Costco has officially transitioned from American Express to Visa as of Monday, June 20, 2016. This means that Visa is now the only major credit card accepted at Costco warehouses and online at costco.com. Of course, you can still use cash, checks, debit and ATM cards, EBT, and Costco Cash cards.
For those who have the Costco AmEx card, you will automatically get the new Costco Visa card sent to you. It will have a different account number, so if you have any recurring payments on your old card, make sure to update them.
The Costco Anywhere Visa card
The new Costco Visa card comes with slightly better rewards. Here they are:
- 4% cash back on gas including Costco gas for the first $7,000 per year (1% thereafter)
- 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases
- 2% cash back on all other purchases at Costco or costco.com
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
You will receive a rewards coupon annually in your February statement. You must redeem it by December 31 of that year. You can exchange it for merchandise or cash at your local Costco.
There is no annual fee with your paid Costco membership and you can use your Costco Visa card as your membership ID.
In addition to cash back, the Costco Visa card offers the following benefits:
- Damage & Theft Purchase Protection (120 days)
- Extended Warranty (extends manufacturer’s warranty)
- Citi Price Rewind (receive price difference automatically within 60 days)
- Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection
- Worldwide Car Rental Insurance
- Worldwide Travel Accident Insurance
- Travel & Emergency Assistance
Just be sure to read the fine print to understand exactly what each of these things cover.
I have a Costco membership, but I still don’t have a Costco credit card. I may consider getting one in the future with the improved benefits.
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As self proclaimed Costco addicts, we can honestly say that we are happy to they scored a great deal with Visa for us. We still like Amex, but we welcome the new Visa where it’s accepted more widely among merchants (not that we plan on spending much).
I’m relieved as well. I had cancelled my AmEx SPG a while ago, and that was the card I was using to pay for stuff at Costco.