CostCo USA dropping Amex for Citigroup VISA

[Exterous]

oh snap--I may just have to cancel current AmEx and get this thing.

Though I recall that credit "duration"/membership length--whatever people call it, is pretty important. I've had my AmEx for more than 10 years now, so should I be all that concerned about closing it?

Depends on how many cards you have and what your overall history is like. If its your only card and your overall history is short it will affect you more than someone with a lot of cards and a longer overall history.

My average age is under 2 years now but I have so many positive 'On time payment' histories from numerous credit cards that closing a single card doesn't even register on my FICO

my guess would be captital one MC.

Ugh - I hope not. I have had terrible experiences with them esp when compared to Amex and Chase Sapphire. I doubt I'll be getting a Capital One card and just get a Barclays card instead

 

[ponyo]

If Costco goes with MC then I'll just say fuck'it and use my BarclayCard MC at Costco.

BTW, IIRC the Costco Amex annual membership fee replaced the yearly Executive membership fee. It isn't like you pay both annually. That was one of the attractions.

Also, I will not entertain Capital One in my household again. Years ago following the subprime mess they raised out interest rates. We never maintain balances on our cards, but that didn't stop Capital One from dramatically increasing the rate on us.

When we asked it to be lowered back down since we were not one of their bad customers holding large balances, they refused and we terminated the relationship immediately.

BTW, has anyone considered this as a move in order for Cost to grab a larger market share of those customers that use CC regularly as a preferred method of payment but with credit not good enough to acquire a Costco Amex?

Amex is easy card to get. Costco members have among the highest income of all shoppers. I'm planning on keeping my Costco Amex and rolling it over to some other Amex with no annual fee.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Amex is easy card to get. Costco members have among the highest income of all shoppers. I'm planning on keeping my Costco Amex and rolling it over to some other Amex with no annual fee.

Yup. Got my CostCo Amex at 19.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Amex is easy card to get. Costco members have among the highest income of all shoppers. I'm planning on keeping my Costco Amex and rolling it over to some other Amex with no annual fee.

How easy is it to roll over to another card? I have Amex gold and am sick of paying a fee each year.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

How easy is it to roll over to another card? I have Amex gold and am sick of paying a fee each year.

I've heard some good stories of people calling in to get the fee waived (if you've been using the card a lot).

 

[Wonderful Pork]

How easy is it to roll over to another card? I have Amex gold and am sick of paying a fee each year.

If its a co-branded card its tough to do a Product Change. My wife had an SPG AMEX which we wanted to roll over to a no-fee AMEX (since I have an SPG card and could make her an authorized user). Apparently they have product lines within which to transfer, and SPG couldn't transfer to anything so we just closed it.

The reps were knowledgeable and nice, I just don't think there was much they could do about it.

You could try calling in to have the fee waived, I've had almost no luck with that, I think the best I got was earning points for the annual fee, which you don't normally get.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Costco is really pissing me off lately. First they drop Coke for Pepsi and now AMEX....and lets not even get into them dropping pretzel sales from the food court years ago

 

[BarkingGhostar]

If its a co-branded card its tough to do a Product Change. My wife had an SPG AMEX which we wanted to roll over to a no-fee AMEX (since I have an SPG card and could make her an authorized user). Apparently they have product lines within which to transfer, and SPG couldn't transfer to anything so we just closed it.

The reps were knowledgeable and nice, I just don't think there was much they could do about it.

You could try calling in to have the fee waived, I've had almost no luck with that, I think the best I got was earning points for the annual fee, which you don't normally get.

This is VERY true. For instance, the Delta Skymiles Gold Amex has a no foreign transaction fee benefit, but the Costco Amex does not--even though Costco does vacations and travel.

 

[Ns1]

Costco is really pissing me off lately. First they drop Coke for Pepsi and now AMEX....and lets not even get into them dropping pretzel sales from the food court years ago

Let's all pour one out for our long lost homie, the hand dipped ice cream bar with almonds

The only ice cream bar I've ever eaten that crumbled under it's own weight.

 

[ponyo]

How easy is it to roll over to another card? I have Amex gold and am sick of paying a fee each year.

It was super easy with Chase. The points wouldn't roll over so I had to spend it before the change but I transferred two different Chase cards no problem. I don't have experience with Amex but it shouldn't be difficult. Amex will rename the Costco card to something else and send you a new card. You'll have the option to opt out if you prefer. I'm keeping my Costco Amex because I had the card for number of years and the card has ~$50k limit. I charged close to $90k on my cards this month. I need all the lines I can get to keep my monthly credit utilization low.

 

[RossMAN]

Let's all pour one out for our long lost homie, the hand dipped ice cream bar with almonds

The only ice cream bar I've ever eaten that crumbled under it's own weight.

Giada + ice cream bar =

 

[RossMAN]

Official announcement from Amex:

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/costco-update.html

Important Information about Costco and American Express

American Express has announced that its U.S. co-brand and merchant acceptance agreements with Costco Wholesale Corporation are set to end on March 31, 2016. For Card Members, this means:

• American Express cards will still be accepted at Costco warehouses in the U.S. and online at Costco.com through March 31, 2016.
• Existing Card Members who carry a Costco Card from American Express will still be able to use their Card at Costco and everywhere American Express Cards are accepted until March 31, 2016.
• The February 2015 reward coupon will be issued as it normally is. For future rewards, Card Members receive the rewards for which they are entitled.
• We will be communicating further with Card Members in the coming months.
• This announcement applies only to the relationship between American Express and Costco in the U.S.

Card Members with the TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express, the TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express, the Costco Cash Rebate Card or the Costco Business Charge Card can expect further communication from American Express prior to March 31, 2016.

We appreciate your business and look forward to continue delivering you our Relationship Care® service.

 

[SunnyD]

Costco is really pissing me off lately. First they drop Coke for Pepsi and now AMEX....and lets not even get into them dropping pretzel sales from the food court years ago

And let's not forget this:

They fucking stopped carrying this nectar of the gods several years ago and I haven't found ANY adequate substitute. Of course it's probably for the better since I could usually go through an entire bottle of it in about 2 hours. D:

 

[ponyo]

So the change doesn't take place til next year? Then why are we talking about this now?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

So the change doesn't take place til next year? Then why are we talking about this now?

Because some of us are procrastinators and some of us are not.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Let's all pour one out for our long lost homie, the hand dipped ice cream bar with almonds

The only ice cream bar I've ever eaten that crumbled under it's own weight.

My dad and I would get one of these every trip, almost completely out of principal. I can't fathom why they would have gotten rid of them

 

[RossMAN]

So the change doesn't take place til next year? Then why are we talking about this now?

Correct and because that's how we roll?

 

[SunnyD]

So apparently they're switching to Visa & Citi.

 

[Genx87]

Well that will be nice for me. No more writing checks at the register.

 

[Newell Steamer]

So apparently they're switching to Visa & Citi.

This is great, I have Visa.

I never wanted to or cared for getting another card, especially just for Costco.

 

[boomerang]

So apparently they're switching to Visa & Citi.

Yuk. Citi's customer service sucks ass. I have a reward card with them and when I need to call in to them all they do is pass the buck. You get shuffled around on hold with each warm body and end up right back where you started. That's if you stay on the line and don't hang up.

 

[Muadib]

Yuk. Citi's customer service sucks ass. I have a reward card with them and when I need to call in to them all they do is pass the buck. You get shuffled around on hold with each warm body and end up right back where you started. That's if you stay on the line and don't hang up.

I cancelled the card I had with Citibank. This is a bad move by Costco.

 

[IronWing]

It is not clear from the article. Will Costco accept any Visa starting in two years or does one have to get a Costco Visa through Citi?

 

[Genx87]

It is not clear from the article. Will Costco accept any Visa starting in two years or does one have to get a Costco Visa through Citi?

Visa is replacing Amex as the credit card network. I assume they will accept any Visa like they accepted Amex.

 

[Childs]

Visa is replacing Amex as the credit card network. I assume they will accept any Visa like they accepted Amex.

You also use your Amex as an ID to enter the store. Using any Visa like this would seem to imply they are waiving the membership fee, and I thought Costco made most of if not all their money on membership fees.