This So-Called Drawback of the Costco Anywhere Visa Could Actually Be a Huge Plus

Because I shop at Costco on a regular basis, getting the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi was an easy call for me when the card was introduced. For one thing, the card actually serves as your membership card, which did the trick of freeing up space in my already overstuffed wallet.

But more than that, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi comes with perks that Costco shoppers can benefit from. For one thing, you get 2% back on purchases made at Costco, including online at Costco.com. So combined with my Costco executive membership, I actually get 4% cash back on the things I buy at Costco.

Plus, the card offers 4% cash back on gas and EV charging purchases, up to a spending cap of $7,000 a year. As someone who's constantly shuttling kids to things like soccer practice and basketball games, my tank often needs to be filled. So it's nice to score a good amount of cash back in the process.

Furthermore, the card offers 3% back on restaurants and travel purchases, including vacations booked through Costco Travel. Now I'll admit that I don't use Costco Travel all that often, mostly because we're a "hit the road and see where it takes us" sort of family when it comes to going on vacation. But I still get my 3% back on applicable travel purchases.

Since the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has become my go-to credit card, I tend to accumulate a nice amount of cash back on it during the year. And the way the card dishes out that cash back is a system I'm a fan of -- even though others may not be.

A means of forced savings

Most credit cards give you access to the cash back you've accrued on a monthly basis. The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi makes you wait up to an entire year to access the cash back you've racked up.

Some people would argue that that's not a good thing. If you accrue $80 in cash back in April, do you really want to wait until the following February to be able to use it? Maybe not. But for me, the fact that I have to wait a year is a positive thing, because I see it as a means of forced savings.

Now to be fair, I'm a pretty decent saver to begin with. I have money that comes out of my checking account at the start of the month, every month, that goes to my savings before I get a chance to spend it. So I don't necessarily need the cash back from my Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi to meet my personal savings goals. However, I like the fact that I get a lump sum of cash, because that spares me from having to save for a larger purchase I may want to make.

This year, my annual reward certificate amounted to about $1,700. (And if you're thinking, "Wow, this lady sure spends a lot during the year," part of that total stemmed from a major home repair I put on my card and paid off.) So now, the way I see it, I have $1,700 to apply to something big, whether it's a family trip, new furniture (something my kids are starting to need), or something else.

Are those things I could save up for separately? Sure. But with my $1,700 cash infusion, I now don't have to.

But here's the thing -- had I gotten my cash back in smaller installments during the year, I might've blown that money by purchasing $200 tickets here or treating my family to a $150 dinner on occasion. Now, I have the option to spend that money on something more meaningful.

A perk that could serve you well

People struggle to save money for different reasons. But the sad reality is that 63% of Americans don't have the cash reserves to cover an unplanned $500 expense, says SecureSave.

So if you tend to have a hard time saving money, you may want to get the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citifor the aforementioned reason alone. That way, you'll basically be forced to save up your cash back during the year. And instead of blowing $30 here on takeout or $50 there on a social event with friends, you may be more motivated to take your larger payday at the end of the year and stick it into the bank, where it can serve as your personal emergency fund.