Costco Anywhere Visa vs. Sam’s Club Mastercard: Everything you need to know

Most big-box shoppers are well aware of the myriad benefits that come with shopping at a members-only warehouse. From exclusive products to lower prices to in-store samples and food court access, Costco and Sam’s Club offer shoppers bulk deals and a unique shopping experience that you just can’t find at traditional retailers. 

Many warehouse club shoppers, especially those with large families or small businesses, choose to upgrade their membership to a higher tier. At Sam’s Club, this is called a Plus membership, while Costco’s equivalent is known as an Executive membership. These elite membership tiers offer even more benefits—like cash back on purchases and exclusive shopping hours—in exchange for higher annual membership fees. 

Costco and Sam’s Club members who have already opted for these higher-priced tiers and want to maximize the benefits of their memberships even further may want to consider applying for their warehouse club’s cash-back credit card. 

Costco partners with Citi to offer the Costco Anywhere Visa, while Sam’s Club’s equivalent is called the Sam’s Club Mastercard. Here’s how the two warehouse club credit cards stack up side-by-side, followed by a more detailed look at the benefits and drawbacks of each. 

Costco Anywhere Visa vs. Sam’s Club Mastercard at a glance

Sources: Citi, Costco, Sam’s Club

Which card offers more cash back for store purchases? 

The Sam’s Club Mastercard offers the highest cash-back potential, but only for Plus members, who earn 5% on all Sam’s Club purchases (2% from their Plus membership and an additional 3% on purchases made with the Sam’s Club Mastercard). This cash back is capped at $5,000 annually, but in order to reach that cap, you’d have to spend $100,000, which is more than most Sam’s Club shoppers spend in a year. 

Let’s say you spend a more reasonable amount, like $8,000, at Sam’s Club in a year and pay for all of your purchases using your Sam’s Club Mastercard. That would earn you $400 in Sam’s Cash, which covers the cost of the next year’s Plus membership with $290 to spare. 

For comparison, a Costco Executive member who spent the same amount at Costco on their Visa Anywhere card would end the year with $320 in Costco Cash, which would cover the cost of their next year of Executive membership with $200 to spare.

Related: Costco vs. Sam’s Club: Memberships, prices & perks compared

Which card offers more cash back on gas? 

The 2% cash back Costco Executive and Sam’s Club Plus members get on in-store and online purchases does not extend to the warehouse clubs’ gas stations, so the cash back on gas that each of these cards offers is one of their primary perks. 

The Sam’s Club Mastercard comes out on top in the gas category too, earning cardholders 5% cash back on gas, not just at Sam’s Club gas stations but anywhere Mastercard is accepted (virtually all American gas station chains) on the first $6,000 spent on gas each year. After $6,000, 1% cash back is earned on subsequent gas purchases for the remainder of the year. The average American spends under $2,500 on gas annually, so most cardholders won’t reach this cap. 

The Costco Anywhere Visa also offers 5% cash back on gas, but only at Costco gas stations. At other gas stations and EV chargers, this number drops to 4%. Cash back on gas and charging drops to 1% after the first $7,000 is spent—a higher cap than the Sam’s Club card, but irrelevant to most drivers. 

Related: Costco shop cards & how they work: Everything you need to know

Which card has better cash back redemption options?

When it comes to ease of cash back redemption, Sam’s Club leads once again. All Sam’s Cash earned is loaded automatically onto your card each month, at which point it can be spent at Sam’s Club or redeemed in-store for cash. 

Costco Cash earned through the Visa Anywhere card, on the other hand, is sent out as a certificate just once per year. One perk Costco offers that Sam’s Club doesn’t, though, is that cash back balances of $300 or more can be deposited into a member’s bank account online. Of course, this money can also be used for purchases or redeemed for cash at Costco. 

Related: How much is a Sam’s Club membership? Club vs. Plus explained

What does the Costco Anywhere Visa offer that the Sam’s Club Mastercard doesn’t?  

One unique feature of the Costco Anywhere visa that is notably lacking in its Sam’s Club counterpart is cash back for travel purchases. The Costco credit card offers 3% cash back on travel, and this is not restricted to travel booked through Costco.

Most purchases from airlines, hotels, travel agencies, cruise lines, and car rental companies fall into this category. Purchases that may not count toward this category include rideshare services, train and bus tickets, and toll fees. 

Related: When does Costco open & close? Everything you need to know

The takeaway: Which card offers more value? 

Both of these credit cards are excellent ways for warehouse club shoppers, especially those with higher-tier memberships, to maximize their cash back. 

Looking simply at the numbers, the Sam’s Club Mastercard may offer more cash back potential to frequent warehouse club shoppers, but the real question is how loyal a potential applicant is to their current warehouse club.

For instance, if you prefer Costco’s products to Sam’s Club’s (many shoppers believe Costco’s higher membership fees are justified by better product quality), the slightly higher cash back potential of the Sam’s Club Mastercard probably wouldn’t be worth making the switch, especially if you travel a lot and want to take advantage of the Costco Visa’s extra cash back category.

If you’re new to warehouse clubs, or if you’ve tried both Costco and Sam’s Club memberships and don’t have a strong preference for either store, opting for Sam’s Club could make sense, as its memberships are cheaper, and the Mastercard offers higher cash back potential, especially if you don’t travel much.