# Costco Visa Caution



## Passepartout (Jun 10, 2016)

DW's shiny new Costco Visa came in the mail the other day, complete with her photo- the same one that was on her Costco Amex. Apparently it can be used starting 6/20.

So I was looking it over and saw it is *chipped* AND has the logo (the little fan looking icon) denoting that it is an *RFID* card. It will go into a foil sleeve or RFID wallet.

I didn't note whether it requires a PIN, or is just chip/signature.

Maybe I'm making much ado over nothing, but there it is.

Jim


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## "Roger" (Jun 10, 2016)

No surprise. At the moment, the only credit card that I have that does not have a chip is the old AmEx Costco card. And, the credit card companies have said that if stores do not use a chipped card in the near future, they (the store) will be liable for any fraudulent use. Given that, what would you expect Costco to issue?

Are RDIF cards a real concern? Typical paragraph from a Slate article on the subject ...


_While early versions of RFID payment systems may have transmitted sensitive data like the card number unencrypted, major credit card companies insist that’s no longer the case. Their RFID chips now send a one-time code for each transaction, so at best, a determined thief might be able to make a single purchase by recording and replicating the signal he picks up from a given card. Even if that were to happen, the cardholder would not be liable for the fraudulent purchase under most credit card companies’ policies. From the thief’s perspective, it’s a lot of work for relatively little gain.

By contrast, skimmers installed on ATM or point-of-sale machines allow thieves to pick up much more usable information from a far greater number of cards. Unlike RFID skimming, ATM skimming is a real and widespread problem both in the United States and elsewhere. But no wallet will protect you from that._​Don't worry about it and throw the RDIF wallet away. IMHO


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## isisdave (Jun 10, 2016)

Everyone in Europe is using "contactless" cards, where you just wave them close to the terminal.  No PIN required. This is similar to Apple Pay and other systems, I guess. They really encourage these for use in the London transport system, where they total your usage during the day and make one charge that night.

If you lose the card, the thief can obviously use it until you notice and cancel. But, in England anyway, there is a limit on the amount you can buy this way ... £20 or £30 at a time ... but no daily cap. For higher amounts you must dip and enter your PIN.

I'm not sure this is a good idea. Are there any contactless systems in the US yet? They grin politely at my 20th century chip and signature card here.


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## DaveNV (Jun 10, 2016)

Costco doesn't currently use the chip portion of cards like that. They aren't yet set up for it.  Everything is still a swipe transaction.  When Costco DOES go chip-card ready, then the card you're holding will be ready to go.

Keep in mind, too, that after the Costco cobranded Citi Visa card goes into effect, ANY Visa card can be used at Costco. And every one of those I have already has a chip in it.  So this new card is just making itself useful at places other than Costco, where the chip part of the card is likely to be used.

It's a non-issue, in my mind.

Dave


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## davidvel (Jun 10, 2016)

I've read a lot of threads about this, but haven't been able to understand why ALL credit cards don't require a pin like a debit card. Everyone is used to it with debit cards, and terminals support it. In combination with chips, it would seem to reduce the theft of stolen cards to near zero, and reduce a tweaker's urge to break in to cars and steal purses.


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## Ken555 (Jun 10, 2016)

davidvel said:


> I've read a lot of threads about this, but haven't been able to understand why ALL credit cards don't require a pin like a debit card. Everyone is used to it with debit cards, and terminals support it. In combination with chips, it would seem to reduce the theft of stolen cards to near zero, and reduce a tweaker's urge to break in to cars and steal purses.





Because the industry claimed the cost would outweigh the benefits, which of course is just nonsense. Chip and pin should have been implemented over a decade ago.

As for RFID concern...that's a total nonissue designed to sell products that protect you from this fear.


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## davidvel (Jun 10, 2016)

Ken555 said:


> Because the industry claimed the cost would outweigh the benefits, which of course is just nonsense. Chip and pin should have been implemented over a decade ago.
> 
> As for RFID concern...that's a total nonissue designed to sell products that protect you from this fear.


Yeah, exactly. Fees for debit cards are lower than CC, but using a pin is more expensive for the industry???


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## Pardytime (Jun 10, 2016)

DaveNW said:


> Costco doesn't currently use the chip portion of cards like that. They aren't yet set up for it.  Everything is still a swipe transaction.  When Costco DOES go chip-card ready, then the card you're holding will be ready to go.



I used the 'tap and go' feature in Costco in Ottawa, Canada this morning with a bank debit card.  It is about 3-4 times faster than selecting the account, entering your PIN, etc, which makes a cumulative time savings at the register, to everyone's benefit.


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## dsmrp (Jun 10, 2016)

This card has a 3% foreign transaction fee.
The card stock itself is fairly flexible like another newer chip card we have.
I think it'll get beat up in DH's wallet.
My cards are more sheltered in the wallet in the comfy handbag


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## klpca (Jun 10, 2016)

We're in Ireland for one more day. Just received a text from Chase that our Sapphire card (chip) was compromised and the number was used at an auto parts store in Las Vegas today. So much for the chip card preventing theft. We've had this card for less than 6 months.

I agree, why don't they require a pin?


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## "Roger" (Jun 10, 2016)

klpca said:


> We're in Ireland for one more day. Just received a text from Chase that our Sapphire card (chip) was compromised and the number was used at an auto parts store in Las Vegas today. So much for the chip card preventing theft. We've had this card for less than 6 months.
> 
> I agree, why don't they require a pin?


While I agree that the  credit  card  companies  should  have  gone  with chip and pin, my bet is that the  fake card used in Las Vegas  was swiped. Very few small merchants  have chip readers yet and it is much easier for thieves to produce a fake magnetic  strip than chip. Why would they bother doing something  difficult  when there would  be very few places that  they  could be rewarded for  their efforts ?


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## DaveNV (Jun 10, 2016)

Pardytime said:


> I used the 'tap and go' feature in Costco in Ottawa, Canada this morning with a bank debit card.  It is about 3-4 times faster than selecting the account, entering your PIN, etc, which makes a cumulative time savings at the register, to everyone's benefit.



Thanks for that info. The Canadian system is different than the USA version. Nice to know that.

Dave


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## Ken555 (Jun 10, 2016)

DaveNW said:


> Thanks for that info. The Canadian system is different than the USA version. Nice to know that.
> 
> 
> 
> Dave





Basically, every other country on Earth is more advanced than we are in terms of credit card usage.


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## davidvel (Jun 11, 2016)

klpca said:


> We're in Ireland for one more day. Just received a text from Chase that our Sapphire card (chip) was compromised and the number was used at an auto parts store in Las Vegas today. So much for the chip card preventing theft. We've had this card for less than 6 months.
> 
> I agree, why don't they require a pin?





"Roger" said:


> While I agree that the  credit  card  companies  should  have  gone  with chip and pin, my bet is that the  fake card used in Las Vegas  was swiped. Very few small merchants  have chip readers yet and it is much easier for thieves to produce a fake magnetic  strip than chip. Why would they bother doing something  difficult  when there would  be very few places that  they  could be rewarded for  their efforts ?


My point exactly. Your pin is (should be) only stored in your brain. The Almighty chip only protects the card itself, which can be stolen (with the chip in it). 

If someone steals your card (physically) or steals your card data (swipe), its worthless without a pin, only if a pin is required.


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## klpca (Jun 11, 2016)

"Roger" said:


> While I agree that the  credit  card  companies  should  have  gone  with chip and pin, my bet is that the  fake card used in Las Vegas  was swiped. Very few small merchants  have chip readers yet and it is much easier for thieves to produce a fake magnetic  strip than chip. Why would they bother doing something  difficult  when there would  be very few places that  they  could be rewarded for  their efforts ?


Very true. At home, the only business consistently using the chip technology is Trader Joe's. Otherwise it's hit or miss. Here in Ireland they have used the chip reader 100%.


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## isisdave (Jun 11, 2016)

Pardytime said:


> I used the 'tap and go' feature in Costco in Ottawa, Canada this morning with a bank debit card.  It is about 3-4 times faster than selecting the account, entering your PIN, etc, which makes a cumulative time savings at the register, to everyone's benefit.



In Canada, is there a maximum amount per transaction or per day on tap-and-go? How would that ever work at Costco??

PIN-less systems like this seem very insecure to me.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 11, 2016)

PIN transactions don't have to slow down things at the register. The problem is people always wait until after everything is rung to swipe their card and enter their PIN. People either don't realize or don't know that they can swipe their card while the checker is scanning items and enter their PIN, then all they have to do is confirm their amount. The only thing worse than waiting to scan your card at the end is waiting until the very end to dig a wallet out of a purse or pocket to write a check or even get cash, AFTER standing there while they ring everything up. Why not be doing that while they are in the process? You didn't actually think you would have to pay at the end? I also don't understand why a lot of people have to fill out the whole check at placed like Walmart even though they tell you you don't have to. They just scan the check and it all happens electronically now. The print the details on the check for you.


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## lvhmbh (Jun 11, 2016)

Publix Supermarkets here in So. FL don't have the chip machines so, because of theft/scamming, I have to show them my card after the transaction goes through.  They then check it against the register receipt (not sure for what).   I use the chip feature at most other stores.


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## DAman (Jun 11, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> PIN transactions don't have to slow down things at the register. The problem is people always wait until after everything is rung to swipe their card and enter their PIN. People either don't realize or don't know that they can swipe their card while the checker is scanning items and enter their PIN, then all they have to do is confirm their amount. The only thing worse than waiting to scan your card at the end is waiting until the very end to dig a wallet out of a purse or pocket to write a check or even get cash, AFTER standing there while they ring everything up. Why not be doing that while they are in the process? You didn't actually think you would have to pay at the end? I also don't understand why a lot of people have to fill out the whole check at placed like Walmart even though they tell you you don't have to. They just scan the check and it all happens electronically now. The print the details on the check for you.



I might be one of those people only because of scanner errors.

 I shop a lot at Target and Safeway due to location. At Target the last four times I have purchased items there has been an error in target's favor three times. Safeway is similar. 

It is a waste of my time to have to review my receipt after purchase and wait in a customer service line due to overcharges. That is why I try to watch the scanning as it is done. Much easier for me to correct an error during the scanning process. 

At Target I often take a photo of sale prices to show at register.


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## presley (Jun 11, 2016)

lvhmbh said:


> Publix Supermarkets here in So. FL don't have the chip machines so, because of theft/scamming, I have to show them my card after the transaction goes through.  They then check it against the register receipt (not sure for what).   I use the chip feature at most other stores.



They do that at Von's here. They said they are making sure the last 4 digits of the card match what was scanned. I guess the strip doesn't match what is on the front of the card when skimmers make cards.

I find it annoying that they didn't switch to chip machines, yet. Everyone was supposed to change over in October. It's ridiculous that so many large merchants haven't done that, yet. They are allowing the skimming to continue.


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## colatown (Jun 11, 2016)

lvhmbh said:


> Publix Supermarkets here in So. FL don't have the chip machines so, because of theft/scamming, I have to show them my card after the transaction goes through.  They then check it against the register receipt (not sure for what).   I use the chip feature at most other stores.



The Publix here do have chip readers and have had them for several months. They haven't started using them however and you still have to swipe your card on the reader.


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## "Roger" (Jun 11, 2016)

presley said:


> ...
> 
> I find it annoying that they didn't switch to chip machines, yet. Everyone was supposed to change over in October. It's ridiculous that so many large merchants haven't done that, yet. They are allowing the skimming to continue.


If your area is like mine, a lot of merchants have the necessary readers, but can't use them until  they  are  "certified." They want to  do  that, but can't because of a huge backlog. See this article.

Should this problem have been anticipated? It frustrates me when people  always talk  about how efficient  private  enterprise  is.


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## billymach4 (Jun 11, 2016)

*EMV uses PKI*

This is going to be very technically esoteric. The Chip in these credit cards is using a technology similar to PKI. Public Key Infrastructure. Basically it is your private key certificate on the CC. It must be authenticated with the respective public key by a Certificate Authority. Both keys authenticate and the transaction is approved. My take on this is that it will take years for the hackers to figure out how to duplicate the contents of the embedded chips on these cards. 

If you are a member of the military, or a DoD employee/contractor it is similar to your (Common Acess Card)CAC.

If you have noticed when using the Chip card the transaction takes a few moments longer to clear.  

Regardless, as some others have noted my Marriott Rewards card was compromised recently. It had the chip but not all of the merchants have the chip readers. In any event I suspect that my last trip to NCV somewhere along the way my card was skimmed. 

Chase reached out to my via text and email about a suspicious online jewelry charge that triggered me to shut it down with Chase. They immediately shipped out new cards in hand the next day.

I also notice that the new VISA branded cards with chips are not embossed. This must make it more difficult to make duplicate cards, since hackers can purchase machines that can emboss blank credit cards. Hmm I wonder where they buy these machines.


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## Kal (Jun 12, 2016)

billymach4 said:


> ...I also notice that the new VISA branded cards with chips are not embossed. This must make it more difficult to make duplicate cards, since hackers can purchase machines that can emboss blank credit cards. Hmm I wonder where they buy these machines.



WalMart Aisle 476 :ignore:


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## dioxide45 (Jun 12, 2016)

billymach4 said:


> I also notice that the new VISA branded cards with chips are not embossed. This must make it more difficult to make duplicate cards, since hackers can purchase machines that can emboss blank credit cards. Hmm I wonder where they buy these machines.



We have some Visa Chip based cards that are embossed and some others that aren't. Some just have the card information printed on the cards while others have it embossed on the card. Not sure if there is a rhyme or reason for it. In fact, my wife's Marriott Rewards Visa has the information just printed on the card and mine is embossed. We both got new cards within the last year. Though my card is the older non Premier card that only gets 3 points per dollar on Marriott spend where hers gets the 5 points per dollar.

Her United  Mileage Plus card doesn't have the new chip yet but also doesn't have the information embossed on the card.


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## moonstone (Jun 12, 2016)

isisdave said:


> In Canada, is there a maximum amount per transaction or per day on tap-and-go? How would that ever work at Costco??
> 
> PIN-less systems like this seem very insecure to me.



Yes there is a maximum amount that you can use a "tap". It is usually $50 but we have heard some (either specific cards or stores) that have a $100. limit. 

It isn't very often that we get out of Costco with a purchase less than $100. let alone under $50.! But in other stores as previously mentioned the process is very fast for us.


~Diane


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Jun 12, 2016)

I believe both Pin and Tap are very secure in Canada - as far as your personal information .


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## happymum (Jun 13, 2016)

isisdave said:


> In Canada, is there a maximum amount per transaction or per day on tap-and-go? How would that ever work at Costco??
> 
> PIN-less systems like this seem very insecure to me.





moonstone said:


> Yes there is a maximum amount that you can use a "tap". It is usually $50 but we have heard some (either specific cards or stores) that have a $100. limit.



I believe the tap total at Costco is $200. Most other stores it seems to be $100.
Having used the chip and pin system for over 5 years now, I love the convenience and speed of tap.


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## rapmarks (Jun 14, 2016)

Has everyone received their new cards?   We haven't and i don't know who to contact.


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## pagosajim (Jun 14, 2016)

rapmarks said:


> Has everyone received their new cards?   We haven't and i don't know who to contact.



Just got mine yesterday.  This after stopping by my local Costco store the same day to question when I should be concerned about not receiving it.

There's been a big push when entering the store to make sure you activate the card right away so that we don't flood the system at the last minute.  Interesting that once activated, it's not available for use until June 20th anyway.

Go figure.

Edited to add:  they've set up a table in the store with a couple of folks available to answer questions about the card.  That's where I was directed to go.  They suggested calling "the Costco number" if I hadn't received the card by 6/17.


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## chalee94 (Jun 14, 2016)

rapmarks said:


> Has everyone received their new cards?   We haven't and i don't know who to contact.



i only got mine last week.  some do come later than others.


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## rapmarks (Jun 14, 2016)

Costco is over 65 miles away, so I wont run in.   I just worry about the card's delivery, as we are having our mail forwarded.   What number do i call?


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## davidvel (Jun 14, 2016)

rapmarks said:


> Costco is over 65 miles away, so I wont run in.   I just worry about the card's delivery, as we are having our mail forwarded.   What number do i call?


As with most (all?) credit cards, the envelope is endorsed "RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED" which means it *will not* be forwarded. 

Per this link:Ensure you’re ready to start using your new card on June 20, 2016,


> How/when do I get my new Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi?
> You do not need to apply. Between the end of May 2016 and early June, Citi will mail it to the basic cardmember or authorized officer’s mailing address provided to Citi. You can begin using your new card on June 20, 2016. *If your address has changed, please call the number on the back of your current Costco card from American Express to update it.*


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## geekette (Jun 14, 2016)

presley said:


> Everyone was supposed to change over in October. It's ridiculous that so many large merchants haven't done that, yet. They are allowing the skimming to continue.



Where did you hear of an October deadline?


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## Ken555 (Jun 14, 2016)

geekette said:


> Where did you hear of an October deadline?




October 2015 was the last "deadline" for this change. There were countless articles about it last year...for instance:

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-inte...15-the-end-of-the-swipe-and-sign-credit-card/


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## Kal (Jun 14, 2016)

geekette said:


> Where did you hear of an October deadline?



Effective October 2015, for swipe readers, all merchants would become responsible for fraudulent CC charges, except for certain situations.  In general that means that they had to have chip readers installed.  The exceptions include such things as hardware not available or software issues.

 Some merchants maintained that they had "trustworthy" customers or they were willing to accept fraudulent charges.


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## rapmarks (Jun 14, 2016)

called American Express about delivery of Citi Bank Card, waste of 20 minutes, have to call Citi Bank.  With no card number, took about twenty minutes to get a human.  they will not forward the card, the card will be returned to them.   I need to call after June 20 to discuss having card sent to my current address.  I already have a credit card, so i am not going to waste my time calling them.  When we were at Costco about ten days ago, they had a person stopping people and asking about the new card.  i explained the situation, and was told oh it will be forwarded to you. So much for people knowing their job.


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## geekette (Jun 14, 2016)

Kal said:


> Effective October 2015, for swipe readers, all merchants would become responsible for fraudulent CC charges, except for certain situations.  In general that means that they had to have chip readers installed.  The exceptions include such things as hardware not available or software issues.
> 
> Some merchants maintained that they had "trustworthy" customers or they were willing to accept fraudulent charges.



Ah, thank you.  Not a deadline as in non-compliance with law, just acceptance of liability.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 14, 2016)

rapmarks said:


> called American Express about delivery of Citi Bank Card, waste of 20 minutes, have to call Citi Bank.  With no card number, took about twenty minutes to get a human.  they will not forward the card, the card will be returned to them.   I need to call after June 20 to discuss having card sent to my current address.  I already have a credit card, so i am not going to waste my time calling them.  When we were at Costco about ten days ago, they had a person stopping people and asking about the new card.  i explained the situation, and was told oh it will be forwarded to you. So much for people knowing their job.



Not sure why you would have wasted the first 20 minutes with American Express. Not sure why they would be responsible for delivering you a new card from Citi Bank. You should have called Citi Bank first.

The problem with the people in the stores pushing the cards, is that they just don't know or are guessing. No different than reps at RCI, II or any of the timeshare companies.


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## rapmarks (Jun 14, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> Not sure why you would have wasted the first 20 minutes with American Express. Not sure why they would be responsible for delivering you a new card from Citi Bank. You should have called Citi Bank first.
> 
> The problem with the people in the stores pushing the cards, is that they just don't know or are guessing. No different than reps at RCI, II or any of the timeshare companies.


well I called because someone here told me to call the number on the back of my Costco card and at least I found out which number to call at Citi Bank.  Thanks for the nasty remark, should I make it to the person who gave me the suggestion.   Love how someone on Tug always loves to point out others stupidities.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 14, 2016)

rapmarks said:


> well I called because someone here told me to call the number on the back of my Costco card and at least I found out which number to call at Citi Bank.  Thanks for the nasty remark, should I make it to the person who gave me the suggestion.   Love how someone on Tug always loves to point out others stupidities.



It wasn't meant to be nasty. Sorry if that is how I came across. The written word isn't always the best way to get a message across. Reading back through it, I can see how it could be interpreted as such, sorry


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## davidvel (Jun 14, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> Not sure why you would have wasted the first 20 minutes with American Express. Not sure why they would be responsible for delivering you a new card from Citi Bank. You should have called Citi Bank first.
> 
> The problem with the people in the stores pushing the cards, is that they just don't know or are guessing. No different than reps at RCI, II or any of the timeshare companies.


See my post above with quote from *Citi's* website. Its my fault (actually Citi's).


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## dioxide45 (Jun 14, 2016)

davidvel said:


> See my post above with quote from *Citi's* website. Its my fault (actually Citi's).



That was probably all put together before they started mailing them out. I would think at this point, Citi has got all the data from American Express and updating anything with AE would be too late now.

I can understand why they don't want to forward these types of things. It hides who the real recipient is. I once tried to pay an online bill pay to someone who had a winter home in Florida. My bank wouldn't forward the check to them. That was the one and only time I tried to pay them through online bill pay.


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## DaveNV (Jun 14, 2016)

pagosajim said:


> There's been a big push when entering the store to make sure you activate the card right away so that we don't flood the system at the last minute.  Interesting that once activated, it's not available for use until June 20th anyway.
> 
> Go figure.



They can't activate the cards at the register when you try and use it.  Picture it: They scan the card to get your membership number, then scan all your merchandise, and then you can't pay for it?  Imagine the chaos with hundreds of shoppers in long lines, who then can't buy anything because the card isn't active yet.  Doing it ahead of time is a HUGE convenience to all concerned.  That way, on the day the card IS able to be used, it's a non-issue for everyone standing in those long lines.  And there are something like ELEVEN MILLION CARDS being issued during this changeover.  Do the math.  Yikes!! 

That's why the push.  

Dave


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## Quiet Pine (Jun 14, 2016)

DaveNW said:


> They scan the card to get your membership number, then scan all your merchandise, and then you can't pay for it?



Something similar happened to me today. Woman in front of me tried to use new Visa card--a week early. Checker got her membership number, but it took 15 minutes going through her wallet to find she had no acceptable card. People lining up behind me were reaching for pitchforks. Finally she wrote a check for the amount. 

Meanwhile, we're waiting for the new card. We moved 4 weeks ago and have been assured over and over that the card will be forwarded. Apparently NOT! Costco does have our change of address. Fingers crossed it will shop up by Friday.


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## stmartinfan (Jun 15, 2016)

I guess I should plan to avoid Costco on June 20 and the following week or so!  I expect it will be a mess at check out with people not having received or activating their new card, etc.

We live close to Costco so drop in often to pick up fresh fruit, etc.   When they had the self check out lines, it was a snap to get through quickly because those lines were usually pretty empty.  

We always avoid weekends, but between the huge cartfulls of most shoppers and the confusion with the new cards, it's going to be slow everyday for a while!


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## tfalk (Jun 16, 2016)

I hadn't used my chipped SPG amex card in months and then used it at a hotel last weekend.  Yesterday, I got an email about a card not present transaction on that account for "AT T E store" that I did not make.  So much for having a chip to make the card more secure...  new card on it's way but honestly, there is no way to make any of these transactions 100% foolproof.


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## davidvel (Jun 16, 2016)

tfalk said:


> I hadn't used my chipped SPG amex card in months and then used it at a hotel last weekend.  Yesterday, I got an email about a card not present transaction on that account for "AT T E store" that I did not make.  So much for having a chip to make the card more secure...  new card on it's way but honestly, there is no way to make any of these transactions 100% foolproof.


I haven't seen chip readers at hotels yet. Did you insert the card into a chip reader? If not, the chip is immaterial. 

In any event, isn't this is exactly what is supposed to happen, and the point of the chip? There are a myriad of ways someone can get your card info. They used to be able to make fake cards with that info. Now they cannot (at least for use in chip terminals).   

There will always be non-chip transactions (online, etc). The merchant will likely get a reversal of this, and costs are much higher for card not present transaction.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 16, 2016)

Fraud won't go away. As long as there are retailers that haven't installed or are using chip machines yet, they good ole swipe still works. Once all have converted to chips, the hackers will just move all purchases online where you enter card information. Though they have to get around the billing address validation.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 22, 2016)

I cannot log into the Costco Amex account at all--for two days!  That is odd.  So Amex just directs me to several Amex credit card choices, each time I try to log into our account.  

I wonder if Amex will send only paper statements for this last billing?  I so, I am going to be leaving town tomorrow afternoon, and our payment should be due before we get back.  I am concerned I can never log into my account again.


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## gmarine (Jun 22, 2016)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I cannot log into the Costco Amex account at all--for two days!  That is odd.  So Amex just directs me to several Amex credit card choices, each time I try to log into our account.
> 
> I wonder if Amex will send only paper statements for this last billing?  I so, I am going to be leaving town tomorrow afternoon, and our payment should be due before we get back.  I am concerned I can never log into my account again.



My Costco Amex card is no longer listed in my Amex card profile. My other Amex cards are there but not the Costco card. I think as of June 20th they must have auto canceled all the Costco Amex cards and with that online access to the account is gone.


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## davidvel (Jun 22, 2016)

The letter that went out from Amex said your account would be deactivated June 20 and to download any statements/records you wanted before then. Spiteful.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 22, 2016)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I cannot log into the Costco Amex account at all--for two days!  That is odd.  So Amex just directs me to several Amex credit card choices, each time I try to log into our account.
> 
> I wonder if Amex will send only paper statements for this last billing?  I so, I am going to be leaving town tomorrow afternoon, and our payment should be due before we get back.  I am concerned I can never log into my account again.



I think all balances transferred to Citi, so Citi will pick up the next billing which will include any pre 6/20 charged that weren't yet billed. Credit cards have to provide at least 20 days between your statement date and the due date, will you be gone longer than that? If you have the card already, you can probably sign up for the new online access at Citi and check your balances and billings there.


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## rhonda (Jun 22, 2016)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I cannot log into the Costco Amex account at all--for two days!  That is odd.  So Amex just directs me to several Amex credit card choices, each time I try to log into our account.
> 
> I wonder if Amex will send only paper statements for this last billing?  I so, I am going to be leaving town tomorrow afternoon, and our payment should be due before we get back.  I am concerned I can never log into my account again.


Your balance has been transferred to the new Citi card.  The due date should remain the same.  You should be able to log in on the Citi website to pay the current cycle from there?

FWIW, when I finally broke down and registered my (unwanted, unloved) Costco Citi card, I was prompted to create my weblogin immediately.  Yes, the Costco Amex disappeared from my Amex web login sometime before midnight (local, PDT) on Sunday.  Gladly, I had already set up my payment of the current bill cycle prior to the Amex>Citi cutover.


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## rhonda (Jun 22, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> I think all balances transferred to Citi, *so Citi will pick up the next billing* which will include any pre 6/20 charged that weren't yet billed. Credit cards have to provide at least 20 days between your statement date and the due date, will you be gone longer than that? If you have the card already, you can probably sign up for the new online access at Citi and check your balances and billings there.


I believe the transferred balanced is effective w/in the same billing cycle -- so no "next billing cycle grace period."  If one's June payment was due between 6/21-6/30 it will be necessary to quickly acclimate to Citi's payment processing!  

I paid my account in full a few billing days early through the Amex website and have just completed linking Citi to my checking account w/ a safety net instruction to auto pay the minimum.  Their "auto pay" function said it would start drawing minimum payments every month starting 6/23 (tomorrow) which was the end of my current billing cycle.

Recap:  The May bill from Amex was either already paid to/through Amex or is now paid to Citi on the same due date.


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## klpca (Jun 22, 2016)

Yes it was spiteful of them to not even provide read-only access after June 20. I had already downloaded the info (because I went through this same thing when the Hawaiian card went from B of A to Barclay's a few years ago) but I wanted to look at one thing but it disappeared on Sunday night. I believe that you can request paper copies of your statements from Citi for the past few months.  

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## gmarine (Jun 22, 2016)

I went online to my Amex account to pay my latest bill in full which is due July 6th and couldnt even pay the bill. I have to either send a check by mail or set up bill pay from my bank account for the one payment.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 22, 2016)

gmarine said:


> I went online to my Amex account to pay my latest bill in full which is due July 6th and couldnt even pay the bill. I have to either send a check by mail or set up bill pay from my bank account for the one payment.



How else would you pay the bill? They have to take it from somewhere. We have the AAdvantage Card from Citi and have it setup to pay the bill online. You setup your bank information once and then can go in any time and pay it.


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## Kal (Jun 22, 2016)

All the AMEX charges/payments are now listed on the Citi-Costco account.

 My problem is instead of having two cards showing up on a single AX account statement, now there are two different account numbers.  Each account now has its own listing and are not combined.  Will have to see if I have to pay separately on each account.  The annual discount totals show up on the Citi account at the same value as previously with the AX statement.

 The payment for charges incurred before 6/20 will be paid to Citi and not to AX.


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## gmarine (Jun 22, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> How else would you pay the bill? They have to take it from somewhere. We have the AAdvantage Card from Citi and have it setup to pay the bill online. You setup your bank information once and then can go in any time and pay it.



Really ?  You mean I still have to pay the bill ?  

I wasnt clear in my post. I went online to Amex to pay the bill and the card is deleted from my Amex account. I cannot pay the bill directly to Amex. I have to set up a one time bill pay via another bank account or send a check. No big deal but I was surprised they deleted the card along with the ability to pay the current bill.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 22, 2016)

gmarine said:


> Really ?  You mean I still have to pay the bill ?
> 
> I wasnt clear in my post. I went online to Amex to pay the bill and the card is deleted from my Amex account. I cannot pay the bill directly to Amex. I have to set up a one time bill pay via another bank account or send a check. No big deal but I was surprised they deleted the card along with the ability to pay the current bill.



Okay, gotcha. Yeah, it seems like you won't pay your bill to Amex. Set it up on the Citi website to pay Citi since the full balance would have transferred to Citi.


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## VacationForever (Jun 22, 2016)

I had autopay (pull) set up for the Amex Costco.  Thank goodness I just logged into the Citi account, it shows the due date of today. Phew!


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## rapmarks (Jun 23, 2016)

my billing cycle is at the end of the month.  I assumed I would get a final bill from Amex; I do not have the citi card, it was sent back because they do not forward.  Does anyone have the customer service umber for the new card?


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Jun 23, 2016)

I got a couple warning emails and messages from Amex at log in that I would have zero access to my account as of June 20th.

I was pleasantly surprised to see all of my current transactions on the citi site.

I don't have the number if you didn't get the card but you might find it here: https://creditcards.citicards.com/usc/Costco/Dual/2016/June/PS/default.htm?BT_SC=J.PB.Bm*.vy.HuY.cZU.jLy.A.EGO&BT_TRF=180121&m=6SGO111111W&cmp=KNC~01~110901~CRDACQXX~Google&BT_MKWD=Test%2C+s3WUdcRi9%7Cdc_pcrid_103687328765_pmt_b_pkw_citigroup+visa+card+costco_slid_&ProspectID=CDE6C078107046788FB43BB0645436C7


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## rapmarks (Jun 23, 2016)

the number if you did not receive your card is 855 378 6467   and i am on a long wait for next available operator


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## PigsDad (Jun 23, 2016)

Costco, Citi Deluged by Complaints in Rocky Credit-Card Rollout 

Kurt


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## beejaybeeohio (Jun 23, 2016)

*No Interest*

Due to the huge snafus caused by the switchover, there is a message on the Citicard Costco phone line indicating that no interest will be charged on outstanding balances until 7/31.

I tried to pay my Costco Amex online today for its 6/28 due date and of course could not.  Already am registered with Citicards for another card but could not figure out how to add the Costco VISA.  I had to speak to a Costco citicard rep who helped me through the process and it is now setup.

Citicards are on my bad list, so we plan on using one of our other VISA cards in the future.


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## rhonda (Jun 23, 2016)

beejaybeeohio said:


> Due to the huge snafus caused by the switchover, there is a message on the Citicard Costco phone line indicating that no interest will be charged on outstanding balances until 7/31.


Ah, good on them for that move!



> Citicards are on my bad list, so we plan on using one of our other VISA cards in the future.


Yes, they are on my "ugh, don't prefer to use this card!" list, also.  Instead, we plan to use it as a gas card for the 4% but charge store purchases to Chase Visa which currently offers 5% on Warehouse Store purchases (excluding gas).

From the Bloomberg article, linked by Kurt, _"Citigroup, the world’s biggest credit-card lender, ranked *second-to-last* out of 10 companies in a J.D. Power credit-card customer satisfaction ranking last year."_  Personally, I'd put them second-to-last out of 50 cards ...


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## dioxide45 (Jun 23, 2016)

I wonder if a lot of the snafus are because of people moving since they last received their Amex Costco card or they no longer have the phone number that was associated with their Amex card? That would make registration difficult. With the tens of millions of cards sent out, even a 100,000 customers with problems would be a small percentage, but the phone lines simply can't handle it.


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## PigsDad (Jun 23, 2016)

Somebody at Amex is probably chuckling a bit right now...

Kurt


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 23, 2016)

The buzz on Flyertalk was the opposite.  Supposedly, Costco's switch to Citibank really hurt Amex.  They had a lot of customers through Costco.  

There aren't a lot of Amex cards worth having.  I was thinking of the Amex Platinum card for a while.  Not sure if I could recover enough benefits from the high fee.  I cannot make sense of the benefits, including the airport lounge access.  I also don't know why credit card companies cannot get into their thick skulls that points are a random currency, if one is not familiar with that system.  It takes a lot of digging to figure it all out.


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## Ken555 (Jun 23, 2016)

rickandcindy23 said:


> The buzz on Flyertalk was the opposite.  Supposedly, Costco's switch to Citibank really hurt Amex.  They had a lot of customers through Costco.



Apparently Costco made up 10% of AMEX cardholders.


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## PigsDad (Jun 23, 2016)

Ken555 said:


> Apparently Costco made up 10% of AMEX cardholders.



True, but because of the great deal Costco negotiated with Amex (lower transaction fees, higher benefits), Amex was making very little money off of those cardholders.  It may have hurt Amex to lose those cardholders in the short term, but I think it was probably a good thing for them in the long term.

Kurt


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## Ken555 (Jun 23, 2016)

PigsDad said:


> True, but because of the great deal Costco negotiated with Amex, Amex was making very little money off of those cardholders.  I think it hurt Amex in the short term, but I think it was probably a good thing for them in the long term.
> 
> 
> 
> Kurt





I'm sure we will eventually know the truth. I've read this opinion (here) previously and it sounds like spin to me.


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## DaveNV (Jun 23, 2016)

The word I'm hearing from my spouse, the senior Refund Cashier in the Membership Department of our Costco, is:

The biggest reason people haven't received their cards is because the address on file isn't where the people are living.  The cards can't be forwarded, so are returned to Citi. 

They then stand in line at the Membership Desk and ask for the Costco person to make them a new card, (can't do that - it comes from Citi), or that they CALL CITI FOR THEM and tell them to fix the issue.  Uh, no.  You need to call them yourself...

The second biggest complaint I'm hearing is about the dozens of whiny people bitching about why they can't use their Amex card at Costco - "just for today.  Puhleeease???"  It laughable.  

And the third biggest complaint:  Some are claiming they never heard a word about the changeover. "What do you mean my Amex card isn't any good anymore???"  The conversation goes downhill from there.

All I can say is I'm really, really glad I don't work for Costco. 

Dave


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## VacationForever (Jun 23, 2016)

PigsDad said:


> True, but because of the great deal Costco negotiated with Amex (lower transaction fees, higher benefits), Amex was making very little money off of those cardholders.  It may have hurt Amex to lose those cardholders in the short term, but I think it was probably a good thing for them in the long term.
> 
> Kurt



Even though the margins on Costco accounts might have been much lower, it was still marginal contribution to Amex's profitability.


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## dioxide45 (Jun 23, 2016)

From articles I read, the Costco business was 10% of Amex credit card business. That is a pretty big chunk. I am sure that Amex got a good return on the sale of the customers to Citi. Those tens of millions of customers didn't come free.


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## amycurl (Jun 23, 2016)

My IRA mutual fund holds stock in AmEx. AmEx took a big enough hit in the first quarter that in the mutual fund quarterly report, the fund managers talked about it being one of the stocks that negatively impacted the fund, and pointed to the loss of the Costco co-branded card as the primary reason the stock took a hit (they still held onto the stock, though.) And my mutual fund still made money, in case you were wondering.


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## SmithOp (Jun 23, 2016)

DaveNW said:


> The word I'm hearing from my spouse, the senior Refund Cashier in the Membership Department of our Costco, is:
> 
> 
> 
> ...





I was gassing up the other day and a guy waited in line then couldnt figure out why his card did not work at the pump.  There's been a sign stuck on the pumps for three months!  The attendant pointed him in the direction of the closest station.  Makes you wonder if he pays attention to any road signs...

BTW I had a recent rental car and upgraded to a new Beemer X5, only 2k miles on it, what a sweet ride!


Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk


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## dioxide45 (Jun 24, 2016)

DaveNW said:


> The biggest reason people haven't received their cards is because the address on file isn't where the people are living.  The cards can't be forwarded, so are returned to Citi.



This is the problem with electronic statement delivery. People get everything online and no longer think to actually update their address with companies they are doing business with since it doesn't impact them until it comes time to send them a new credit or debit card. Which usually don't expire for three or four years.


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## geekette (Jun 24, 2016)

I got a lot of info on the changeover well in advance, it was made very very clear that the Amex pretty much ceases to exist June 20.  Costco has indeed had signs up in the store and at gas pumps for months.  Citi and Amex both reached out to me with big ole mailers about what happens.  I actually read some of it ; )

I didn't activate my card until this week (needed fuel; activated 15 minutes before, my card worked perfectly at pump) and saw my current charges that were made on the Amex, transferred over, as promised, and my YTD rewards transferred, as promised.   

As with many "customer service issues", many of the problems could have been avoided by the customer themselves by actually paying attention to the notices they were receiving.  From the outcry, I half expected my card to be rejected at the pump.  Nope, everything they told me is exactly how it went.

All that's left for me is to remove them from my bill pay list and add the new Citi there.  Very little effort or stress on my part, kind of a non-event.  Sorry others are having issues, tho.


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## DaveNV (Jun 24, 2016)

geekette said:


> I got a lot of info on the changeover well in advance, ...  I actually read some of it ; )



And therein lies the problem:  The people who are having the most trouble are those who aren't taking responsibility for their account, or they aren't paying attention to the information being given them. You did things right, but unfortunately, a lot of folks didn't. 

A different wrinkle I heard about yesterday is those who have received new cards from Citi, but the card won't work because the Costco membership number is invalid.  Turns out when AmEx needed to replace someone's lost or stolen card, they issued them a new Costco membership number for security reasons. (Note - it was AmEx doing this, not Costco.)  But AmEx didn't delete or purge the old membership number from those accounts.  So when Citi inherited the accounts, they inherited all those old membership numbers, which are turned off.  So Citi sends out new cards with the old number on them, none the wiser, until the member can't use the card.  That one lies squarely on AmEx for not doing their own housekeeping.  Pretty sloppy work, in my opinion.

Dave


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## rapmarks (Jun 24, 2016)

so I received a bill from AMEX closing date 6/14 and payment due 7/09 set up on auto pay.  if it transfers to Citi Bank and i do not have a card from them, I guess i am in trouble.   Citi Bank would not even talk to me until after June 20, so I don't have their card yet.


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## pagosajim (Jun 25, 2016)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I cannot log into the Costco Amex account at all--for two days!  That is odd.  So Amex just directs me to several Amex credit card choices, each time I try to log into our account.
> 
> I wonder if Amex will send only paper statements for this last billing?  I so, I am going to be leaving town tomorrow afternoon, and our payment should be due before we get back.  I am concerned I can never log into my account again.



This was communicated before the cutover.  No more access to the AMEX account after 6/20.  I made it a point to download my YTD summary into Excel on 6/19 based on what they advertised in advance.


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## klpca (Jun 30, 2016)

FYI - we were charged interest for the three days that our *June 20* payment was late - how lucky to have a payment date coincide with the changeover date, (I have asked them to reverse it) but the good news is that I have statements going back to Dec 26, 2015. That was a pleasant surprise. When Hawaiian went from VISA to MC there was no way to access anything prior to the changeover.


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## rapmarks (Jun 30, 2016)

I still do not have my Citi card, so I cannot pay my bill and it is overdue now.  With a holiday weekend coming up, I don't see this getting resolved quickly.

I reached a very cooperative Citi card employee.  My card has not been sent out yet.  I was allowed to pay the balance by phone.  My card will be mailed "shortly"  (I was told this last week also)


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## Kal (Jun 30, 2016)

Just went thru the first billing cycle with Citi-Costco and the only difference from AX-Costco was the heading on the statement.  I had worried that I would get two separate bills since my DW has a different account number.  Nope, both account numbers are combined into a single statement.

 Both cards worked fine on Day 1 so it's just business as always.

 In the meantime I get flooded with options for new Amex cards.  I'm moving forward with the best two ONLY for the new card benefits.  I've already satisfied the requirements for one card and am well along with the second card. Come anniversary date, those cards will be history as I'm not paying the first annual fees.


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## rapmarks (Jul 8, 2016)

After numerous calls to Citi Card, I received my husband's citi card in the mail on July 2, but not mine.  I waited all week to be sure it wasn't coming separately. Today I called,   I waited 45 minutes on hold.  Mine is in the mail.   According to the fantasyland CitiCard lives in, my husband called several days before me.   The problem is he never called them, I did all the calling.    I sure do not have much faith in the credit card company.


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## AnnaS (Jul 11, 2016)

Glad I never had an AMEX card and never wanted one.  I used to use a check or my debit card when I shopped in Costco.   Since they started to take Visa now, last week I used my own Visa cc.  No issues and I can get some rewards on this card I use for everything.


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## tompalm (Jul 11, 2016)

*More Caution on Costco Citi Visa*

I set up auto pay the first day I received my new Costco Citi credit card and called in June to verify that the payment would be made on July 9th. Today I logged online and saw a message that I should make a late payment and right below that it says scheduled payments 7-9-2016 auto pay scheduled for $115.  

So I called this morning and went through all the voicemail prompts by entering my account number to talk to a live person and the computer says we are too busy to take your call right now, please try again later and hangs up on me.  I waited three hours, tried again and the same thing happened.  I called a third time about three hours later, or 9:30 p.m. EST and waited on hold 30 minutes before someone came on to tell me that my payment didn't happen, but that it was supposed to happen.  All they could do was say they would remove the late fee and take the payment over the phone.  This is not a good way to start the first month with a new credit card. Not being able to get through to talk to someone and having the computer hang up on you is unsatisfactory.  Also, 30 minute wait time is too much.  Has anyone else had problems with Citi?  I am about ready to trash this card.


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## tompalm (Jul 11, 2016)

Maybe that was a dumb question.  I just Googled problems with Citi Costco Visa. Lots of websites and articles online including NY Times, Bloomberg, CNN and others saying it is a disaster. 

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/citi-costco-visa-launch-problems/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/b...to-visa-cards-riddled-with-problems.html?_r=0

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ed-by-complaints-in-rocky-credit-card-rollout

http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/22/news/companies/costco-citibank-visa-american-express/

http://www.businessinsider.com/costcos-credit-card-swap-is-a-disaster-2016-6


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## Ken555 (Jul 11, 2016)

Not only those links, but there was a lengthy thread here about the switchover...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## rhonda (Jul 11, 2016)

I've had multiple Citi cards from different branding over the years and, essentially, hated every one.  Citi's customer services has never been satisfactory.

For us, the Costco Citi is only a gas card --- and only when another Visa card's current promotions don't beat Citi's 4% rebate on gas.  For the in-store purchases we'll use some other Visa -- but I've cut back on Costco shopping tremendously.  For me, this switch has been a good thing as I am now buying far, far less at Costco.  At least ... for _now._


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## geist1223 (Jul 11, 2016)

I like the new Card. I get 4% back on all gas purchases, 2% back on all Costco purchases (this is in addition to the 2% I get back on my Executive Membership so a total of 4% back on Costco purchases), 2% back on Restaurants and Travel, and 1% back on all other charges.


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## rhonda (Jul 12, 2016)

geist1223 said:


> I like the new Card. I get 4% back on all gas purchases, *2% back on all Costco purchases (this is in addition to the 2% I get back on my Executive Membership so a total of 4% back on Costco purchases*), 2% back on Restaurants and Travel, and 1% back on all other charges.


But if you charged your in-store purchases to a Chase Freedom Visa you would get 5% back on the Costco purchases + the 2% Executive membership for a total of 7%.  

Aside, it appears Citi considers a run through the Costco Car Wash as a gas purchase but propane as in-store (not gas).


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## theo (Jul 12, 2016)

rhonda said:


> I've had multiple Citi cards from different branding over the years and, essentially, hated every one.  Citi's customer services has never been satisfactory.
> 
> For us, the Costco Citi is only a gas card --- and only when another Visa card's current promotions don't beat *Citi's 4% rebate on gas*. <snip>



Does Citi's 4% gas rebate apply to gas purchased at those Costco facilities which have their own gas pumps, or only to *non*-Costco gas purchases?


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## x3 skier (Jul 12, 2016)

rhonda said:


> I've had multiple Citi cards from different branding over the years and, essentially, hated every one.  Citi's customer services has never been satisfactory.



I've had the opposite experience. It is a real pleasure to speak to someone in the USA or Canada when calling Citi rather than trying to communicate with a person in East Turbanistan who has English as a 3rd language. 

The most recent was an offer to reduce my rate to 2% which I accomplished in one 2 minute call to Kentucky. 

Cheers


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## gmarine (Jul 12, 2016)

theo said:


> Does Citi's 4% gas rebate apply to gas purchased at those Costco facilities which have their own gas pumps, or only to *non*-Costco gas purchases?



The 4% rebate applies to all gas purchases up to $7000 per year.


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## Bill4728 (Jul 12, 2016)

Beware the new Citi  costco cards

Unlike any Visa card out there the new Citi card are just like the old AMEX cards  each card holder has their own card # and only the main person can see the all the billing info.

This is not a big deal if you know about it, but since it is different from all other VISA cards you need to know.


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## bobpark56 (Jul 12, 2016)

*Citi is charging us interest for them having canceled our autopay.*

Citi canceled our autopay without warning us. I caught this 4 days after the payment was due and paid in full. They are now charging us interest, despite the fact they sent me an earlier email that said there would be no penalties for late payment in the first month of switchover.


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## chalee94 (Jul 13, 2016)

geist1223 said:


> I like the new Card. I get 4% back on all gas purchases, 2% back on all Costco purchases (this is in addition to the 2% I get back on my Executive Membership so a total of 4% back on Costco purchases), 2% back on Restaurants and Travel, and 1% back on all other charges.



it's a good deal - actually is now 3% back on restaurants and travel (pretty sure the Freedom deal is only for certain months of the year), BUT...

I just checked my 1st statement and my charge from Interval International is coded as "lodging" but they didn't give me the 3% back on travel.  only 1%.

I complained to customer service.  We'll see how it pans out.

(Generally, I should add that it has been an easy transition.  But I did keep up with the mailings and had my last payment to Amex to them several days before the cutoff.)


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## bobpark56 (Jul 14, 2016)

*Update*



bobpark56 said:


> Citi canceled our autopay without warning us. I caught this 4 days after the payment was due and paid in full. They are now charging us interest, despite the fact they sent me an earlier email that said there would be no penalties for late payment in the first month of switchover.



Update: I contacted Citi via their web page and reported the issue. Got no response back, but they did remove the interest charge from our statement. So all is well now.


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## nightnurse613 (Jul 14, 2016)

So far so good. I will say that I am NOT happy with the changeover. Yes, American Express did warn us but, no access to previous account info??!! Just yesterday I had to call about a disputed charge made prior to the changeover. American Express promptly sent me to Citi Corp although the charge and the payment was made prior to their "cutoff". I didn't wait very long (maybe five minutes). I explained the problem to Citi who promptly issued me a "permanent credit".  BTW, the problem was with the Wall Street Journal. I had a subscription that I cancelled BEFORE the current subscription expired but WSJ had already made an automatic renewal posting a couple of days before the renewal date and they refused to reverse it.   Didn't sound very business like to me - or does it?


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## Elli (Jul 14, 2016)

When Costco in Canada didn't accept Amex any more, they switched to Master Card, any type of Master Card is o.k., but not Visa.  Does Costco in the U.S. accept any type of Visa, but not Master Card?


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## tompalm (Jul 14, 2016)

Elli said:


> When Costco in Canada didn't accept Amex any more, they switched to Master Card, any type of Master Card is o.k., but not Visa.  Does Costco in the U.S. accept any type of Visa, but not Master Card?



I was told they would, but I haven't checked that out yet. If I have any more problems with the Citi card, I plan to start using my Chase Visa card.


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## theo (Jul 14, 2016)

Elli said:


> When Costco in Canada didn't accept Amex any more, they switched to Master Card, any type of Master Card is o.k., but not Visa.  Does Costco in the U.S. accept any type of Visa, but not Master Card?



Yes, exactly so (...in theory). However, as I understand it, the rewards / rebates associated with the Citi / Costco Visa are not accrued if / when using another Visa.


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## tompalm (Jul 14, 2016)

Today I look online at my Citi Visa and saw two payments were made. The computer or someone else backdated the auto pay to July 9th and a phone call payment on July 12th. When I called on July 12th, I was told no payment had been made and that I owed a late payment. She said the auto pay was supposed to happen on July 9th, but never happened and that I needed to pay that day and they would waive the late payment.  Somehow in the past two days, the auto pay happened and got dated July 9th and they charge me again on July 12th. What a messed up operation Citi has going. I assume their data processing is running behind and not even the customer service people can see what is going on. No wonder the phone lines are jammed. If there is any good news, my time on hold was only 18 minutes before a live person came on the phone.


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## x3 skier (Jul 14, 2016)

Elli said:


> When Costco in Canada didn't accept Amex any more, they switched to Master Card, any type of Master Card is o.k., but not Visa.  Does Costco in the U.S. accept any type of Visa, but not Master Card?



They do. I've used Visa from PNC and Wells Fargo.

Cheers


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## PGtime (Jul 15, 2016)

x3 skier said:


> I've had the opposite experience.



Me too.  I have had good service with my Citi cards.  One time I was charged interest on one of those "no interest if paid in full in 6 months" offers.  I had paid it in full within 4 months.  Citi had taken over as the bank from another company (cannot recall which one), so the last payment was paid to Citi.  It made no sense, as you would think existing promotional offers would be identified correctly.  In any event it was corrected with a quick call, so I did not worry about it.

Paul


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## Elli (Jul 15, 2016)

x3 skier said:


> They do. I've used Visa from PNC and Wells Fargo.
> 
> Cheers


Thanks for all your comments.  It is interesting, though, that Costco will only accept Master Cards in Canada, and only Visa in the U.S.


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## x3 skier (Jul 15, 2016)

Elli said:


> Thanks for all your comments.  It is interesting, though, that Costco will only accept Master Cards in Canada, and only Visa in the U.S.



All depends on who pays the most to Costco. 

Cheers


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## Kozman (Jul 15, 2016)

I think one subtle reason Costco won't take Mastercard is that Sam's Club has their MC that pays 5% for gas purchases. Many would use that one. It would be direct competition to their Visa.


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## DaveNV (Jul 15, 2016)

Elli said:


> Thanks for all your comments.  It is interesting, though, that Costco will only accept Master Cards in Canada, and only Visa in the U.S.




Costco in Canada is managed differently than Costco in the USA.  They have separate contracts with credit card vendors.  MC got the one in Canada, and Visa got the one in the US.  They aren't related to each other.

If you want to accrue cash back rewards without having the Citi Visa, just be sure you're an Executive member.  Your sales totals are what determines your cash back check at the end of the year.  Yes, it's not the same reward level that Citi is offering, but you can use any Visa and still get cash back from Costco.

Dave


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## isisdave (Jul 16, 2016)

*It's still Amex with Costco UK*

We're visiting Edinburgh and since it was raining (again!) yesterday, I rode the bus to the industrial park south of town where Costco is.

I noticed that their card is still Amex.

BTW, the Edinburgh Costco is a clone of one quite local to me at home. And right across the street is an IKEA, in the same layout as the one in Carson CA and probably a dozen others.

Cleverly, the name of the street is Costkea Way .


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## chalee94 (Jul 16, 2016)

just an update for timeshare people: Costco VISA's 3% bonus on travel does NOT apply to timeshare lodging charges, so don't bother using it for that...


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## bellesgirl (Jul 16, 2016)

chalee94 said:


> just an update for timeshare people: Costco VISA's 3% bonus on travel does NOT apply to timeshare lodging charges, so don't bother using it for that...


What about maintenance fees? AMEX used to treat that as travel.


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## dioxide45 (Jul 16, 2016)

chalee94 said:


> just an update for timeshare people: Costco VISA's 3% bonus on travel does NOT apply to timeshare lodging charges, so don't bother using it for that...





bellesgirl said:


> What about maintenance fees? AMEX used to treat that as travel.



It all depends on how the merchant categorizes themselves with Visa. It seems that perhaps they do it differently between Visa and Amex?


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## DaveNV (Jul 16, 2016)

isisdave said:


> Cleverly, the name of the street is Costkea Way .




That took a lot of imagination! 

Dave


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## cgeidl (Jul 16, 2016)

*Same Managers*

[_Political comment deleted. _ mg] You would think a company getting millions of new subscribers would thoroughly think things out and open with immediate best customer service.WHy they didn't open in a small market and test things out is beyond me. But guess how much the bonuses will be for the Big VP's and higher ups.My bet is they will be bigger than ever. They will not get another chance to make great popular support than this in decades.


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## chalee94 (Jul 16, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> It all depends on how the merchant categorizes themselves with Visa. It seems that perhaps they do it differently between Visa and Amex?



Yes, Interval International charges on the Amex were classified as "travel."


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## Elli (Jul 16, 2016)

DaveNW said:


> Costco in Canada is managed differently than Costco in the USA.  They have separate contracts with credit card vendors.  MC got the one in Canada, and Visa got the one in the US.  They aren't related to each other.
> 
> If you want to accrue cash back rewards without having the Citi Visa, just be sure you're an Executive member.  Your sales totals are what determines your cash back check at the end of the year.  Yes, it's not the same reward level that Citi is offering, but you can use any Visa and still get cash back from Costco.
> 
> Dave


Thanks, Dave, for explaining this.  When I travel to the U.S. I usually don't take all my credit cards along, wanted to make sure I take the right one.


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## DaveNV (Jul 16, 2016)

Elli said:


> Thanks, Dave, for explaining this.  When I travel to the U.S. I usually don't take all my credit cards along, wanted to make sure I take the right one.



If you bring your favorite Visa card, you can use it at any US Costco. 

Dave


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## pedro47 (Jul 27, 2016)

Can you pay your Visa Citi bill by electronic bank transfer to Citi?


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## SmithOp (Jul 27, 2016)

pedro47 said:


> Can you pay your Visa Citi bill by electronic bank transfer to Citi?





Should be OK as long as its a checking or savings account, just put in the routing and account number.  I set mine up to autopay from my checking account by the due date.


Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk


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## Ken555 (Jul 27, 2016)

pedro47 said:


> Can you pay your Visa Citi bill by electronic bank transfer to Citi?





Of course. Citibank was one of the first banks to offer this feature some ~20 years ago.


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## pedro47 (Jul 28, 2016)

Thanks everyone for your answers.


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