Here's How I Score 4% Cash Back on All of My Costco Purchases

Some people shop at Costco on occasion and don't get a lot of use out of their memberships. I'm not one of them.

I usually make a trip to Costco every single week -- sometimes more frequently than that, depending on what I need. And as a mom of three kids, that makes sense. 

Frankly, we're constantly running out of food in my household. So it helps to be able to buy certain items in bulk and enjoy some savings in the process.

I happen to really appreciate the fact that Costco offers such competitive prices on the items it sells. But what makes shopping there even sweeter is the fact that I'm able to walk away with 4% cash back on the things I buy both in the store and online. Here's how I pull that off.

It's all about the right membership and credit card

Costco sells a basic membership for $60 a year, and if you don't shop there often, that may be all you need. But I pay an extra $60 a year, or $120 in total, for an Executive membership. And the reason is that among other perks, that upgraded membership gives me 2% back on my Costco purchases, including those I make online. 

Now to be clear, a Costco Executive membership isn't for everyone. If you do the math, you'll see that you basically have to spend more than $3,000 a year at Costco for the upgrade to be worth it. But since I've been known to spend a lot more than that, an executive Costco membership is really an easy call for me. 

Meanwhile, on top of my Costco Executive membership, I also use my Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi to do my shopping. That credit card actually serves as my membership card too, so it's even more convenient. 

But also, my Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi gives me 2% back on Costco purchases. And I'm allowed to double up with my 2% back from my Executive membership. So all told, for every $100 I spend at Costco, I get $4 back in my pocket. And in the course of a year, that can really add up nicely. 

In addition to 4% back at Costco, by virtue of using my Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, I'm able to get 4% back at the pump -- and that's at any gas station, because it doesn't always work out to fill up my car at Costco. The card also gives me 3% back on restaurants and travel. 

Get all of the cash back you can

These days, food prices (and living costs in general) are still pretty elevated thanks to inflation. So it pays to snag as much cash back as you can in the course of your shopping. And since I shop at Costco so frequently, it pays for me to focus my efforts on scoring cash back there. 

Luckily, the combination of my Executive membership and my Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi allows me to do just that. So if you shop at Costco often enough, you may want to look into a membership upgrade as well as the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi. 

The card doesn't charge an annual fee, so there's minimal risk there. And while you are laying out extra money for an Executive membership, you should also know that if you don't snag enough cash back to make up the additional $60 it'll run you, Costco will refund you the difference after a year should you decide to downgrade. So there's really no risk there either.