically doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to two years.
- Travel Accident Insurance – Get up to $250,000 automatic travel insurance coverage for you, your spouse and your dependent children.
- Car Rental Collision/Loss Damage Waiver – Decline the collision damage waiver insurance offered by the car rental agency and you’ll be insured if your rental car is damaged or stolen when you rent the car for a period of up to 31 days.
- Baggage Delay – If your checked baggage is delayed for more than four hours at your away-from-home destination, you, your spouse and your dependent children may be eligible for reimbursement of up to $100 per day for up to three days to purchase essential items.
Final thoughts
Costco and Capital One were smart to put out a strong offer with a double cash back incentive for the first three months. But folks who already carry a top-tier rewards MasterCard might not see the benefit of having a second MasterCard in their wallet – even one that can double as their Costco membership card.
Related: Amex jumps into cash back market with new SimplyCash cards
That’s where American Express had an advantage: If you liked shopping at Costco and wanted to earn credit card rewards then you HAD to carry an American Express card in your wallet. And if you had to carry one then it just made sense to carry the TrueEarnings Card which could also act as your Costco card.
I’m not convinced Costco members will feel the same way about the new Capital One Platinum MasterCard. What do you think? Will you get one?
Yes. As long as I can redeem for cash not just goods.
nope! i have enough cards ( 2 master cards now ). we will probably rethink our membership in costco as well when the renewal comes up.
Probably not. I think I will get the new Amex card and use it instead on Scotia momentum card. Only problem is that Amex is not widely accepted so may have to carry two or three cards
No thanks. I will just use one of the 2 M/C’s I have in my wallet now. You are not required to have a Capital One M/C to continue to shop at Costco.
Definitely not! I’ve already used my M/C Smart Cash in store but, it was refused at the gas bar? And after over 18 months of a horrible experience(details to follow) with a Capital One cash back card, I’m letting it go dormant and will revert back to the Smart Cash card only. With Smart Cash, I get the cheque automatically but with Capital One I nearly had to plead for the cheque and got it only after answering way too many questions!!! And after a year’s membership I was entitled to a credit limit increase and it was never done(even though I called them twice before the anniversary was up). Not so will all of my other Master cards which either wrote me or called me to offer a credit limit increase!! Btw, I had followed the “advice” of Boomer and Echo on applying for the Capital One card…And i’ve met other friends and relatives who also have cancelled the Capital One card !!! So beware!!!!!!
Hi Gilles, sorry to hear about your poor experience with Capital One. When I had the Cap One cash back card, I just redeemed the cash back online as a statement credit – I didn’t have to wait for the rewards to reach a certain balance, I could redeem $4.52 if I wanted.
I’ve heard the credit limit increases have been problematic at Cap One, however, so that’s not a good thing.
No issues with the Cap One Travel card, though. I’d happily recommend it to readers, though your mileage (or experience) may vary.
Are we going to be able to transfer our balance from our american express card to the new costco master card?
Costco has really messed up with this switch in Canada from Amex to Capital One MasterCard. Costco US will not accept the Capital One MasterCard as anything but membership ID. To pay with a credit card in the US, you have to have an Amex card, so I had to order a new one of those just so I can use it at Costco in the US. And, I just got my first invoice from Capital One MasterCard for my purchases in the last month (all at Costco since I won’t use the card anywhere else). Lo and behold, they don’t have a system set up to allow automatic withdrawal every month of the total amount owing. You have to mail them a cheque, pay at a financial institution or set up them up as a payee on your online banking and then remember to go in and transfer the funds to them every month by the due date. What an archaic way of doing transactions. Thanks Costco for dumping this mickey mouse operation on us.
Biggest issue I see with this card is the credit Limit. Its way too low for a family and they wouldn’t raise it even with great credit rating. I guess they want to limit the cash back…idiotic move. Hate this card as I have to make 3 payments in a month to stay within my credit limit.