What is the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card? Alternatives for business gas rewards

The Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card by Citi is a business credit card that focuses on gas rewards while providing business spending benefits across multiple categories. This card gives you cash back on gas purchases at Costco locations worldwide and cash back on eligible gas and electric vehicle charging purchases elsewhere.

If you're looking for business gas card alternatives, you can explore card competitors with built-in spend management capabilities along with fuel savings with universal acceptance, traditional business credit cards with rotating category bonuses, or specialized rewards cards focusing on specific business spending patterns. The choice depends on your business's spending distribution, membership commitments, and whether you prefer integrated expense management versus category-specific optimization.

Here's what you need to know about how the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card is used for gas rewards and alternative gas card solutions to help your business choose the right credit card for your fuel expenses.

How is the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card used for gas?

The Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card by Citi works as a business credit card that focuses on gas rewards while providing category-based cash back across multiple business spending areas. This card requires an active Costco business membership for eligibility and application, with each authorized user also needing individual Costco memberships to get cards.

The gas rewards structure provides two different earning rates based on purchase location. Gas purchases at Costco warehouse locations worldwide earn 5% cash back, while eligible gas and electric vehicle charging purchases at other locations earn 4% cash back. Both rates apply to a combined annual spending limit of $7,000, after which all gas purchases earn the standard 1% rate for the rest of the calendar year.

Additional reward categories include 3% cash back on restaurant purchases worldwide, covering cafes, bars, lounges, and fast food establishments, plus eligible travel purchases including airfare, hotels, car rentals, travel agencies, cruise lines, and Costco Travel services. All other Costco and Costco.com purchases earn 2% cash back, while remaining business expenses earn the standard 1% rate.

Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card limitations

The Costco business card requires active Costco business membership for both primary cardholders and all authorized users, creating ongoing membership cost obligations that impact total program value. Business membership costs vary by level, with standard business memberships requiring annual fees plus additional costs for executive membership upgrades that provide enhanced Costco shopping benefits.

Important limitations affect reward eligibility through merchant category code classifications. Gas stations located within superstores, supermarkets, or warehouse clubs other than Costco typically earn only 1% rather than the enhanced rates. Additionally, fuel purchases for non-automobile purposes may not qualify for bonus rewards, and certain restaurant locations within department stores or warehouse clubs may be coded differently, affecting earning rates.

Understanding business credit cards vs. fleet cards

Many businesses get confused when researching fuel expense management solutions due to overlapping terminology and different program approaches available in the market. Business credit cards, fleet cards, and fuel cards serve different operational needs and offer different advantages depending on business structure and spending patterns.

Business credit cards

Business credit cards like the Costco Anywhere Visa focus on reward optimization across multiple spending categories while providing standard credit card features such as payment flexibility, purchase protection, and expense tracking. These cards typically offer higher reward rates for specific categories but may include annual spending caps and complex redemption requirements that affect practical value.

Fleet and fuel cards

Fleet cards prioritize operational control through driver accountability, spending restrictions, and detailed transaction monitoring designed for businesses managing multiple vehicles. These cards often provide fuel-specific discounts, real-time transaction alerts, and integration with fleet management systems, though they may limit acceptance to specific networks or merchant types.

Traditional fuel cards focus on simplicity for fuel-focused businesses, offering straightforward discount structures and basic expense tracking without complex category optimization or extensive administrative features. The best fleet cards aim to help businesses prioritizing fuel cost reduction over comprehensive expense management capabilities.

So, is there a difference between what card to choose?

The choice between these approaches depends on business size, operational complexity, spending patterns, and administrative preferences. Smaller businesses often benefit from straightforward reward credit cards, while larger operations may need specialized fleet management tools and controls.

Key considerations for choosing business gas cards

Business gas card selection requires looking at your spending patterns, reward optimization potential, and administrative requirements specific to business financial management. You should analyze your monthly expenses across different categories to figure out which reward structures provide maximum value based on actual spending distribution rather than advertised earning rates.

Here are the main factors to consider when picking business gas cards:

Gas spending analysis

Gas spending analysis becomes particularly important when looking at cards with category-specific bonuses and annual spending caps. Businesses spending significantly more than available caps may find better value through flat-rate cards or programs without restrictions, while companies within limits can maximize value through category-specific optimization and strategic spending allocation.

Membership requirements

Membership requirements and associated costs impact total program value calculations. Cards that need ongoing membership fees create additional cost obligations that must be factored against reward benefits, particularly when membership costs extend to multiple employees needing authorized user access.

Reward redemption flexibility

Reward redemption flexibility influences practical value for different business types. Annual reward distribution systems may not align with businesses preferring monthly cash flow benefits or needing immediate access to earned rewards for operational expenses. You should look at redemption timing, location requirements, and processing methods against your operational preferences.

Administrative complexity

Administrative complexity considerations include expense tracking requirements, integration capabilities with existing accounting systems, and compliance with business expense documentation needs. Some businesses benefit from detailed category tracking while others prefer simplified expense management with fewer optimization requirements.

5 top Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card alternatives for gas rewards

Before you choose a business gas card, decide what matters most to your business: broader acceptance, higher or uncapped earnings, or tighter spend controls and cleaner accounting.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card

The Chase Ink Business Cash Card provides 5% cash back on office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone services on up to $25,000 in combined purchases annually, plus 2% on gas station and restaurant purchases up to $25,000 annually. The card offers a higher annual gas spending cap compared to Costco's $7,000 limit while including business expense tracking.

However, the card carries a $95 annual fee that may offset rewards benefits for businesses with moderate spending volumes.

Capital One Spark 2% Cash for Business

The Capital One Spark 2% Cash Card provides a flat 2% cash back rate on all business purchases without category restrictions or annual spending caps, offering consistency for businesses preferring uniform earning rates across all expense types. Businesses can also earn a $1,000 cash bonus when you spend $10,000 in the first 3 months.

The card isn't exclusively built for gas rewards. So while the flat 2% across all categories is flexible, the rate may provide lower returns for businesses with concentrated gas spending that could benefit from higher category-specific rates available through specialized programs.

American Express Blue Business Cash Card

The American Express Blue Business Cash Card offers 2% cash back on eligible business purchases up to $50,000 annually, then 1% thereafter, with no category restrictions or membership requirements. The card also provides business expense tracking, merchant category reporting, and integration with expense management tools. American Express works with various business structures and credit profiles while providing employee card options at no additional cost.

Similar to the Capital One Spark 2% Cash Card, the flat cashback rate of the American Express Blue Business Cash Card may see lower returns for fuel.

Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash Card

The Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash Card also provides an unlimited 2% cash rewards on all business purchases with no category restrictions or annual caps. They also provide business banking integrations for companies using Wells Fargo business accounts. The card has no annual fee and provides employee card purchases with customizable, instant alerts.

However, the flat earning rate may provide insufficient returns for businesses with concentrated gas spending that could get higher rates through category-specific programs, similar to Capital One and American Express.

Honorary mention: Ramp corporate card

Ramp is not a traditional fleet card—it’s a corporate card and expense management platform built to help businesses track, control, and optimize employee spend, including fuel.

For companies that operate multiple teams and want visibility into all purchases, Ramp offers features like purchase restrictions, real-time policy alerts, and automated receipt matching. Since it’s accepted anywhere Visa is, Ramp works at almost every gas station.

Ramp also integrates with accounting systems to streamline reconciliation, and offers flat cashback on almost all purchases. There are no annual fees and no personal guarantee required.

Key takeaways

The Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card by Citi provides businesses with gas rewards through a membership-based program that delivers 5% cash back at Costco and 4% elsewhere up to $7,000 annual spending, combined with other benefits. The value of the gas rewards earned depends on how well your business spending patterns align with Costco's reward structure, particularly regarding gas consumption levels and how often you use Costco.

If you need higher gas spending capacity, prefer monthly reward access, or operate without convenient Costco warehouse access, you may find better value through alternative business credit cards or spend management cards that provide fuel savings with greater flexibility. The choice depends on balancing membership requirements against reward potential and administrative preferences for business expense management.

A corporate card built for total spend control

Choosing a business credit card isn’t just about earning rewards, it’s about gaining control over one of your largest recurring costs. Businesses often overspend on fuel and other operational expenses not because they’re using more, but because they can’t see who’s spending what, where, or when.

Ramp is not a traditional fleet card—it’s a corporate card and expense management platform built to help businesses track, control, and optimize employee spend, including fuel.

Accepted wherever Visa is, it comes with no annual fee and is available to businesses with at least $25,000 in a U.S. business bank account. With centralized controls and automation, Ramp gives finance teams visibility across all employee spend:

• Save more by preventing out-of-policy spend: Preset controls on corporate cards for specific vendors and categories.
• Be free from expense reports: Easily submit expenses through SMS, mobile app, and integrations.
• Unlock savings in real time: Get insight into spend as it happens, with a platform that pays off immediately.
• Grow your business with the right terms: Get rewards and perks, like 5% savings*. There’s no personal credit checks or personal guarantee.

Ramp gives finance teams precise oversight, cleaner books, and fewer wasted dollars. Instead of rewarding overspending, Ramp helps you spend less and know exactly where every dollar goes.

See how Ramp helps you manage expenses. Try the Ramp corporate card.

Information about third-party card providers is based on publicly available sources and may change over time. Details have not been independently verified or endorsed by the providers themselves.

*We calculate average savings as a percentage of an illustrative customer's total card spending when using Ramp features designed to reduce business expenses. Keep in mind that this percentage is an estimate, not a guarantee. Ramp delivers savings from more than just card spending; savings can also come from non-card expenses so we may factor decreases to non-card spending into our calculation. For example, savings may result from reduced time spent on manual expense tracking, the financial benefit of cash back or other rewards, smarter expense monitoring, and eliminating costs associated with alternative solutions. Our calculations are based on platform data, industry research, customer surveys, and info on alternative options. Your actual savings may vary.