A friendly reminder to all Costco credit cardholders: it’s time to get your new Costco Anywhere Visa credit card ready to shop at Costco stores and online starting June 20 – the day the bulk retailer officially moves to the new Visa network with issuer Citi. This story has been revised to reflect that you can also use all Visa credit cards, as well as other payment methods, like cash, to make purchases at Costco stores after failover.
Previously, the True Earnings Card from Costco and American Express served as a credit card; Costco announced the end of its exclusive partnership with American Express in March 2015.
Some of the terms and conditions of the Citi card are similar to those of American Express. For example, the new card, like the old one, doesn’t technically have an annual fee, but you’ll need a Costco membership, which costs at least $59 per year (depending on the type) to qualify. Your new Citi card will act as a Costco membership card, so anyone who currently pays their dues with their American Express card can do so with this one.
But there are some differences.
For example, Citi’s new Costco Card allows cardholders to earn 4% cash back on gas purchases (up to $7,000 per year, then 1% back); 3% cash back on restaurants and travel purchases; 2% back on purchases from Costco and Costco.com and 1% back everywhere else. This improves on the American Express version, which offered 3% cashback on gas (up to $4,000), 2% on dining and travel, and 1% everywhere else.
Any cashback earned on the Citi Card is given annually as a reward voucher redeemable for cash back or merchandise at Costco warehouses. The coupon is included on your February billing statement and expires December 31 of the year it was issued.
Here’s what to do to avoid any change-related hiccups.
Make sure you have the new card
Citi began shipping its Costco Anywhere Visa credit card to existing True Earnings cardholders in May. So there’s a good chance you’ve already received your new plastic in the mail. If you haven’t, you can contact the issuer to verify your address and/or mail a new one.
Once you have the new card, you can visit citi.com/Costco Setup to register your account online.
Read the terms and conditions
Full terms and conditions, along with payment due dates and your interest rates, should accompany your new card. You will therefore want to read them carefully to find out if the transfer affects your account. Your interest rates and payment due dates should be similar to your old ones.
According to Citi’s online FAQ sheet: “If the initial letter you received from Citi listed your standard purchase APR at 15.49% and your current APR for new purchases on your Costco Card from American Express is less than that, you’ll keep your APR for new purchases made with your Costco Anywhere Visa Card from Citi. »
You can contact a Citi customer service representative with any questions.
Check reward balances
You won’t lose any of the cashback rewards you’ve earned with the American Express Costco Card. These rewards will be automatically transferred to the new account by June 20. However, you will not be able to transfer American Express-specific membership rewards to the new account. You can therefore contact American Express with any questions about the use of these rewards. before the official changeover date.
Take steps to avoid missing payments
Account balances are meant to carry over from card to card. But you will need to prepay any bills you receive from American Express. And you’ll need to set up automatic bill payments on the new account if you want to make monthly payments from a checking account. Forgetting this could result in missed payments, which could end up affecting your credit score.
Don’t forget to update account information with any merchant that you pay via automatic or recurring payments linked to the old American Express card. You don’t want unpaid accounts to end up in collections and damage your credit.
It is important to remember that interest rates, fees, and terms applicable to credit cards, loans, and other financial products change frequently. As a result, the rates, fees, and terms of credit cards, loans, and other financial products cited in these articles may have changed since the date of publication. Please be sure to check current rates, fees, and terms with credit card issuers, banks, or other financial institutions directly.