Costco Visa Caution

[VacationForever]

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.

 

[dioxide45]

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.

 

[amycurl]

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.

 

[SmithOp]

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

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!


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[dioxide45]

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.

 

[geekette]

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.

 

[DaveNV]

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

 

[rapmarks]

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.

 

[pagosajim]

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.

 

[klpca]

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.

 

[rapmarks]

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)

 

[Kal]

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.

 

[rapmarks]

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.

 

[AnnaS]

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.

 

[tompalm]

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.

 

[tompalm]

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

 

[Ken555]

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


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[rhonda]

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.

 

[geist1223]

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.

 

[rhonda]

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).

 

[theo]

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?

 

[x3 skier]

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

 

[gmarine]

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.

 

[Bill4728]

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.

 

[bobpark56]

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.