Should you cash your rewards certificate from Costco or use all that moola to shop?

FISTFUL OF DOLLARS: Today, I cashed my second Costco Wholesale credit card reward certificate (cash rebates on warehouse and Costco.com purchases, gasoline, restaurant meals, travel and spending at other stores) at the Costco Business Center in Hackensack. That brought my total cash rebates this year to $451.91.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- I took the money and ran.

In the past, I'd use the cash rebates from my no-fee Costco Anywhere Visa Card to make more purchases at the warehouse in Teterboro or the Costco Business Center in Hackensack.

But that makes no sense when I can use Costco as an ATM and make those purchase with the Costco credit card, earning even more cash rebates.

My cash rebates -- awarded in February -- totaled $451.91 this year, including the $189.78 I received today. 

Compare that to my annual Costco Executive Membership fee of $120.

In August, when my membership automatically renews, I'll get another 2% cash back on my purchases by virtue of my executive membership.

I made a few purchases at the Costco Business Center on South River Street today, and charged them to the Costco credit card:

A large Golden Pineapple ($1.99), a 5-pound bag of grated Parmesan Cheese ($20.19), and a 24-bottle variety pack of flavored Poland Springs Sparkling Spring Water ($8.49).

AT THE COSTCO BUSINESS CENTER: My purchases today included a 5-pound bag of grated Parmesan Cheese I use in pasta, fish and egg dishes, such as those you'll find at Victor's Healthy Kitchen on YouTube.