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> I would like to understand why people are so enamored with Costco The first thing someone told me when I got to the US was to go to Costco, pay the membersh
by gopalv 4y ago
> I would like to understand why people are so enamored with Costco
The first thing someone told me when I got to the US was to go to Costco, pay the membership and get an AMEX charge card for Costco.
If you are someone with zero credit history and want to buy groceries without having cash on you all the time, then Costco is a big part of the "welcome to America" package.
What Costco lacks in variety, it made up in quality and quantity (no, that's not a choice). The food is good, most things are sold at cost, gas is cheaper, diapers are cheaper ... everything with a Kirkland label is middle-of-the-curve good.
So Costco runs become a regular thing. Before you know it, it is like church - go there, show your membership and eat the wafers.
Not quite a religion, but something you still proselytize.
- base698 4y agoCostco only takes Visa.
- chiyc 4y agoI want to say that's a relatively recent change.
- ridgered4 4y agoYes, sometime within the last 5 years they broke their long partnership with AMEX. It seems to be Citibank now.
- ianai 4y agoHave to wonder whether it’ll change in another 5 years. Making 4% back on gas is mega killer though.
- AdmiralAsshat 4y agoMy understanding is that they changed because Citi offered them a better deal.[0] That said, I do kinda miss the Amex and its automatic extended warranty. [0]https://money.cnn.com/2016/03/31/pf/costco-visa-american-express/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2016/03/31/pf/costco-visa-american-exp...
- calvano915 4y ago> That said, I do kinda miss the Amex and its automatic extended warranty The Costco Visa also include an automatic warranty extension of 2 years beyond manufacturer.
- subliminalpanda 4y agoIn Canada they only accepted Mastercard for some time.
- unixhero 4y agoWrong It takes American Express too.
- mcronce 4y agoThey used to be AmEx only. They're now Visa only.
- unixhero 4y agoI paid with Amex at Costco yesterday.
- mcronce 4y agohttps://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/719/~/what-payment-methods-are-accepted-at-costco%3F https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7... AmEx not listed anywhere. Maybe yours does something different, or it's an AmEx branded debit card, or you're not in the US and they do something different abroad, but no Costco I've been to since the switch has accepted any credit card that isn't a Visa.
- anotherman554 4y agoVisa or Mastercard debit (not credit). They used to be American Express exclusive.
- jmacd 4y agoIn Canada it is Mastercard only. Used to be Amex.