does costco accept Master card/visa card in store?

[imbane]

I have a question, does costco accept Master card/visa card in their stores? thanks.

[cadave]

I have a question, does costco accept Master card/visa card in their stores? thanks.

No. AMEX only.

[imbane]

No. AMEX only.
I have a regular AMEX, but it's the costco AMEX, is it ok?

[mystery]

Costco accepts all AMEX cards.

[nano]

cash debit or amex

[imbane]

Costco accepts all AMEX cards.

thank you!

[Red_Army]

why wouldnt they accept visa/MC??...thats strange if they dont

[nogoro]

why wouldnt they accept visa/MC??...thats strange if they dont

cuz they got deals with amex to make it the exclusive card there

but if you hate amex you could conceivably buy costco cash cards online with MC/Visa and just that for your shopping.

[gamovafan]

No, tried paying Visa when I went to register for the card and they told me they only take AmEx. Tried paying for purchases with another card, they said nope, only take AmEx.

[tkyoshi]

why wouldnt they accept visa/MC??...thats strange if they dont

Exclusive contract with AMEX, AMEX gives them special rates and possibly some subsidy to lock out Visa/AMEX.

Kind of like what VISA does with the olympics and Mastercard has with FIFA World Cup (until this year).

[Red_Army]

Exclusive contract with AMEX, AMEX gives them special rates and possibly some subsidy to lock out Visa/AMEX.

Kind of like what VISA does with the olympics and Mastercard has with FIFA World Cup (until this year).

thanks for the info

but visa and MC are just sponsors of those events

[brunes]

thanks for the info

but visa and MC are just sponsors of those events

Thats not true - you can't buy anything in the Olympic Village with any charge card but Visa. Same for tickets to all events.

[Jucius Maximus]

I go to costco.ca (where VISA and MC are accepted) and buy their cash cards. (Free shipping of course.) Then I spend the cash cards at the physical store.

That how I indirectly use MC at Costco stores.

[djino]

Hate to bring back an old thread, but does Costco take personal cheques?

I could be mistaken, but the other day when I was standing in line waiting to pay for my items, I thought the lady ahead of me was giving them a cheque. I forgot to ask them before I left myself.

djino
"Does Costco take personal cheques?"

[oneframe]

Yes, they take personal cheques as long as the name on the check is the same as on the card.

Also, depending on the cashier they can be strict so as to further check that the address on the check is the same as your government issued ID/Driver's License.

Had seen problems such as a person using a generic Costco Membership Company Card (a membership by a company that allows their employees to use the card versus the regular membership that is NON-TRANSFERABLE) and then issuing a personal cheque for the purchase. This is a no-no because there is no accountability for the purchase. Because that specific company card membership is not tied to one person and has no picture at the back, then anyone could be using it that day or even stolen it and then use their own cheque with no funds.

[oneframe]

Btw, Wikipedia is reporting (don't know if it's factual) that Costco and Amex has signed another exclusive agreement to carry only Amex as the only credit card at their North American warehouses (debit, cheques and cash of course allowed as well as Visa/MC online) for another 10 years. This was renewed in 2004 so it will be until 2014 to see if Costco has finally opened their doors or get a better deal with Visa/MC as the exclusive provider.

The bottom line is that they need an exclusive agreement for a lower discount fee in order to help maintain the low cost of their merchandise. If the credit card holder charges a higher percentage on the sale, then they have no choice but to pass it onto the consumer as well to maintain profitability.

[djino]

Thanks for the Info guys.

Reason I asked the question is that I have no AMex and I can write free cheques off my Mastercard. So I found a good work around to the no Visa/MC rule.


djino
":)"

[GreyingJay]

I'm sure everyone here already knows this, but in case you didn't, the fee structure to a typical merchant for accepting Visa/MasterCard is a small fixed fee plus a percentage of the sale amount -- say, 50 cents plus 2.5% of the transaction. They will additionally pay a monthly fee for the use of the swipe terminal.

Larger companies and chains can probably negotiate for smaller fees, of course, but if you or I were to start a storefront and accept credit cards, those are typical terms. Interac also carries a fixed fee per transaction.

My organization doesn't accept AmEx because it is handled through a different provider than Visa/MC and the costs to us are higher.

[Tennoh]

You do realize that most cheques provided through credit cards are considered cash or balance transfers and that interest starts to accrue immediately right? They are not considered purchases and thus you won't have the normal grace period for payment without interest.

You're best off going online to www.costco.ca and buying the gift cards and paying via your Visa/MC. No extra interest going that route.


Thanks for the Info guys.

Reason I asked the question is that I have no AMex and I can write free cheques off my Mastercard. So I found a good work around to the no Visa/MC rule.


djino
":)"

[Muncher]

How do they give you the change for the gift cards? Let's say I have $50 gift card and I buy $42.55. Do I get the change in cash?

[Tennoh]

How do they give you the change for the gift cards? Let's say I have $50 gift card and I buy $42.55. Do I get the change in cash?

No. Your gift card will continue to carry the remaining balance until all used up.

[selpats]

No. Your gift card will continue to carry the remaining balance until all used up.

If your total goes over what you have left on the card you can pay the remainder by cash only. Not debit, cash only.

[slowtyper]

never thought about buying giftcards online with the Visa! Thanks, this will help me get a lot more miles.