The anticipation is over as the new CIBC Costco®† Mastercard® is now available for new applications. After months of speculation as to which bank would takeover the warehouse giant’s credit card portfolio from Capital One, This new partnership between CIBC and Costco Canada was first announced in September 2021. Then in November 2021 the details of the new card were released with existing Capital One cardholders transferring over to CIBC on March 4 and now the card is here for anyone else who is interested in it!
Not a Costco Member?
When you sign up for a new Costco Executive membership and apply for a CIBC Costco Mastercard you can receive a $60 statement credit:
- Sign up for a new Costco Executive Membership and apply for the credit card on the same day.
- Upon receipt of your new CIBC Costco Mastercard, spend $60 or more on the card during the first 120 days.
- After both steps are completed, the $60 statement credit will be applied to the credit card account within 12 to 16 weeks.
Enhanced Value
The new CIBC Costco Mastercard is a no annual fee cash back rewards card with up to 3% cash back earn rates on your everyday shopping. This includes higher cash back earn rates for Costco.ca and Costco Gas purchases. Here is the complete earning breakdown for this new card:
- Earn 3% at Costco Gas and 2% at non-Costco gas stations on the first $5,000 spent on gas (1% thereafter)
- Earn 3% cash back at restaurants
- 2% cash back earned on Costco.ca on purchases up to $8,000 (1% thereafter)
- 1% cash back on every purchase everywhere Mastercard is accepted, including at Costco warehouses.
The 2% back for online Costco purchases is a new earn rate the old Capital One card did not have as is the 3% back at Costco Gas. The 2% for non-Costco gas stations is the same as the old Capital One card however now you’ll note that CIBC has a put an annual cap on the gas category. The 3% back for restaurants is the same across the old and new cards and CIBC’s 1% back on all other purchases is better than the Capital One which had 0.5% up to the $3,000 and then 1%. To learn more about all features and benefits, you can visit cibc.com/costco.
Cashing out Rewards
The cash back rewards you earn on the new CIBC Costco Mastercard are awarded to the cardholder annually as Costco Cash Back Certificate. These will start to be issued in January 2023 and you’ll be able to access them digitally when using the CIBC Mobile Banking app or you can print the certificate via CIBC Online Banking.
CIBC Pace It
CIBC Costco Mastercard clients also receive access to CIBC Pace It allows cardholders to pay for larger purchases with low-rate Installment Plans, spreading payments over a fixed term. The new CIBC Costco Mastercard has special Installment Plan interest rates with no installment fees on eligible Costco purchases in Canada and at Costco.ca as follows:
- 4.99% for 6 months
- 5.99% for 12 month
- 6.99% for 24 months
Learn more at cibc.com/paceit
Existing Cardholders
Members who had the Capital One Mastercard for Costco members were automatically switched over to CIBC on March 4. While they will keep using their physical Capital One card for a few months until a new card is sent out all of their payments, statements and banking are now handled by CIBC.
Wrapping it up
The new CIBC Costco Mastercard comes with an overall better cash back earn rate than its predecessor and that is this card’s biggest selling point. You get 1% right away instead of 0.5% as your base earn rate and better earn rates with Costco.ca and Costco Gas. I think for most people who have the Costco Mastercard right now they’ll be happy with the new one as they can potentially earn more cash back than the previous version of this card.
Click here to learn more about and to apply for the CIBC Costco Mastercard
This post was sponsored by CIBC. The views and opinions expressed in this article, however, are purely those of Rewards Canada.