Yes, please complain about it and cancel your AMEX or CITI card. Costco doesn't need customers like you.
Yes, but why do you want it to transition to the new card if it say... has a sign-on bonus? You won't be given the sign-on bonus since it's not a normal application.
Oh and since you already have the card (through AMEX transitioning it), you are no longer eligible for a sign on bonus. Congrats!
That's the only issue I have as well as preserving my credit history.
That would be a scenario I would be happy with."Will I need to apply for the new Costco Visa Card if I already have the Costco American Express Card?" "It is unlikely that you will need to apply for the new Costco Visa Card. Costco will provide more information as we finalize the details of our new credit card program."
There's no sign on bonus for Costco branded credit cards. Never was. So if you care about sign on bonus, you're looking at the wrong card.
I generally don't care much about signing bonus. It's not worth the hassle for me to thaw my credit to apply for small peanut rewards bonus. And I don't care about preserving my credit history. One credit history isn't going to make or break me. I have multiple credits with long history. Who cares about losing one. It's getting replaced so you're not really losing anyway.
That would be a scenario I would be happy with.
I'm really having a tough time trying to decide how to deal with this transition and I'm not 100% certain why. It must just center around the hard-on I have for insurance companies and the degree to which they use credit scores to determine rates. After being around the 830~840 mark like forever, buying a second home with a mortgage dropped me down to 780. I came up for renewal and the insurance company stuck it in me real deep. No accidents, no points, no claims in the 40+ years I've been driving but they saw the opening and they pounced.
I don't want any hard hits at this point that will drag me back down.
I'm veering off track in the context of the thread but we bought that second home, went down there and started hammering the credit cards buying furniture and stuff for the place. We paid the CC bills in full every month but we exceeded the 20% ratio that the gods of credit scoring like to see a good number of times over the course of three or four months. That's what I think messed up my score.
Anyway, I'm a bit anxious to get my letter from Costco so I can make some decision on what direction I want to go with this. I've had the AmEx card for a looong time. I'd like to have the Costco Citi Visa but would like to cancel the MC we're using right now as our second card and use the Visa in it's place. I can never seem to find any information I consider definitive on how this or that affects a credit score.
First world problems for sure.
But I didn't have the same result. And I documented it for everyone to see.Why are you worrying so much about your credit score? 780 or 850, you're going to have the same result.
I've been around the block a few times. I shop throughout the year. When I ask why I'm being quoted the rate given, I hear credit score, credit score, credit score. My state has the highest car insurance rates in the nation. The purchase of the second home is the first step in leaving this state. In fact, I am researching now the steps I need to take to make that state my primary residence while also retaining my home here for now. Without shopping around or fine tuning, I already know I'll have at minimum a 25% reduction in my auto rates there. The additional bonus is no state taxes, greatly reduced car registration rates (about 1/10th as much) and far, far lower property taxes.I don't care if you apply for 10 cards and have 10 hard credit checks, your score wont budge 700 unless you have Payment/Debt/Legal issues. If your insurance company is basing your credit score THAT much to more than a $10 adjustment, I would just bail for a better insurance company. I have to do that often anyways regardless of our stagnant credit scores. They just like to up our rates in hopes that we are too lazy to shop around.
I had a US Airways credit card (issued by Barclay). After their merger with American, I received a new American Airlines credit card (from Citi) without applying for it...
Shitibank? I thought they were going to Crapital One...
This is pretty much what I'm wondering. I have a Citi card also that I haven't used in nearly three years. But it's a MC.What about those of us who already have an existing Citi credit card and another Amex (such as BCE or BCP)?
I got the same letter in the mail, and I assume millions of others are getting them too.
Amex obviously didn't want the business anymore, or they would have renewed the contract.
I personally ONLY had a Costco Amex because it was mandatory to use credit there.
I very rarely used that card anywhere else. I assume there were many more people like me.
That was in the back of my mind. I thought I was wrong, but apparently I'm not the only one that remembered Capital One and not Citi...
I have heard they were using Mastercard. So weird how there is so much misinformation about which card Costco is moving to.
Sooo... the new contract obviously wasn't worth it to AMEX.Wrong. They didn't renew the contract because contract renewals aren't as simple as signing the same piece of paper. It's very likely given how good Costco has been doing lately that they were pushing for lower rates.
Vendors have to pay their credit card vendors a certain percentage. But in the case of things like warehouse clubs, they negotiate for a lower rate with a particular card company because they are on RAZOR THIN margins, thus lowering their fees - and the card company gets exclusive use at that retail location. Both sides win.
I meant AMEX was mandatory, not the Costco brand Amex.Incorrect. You could have gone with ANY other American Express. Blue Cash Everyday is an excellent choice.
IIRC CostCo Canada changed to Capital One and CostCo USA switched to VISA issued by CitiBank.
Yeah, that was good, thanks. It more or less helped my make up my mind. I'm ditching the AmEx.
Haha, wow. Very insightful.Interesting article about it:
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-how-amex-lost-costco/
Really? These numbers don't sound right. Besides, what does average purchase price has to do with anything? Total purchase per customer or total purchase period would make a reasonable matrix.n 2014, Amex members spent an average $144 per purchase, compared with $84 for Visa users and $90 for MasterCard holders, according to the Nilson Report, a publication that tracks the card industry.