Can I Use A Visa Card At Costco?: You’re smart to want to know what credit cards Costco takes since they only take Visa. Visa, the biggest credit network in the world, has a deal with Costco to only accept Visa cards. Costco is the biggest shopping club in the country that is only open to members. For a long time, Costco shops would only take American Express cards. But in 2016, the warehouse chain switched to Visa.
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How can I pay with Visa Card at Costco?
Costco stores only take Visa as a form of payment. You can pay with cash, checks, ATM/debit cards, Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), Costco Shop Cards, or mobile payment apps if you don’t have a Visa.
There is one time when the above rule doesn’t apply: when you buy from Costco. You can use either a Mastercard or a Discover card to pay for things on Costco.com. It’s important to note that American Express is not accepted by Costco online.
A lot of people were shocked when Costco switched to Visa cards since the store had agreed to only take American Express cards since 1999. The warehouse club used to only take Discover cards, but Discover cards don’t have as many members as AmEx cards.
The deal between Costco and American Express was great for both businesses. Costco became one of the top three stores in the world, and American Express made billions of dollars in sales. After that, Costco switched to Visa, an even bigger payment network.
Why did Costco change from Mastercard to Visa?
Citi agreed to give Costco credit cards as part of a deal between the two companies. The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is a Visa card, so Costco now has to take all Visa cards.
Costco got millions more possible customers when it switched from American Express to Visa as its only credit card provider. It was 276 million for Visa in the U.S. in 2016, while 23.3 million were for American Express. That means at least 250 million more people in the US can shop at Costco with credit cards.
It also gave Costco members more options for when and where they could shop. Members no longer have to use an American Express card. Instead, they can choose from several Visa cards.
How do I use my Costco Visa card?
Costco members can get the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi for free every year, and it has better benefits than the American Express card that came before it. It gives 4% back on gas purchases up to $7,000 a year (and 1% back after that), 3% back at restaurants and on eligible trips, 2% back at Costco and on Costco.com, and 1% back on everything else.
Plus, it’s a Visa card, which is accepted at more stores worldwide than an American Express card. You can only use your reward points at Costco warehouse stores and on Costco.com.
But the store’s switch to Visa doesn’t mean you have to have a Visa card to use it. If you use your Visa card at Costco, you may be able to get extra cashback or reward points from many Visa issuers.
Check your card’s reward categories to see what places qualify. Sometimes members of warehouse clubs spend more than $100 on each trip, even if they don’t get any extra bonuses. This can add up to great bonuses on any benefits credit card.
How does switching to Visa help Costco members save money?
Costco will only work with Visa because that’s what they agreed upon. Payment networks make it possible to pay with a credit card. The payment network (in this case, Visa) gets information about the transaction when a credit card is swiped in a shop.
This information goes through the credit card processor. The network sends the information to the card issuer bank, like Citi or Chase. The cardholder’s available credit is then used to decide whether to allow the purchase or not.
The bank sends the yes or no to the network, which then sends it to the processor and finally to the shop. Visa talks to the customer’s bank on Costco’s account, gets the okay, and sends the money.
It costs the business a certain amount of money to use the payment network. This is called an exchange fee. Of course, this fee is between 2% and 3%.
But by making a deal with Visa to be the only one accepting its cards, Costco was able to cut its transfer fees by a huge amount, to less than 0.5% per transaction. Costco can keep its prices low because credit card fees are meager.
Many of its competitors might have to add credit card fees to their markups because they pay 3% per transaction, but it doesn’t have to. Because Costco and other warehouse shops sell goods for close to wholesale price, they don’t make a lot of money, which means that any money saved is good for both the business and you because it keeps prices low.
If you don’t have a Visa, can you still shop at Costco?
People can pay for things at Costco without having a Visa card. You can pay at Costco with cash, checks, debit/ATM cards, EBT cards, and Costco Cash Cards. Taxis and car washes inside Costco do not take cash, checks, or EBT cards, though.
Without a Costco membership, is it still possible to shop at Costco?
This hack was shown on the “Today Show” a few years ago, and it still works. Costco Cash Cards are store gift cards that can be used in the store even if you are not a member. They can be given to you by a Costco member. A card can hold anywhere from $25 to $2,000. There are three levels of Costco membership:
- Membership as an executive costs $120 a year.
- $60 a year for a business member.
- $60 a year to be a Gold Star member.
In the end, Costco members who want to use their credit cards will need to have a Visa card. This is also true for current members who want to use their credit cards to pay for their purchases. American Express cards are no longer accepted at Costco. You can pay for things with cash, checks, or debit cards, though.
More Ways to Save Money
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Find the best savings account by looking around. A savings account can help you make small, safe returns while you’re saving for short-term goals. Some of the best interest rates can be found at banks that only operate online, such as Ally and Marcus.
Summary:
- Costco exclusively accepts Visa for in-store payments, with alternative options including cash and debit cards.
- Online purchases at Costco.com accept Mastercard and Discover, excluding American Express.
- Costco transitioned to Visa in 2016 through a partnership with Citi, introducing the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card.
- The Costco Visa card offers cashback benefits on gas, restaurants, and Costco purchases.
- Costco’s exclusive Visa agreement helps cut transaction fees, enabling the maintenance of lower prices.
- Non-Visa holders can still shop at Costco using cash, checks, debit cards, EBT, or Costco Cash Cards.
