Costco Signs On With Citi And Visa

Does Costco sell gift cards ?

@levine:
Of course.
In fact that’s a workaround to not have to buy a membership.

Will there be money back from Citibank like there is from AMEX?

Wow! I opened my first Amex card because I was paying almost every week at Costco with a debit card and losing out on the opportunity to earn so many miles. I guess I will still keep my Gold Amex for triple points on travel and all the special Amex deals like Small Business Saturday, etc.

No, only Costco Cash cards.

@Dan: My husband doesn’t have a card of his own and sometimes has trouble trying to pay with a giftcard without a Costco card.

How does that work? Also, then one loses out on double rebates from AMEX and Costco, No?

Costco sells cash cards. You could redeem a cash card for cash, but they make a fuss, and will probably shut down if taken advantage of.

@Dan: they usually dont let u in the store without ur membership card, so how does gift cards help?

Does anyone know why they cut ties with amex?

@aRIEL:
You can get cash back or miles from any Visa card.

@aRIEL:
Which is the same thing as a gift card, only better.

@Anonymous:
The cash card clearly says that it’s useable without a membership.

@aRIEL:
Double rebates?

If you have Costco’s executive membership you et 2% back and miles or cash back from the card.

But with the regular membership you just get whatever your credit card gives you.

@schneur:
When you show a cash card they let you shop there.

Also works to buy gas there.

@abraham:
Procesing fees were too high.

pretty sure you just show your Costco gift card and they let you waltz right in.

Dan- don’t u have to be a costco member to purchase or reload cash cards? Says so on the website…..

@ari:
Of course.
You need to get a member to buy them for you.

@Dan – So, If I already have a VISA card with a good program, it really makes no sense to get another one now that the only reason I have an AMEX card has now (4/1/16) been obviated.

I may as well cancel my AMEX come 4/1/16.

Correct me if I am wrong.

@Achshell: how does this work? I never heard of this before. Thanks

@aRIEL:
Don’t participate in SBS?

Don’t ever need good return protection, extended warranty, or dispute resolution?

@bbm:
I’ve never heard of cashing them out either.

@ Dan, I never use my AMEX except at Costco. I’ve participated in SBS b/c I could. Not sure its worth to keep another card for $60/year to be used on one day a year. I don’t have patience to play the games that you recommend (to my detriment, of course).

@aRIEL: In your case, it may not be worth it to pay the annual fee, but it’s still good to have in case you need the benefits or decide to shop on SBS. It can also help your credit rating. Call AmEx and ask if they’ll switch you to a card with no annual fee

The benefits are only valuable if you buy stuff on it.

I have a 785 credit rating, so not really concerned about that.

I’ve seen Costco cash cards on eBay for less than face value.

Costco’s amex was free. Old news report said that Amex will be offering same free card to keep the Amex card active, it just wont be a Costco Amex. Why would you want to get rid of a free Amex card?

SBS, a couple of experiences with warranty extension and purchase protection made me a pretty loyal AMEX customer. For many years I only had AMEX because of Costco, now I have a whole set of AMEX cards.

mazal tov, about time

Will they accept Amex online (like they currently accept Visa?MC online)?

@bbm: I never tried it myself, somebody told me it works for very small amounts.

I am hoping that eventually, probably not immedaitely, Citi will promote a co-branded Costco card and then Costco will offer some sort of promotion for new sign-ups. I will hold off and wait to see what happens, but Citi should be rolling out something very soon.

Awesome,

AMEX shafted me a couple of years ago and I ditched the SPG card as my primary and switched the chase sapphire. It’s been much better.

I kept a crappy amex card on the side just for costco and costco gas so this is great news. I can just consolidate things back on 1 visa again. Bye bye AMEX, don’t let the door hit you on the way out

@Zoglog: Care to share the details of the shafting? Maybe we can all learn s/t from it.

Do you know if they will take Mastercard or is it only VISA?

Mastercard in Canada. Visa in USA.

if it weren’t for the great kosher section that Cosco has I would drop the membership altogether. BJ’s take all credit cards and manufacture coupons, much better. I don’t own one visa card so now what do I do?

The deal can’t be that much better or worse. What about going to bed with the most egregious example of corrupt “too big to fail” banking. what was Costco thinking? Citi Group. Incredible.

When Costco stopped accepting AMEX cards in Canada the website stopped accepting AMEX as well so you could only buy cash cards using your Visa or MasterCard as of January. Few local companies accept it in Canada due to the high merchant fees. AMEX claims they’re the same fees, just 1 amount instead of being broken down into different charges. If that were true, you’d clearly have more companies in Canada accepting AMEX. Due to competition, the merchant fees are likely lower in the States than in Canada.

Ive been purchasing gift cards from Costco Canada for over a year on a regular basis without any issues.

@Dan I just signed up for an amex Costco card. SBS only works (for me thus far) if you know the shopkeeper or can get credit without making a chillul Hashem, which where I am is tough so it’s not work keeping it just for that.
As for the other benefits, I have better amex cards.

@Riva you would get rid of a card because you have too much credit relative to income.

@Fay: BJays is more expensive overall. Yes, I compared.

SBS isn’t only about knowing a merchant who will charge and give you cash back (if that’s what you meant). You can buy something in any small business and AMEX pays for it via giving you a statement credit in whatever amount they are offering that year.

Does anyone know if the Chase Sapphire preferred, which does not say “visa” on the card be allowed at Costco since its visa signature but not recognizable on the card? thanks in advance