Costco has the largest overall membership base of the bulk wholesale clubs with more than 90 million members. They are best known for the bulk family-sized and commercial grocery offerings, it also offers savings on gas, electronics, clothing, and electronics.
One major con with Costco is that your credit card may not be accepted at checkout but you will most likely find that out when purchasing a membership.
Credit cards accepted at Costco
When you shop at Costco, you can use the warehouse club’s co-branded card, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, as well as any other credit card backed by the Visa network.
Here are some credit cards that can be used at Costco warehouses:
Since Costco has an exclusive contract with Visa, shoppers can’t use credit cards backed by the other three main networks — American Express, Mastercard and Discover — at Costco warehouses. However, you’re able to pay with Mastercard and Discover cards for purchases made at Costco.com and the Costco app.
Here are some cards that can be used online or via the Costco app:
Does Costco accept Discover card at the warehouse?
Costco does not accept Discover credit cards as a form of payment at the warehouse in-person. You can use it online.
Does Costco accept AMEX?
Costco stopped accepting American Express as a form of payment at its warehouses and gas stations. However, American Express may still be accepted at Costco-affiliated businesses such as Costco Travel or at certain Costco locations outside of the United States. I would recommend checking with the specific location you plan to visit to confirm their accepted forms of payment.
Costco U.S. accounts for 8% (10% worldwide) of spending on American Express cards overall right now but it appears the agreement will end on in 2016. Warehouse club retailer Costco Wholesale Corp will stop accepting American Express credit cards after a 15 partnership at U.S. stores and the loss of Costco would reduce spending on AmEx cards by about $80 billion a year, including their use at businesses other than Costco’s 468 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is uphending Americans’ lives and changing how we spend our money. As a result of stay-at-home orders and health concerns, consumers have been canceling vacations and avoiding booking future travel. While travel is in decline, grocery sales have been on the rise.
This may make a travel card you have less valuable, but card issuers are adapting their rewards programs in the meantime due to the changing environment.
Marriott is now offering most co-branded credit cards from Chase and American Express an enhanced 6X Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent on eligible grocery purchases starting tomorrow, May 1, through July 31, 2020. This is great news if you can’t earn points on hotel travel and don’t have a grocery rewards card.
New Chase Marriott Bonvoy rewards
All Chase Marriott credit card members qualify to earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points on grocery purchases on up to a maximum of $5,000 in eligible purchases. That includes both consumer and business cardholders, as well as cardholders with cards that are no longer open to new applicants.
Here are the eligible Chase cards and the rewards you’d earn on groceries outside of this promotion:
If you do not yet have the card you can go here to apply on our top 5 page. You will also Earn a 3 Free Night Award with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card or 1 Free Night Award with Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card.
Existing cardholders (these cards no longer accept new applicants):
Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card (previously 1X)
Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus Business Credit Card (previously 2X)
Marriott Bonvoy™ Credit Card (previously 1X)
Marriott Bonvoy™ Business Credit Card (previously 1X)
The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card from J.P. Morgan (previously 2X)
Chase classifies eligible grocery purchases as transactions made at supermarkets, merchants that offer a full service grocery line of merchandise, including a deli and bakery, as well as smaller grocery stores.
Exclusions include warehouse clubs, discount stores, smaller merchants and more. Learn more about how Chase classifies bonus category purchases.
New Amex Marriott Bonvoy card rewards
All consumer Amex Marriott credit card members qualify to earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at U.S. supermarkets on up to a maximum of $7,500 in eligible purchases. This includes new and existing cardholders, plus consumers with cards that are no longer open to new applicants.
Here are the eligible Amex cards and the rewards you’d earn on groceries outside of this promotion:
New and existing cardholders:
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (previously 2X)
Existing cardholders (since this card no longer accepts new applicants):
Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card (previously 2X)
Take note, Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card holders are excluded from this promotion.
Amex classifies eligible grocery purchases as transactions made at U.S. supermarkets that offer a wide variety of food and household products such as meat, fresh produce, dairy, canned and packaged goods, household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies.
Exclusions include superstores, warehouse clubs, convenience stores, specialty stores and more. Learn more about how Amex classifies bonus category purchases.
Nothing is worse in rewards schemes than devaluations after you sign up or to see that your points magically redeem for less than half of their value. While PNC Bank is not as popular as Chase, Discover, and American Express they seem to get away with ripping their business customers off with these worthless rewards redemptions. This is one of the worst examples of a fraudulent claim on rewards since the U.S. Bank Edge Business Visa. We really do not know how it’s possible they can get away with this with such deceiving advertising. It goes to show you always have to read the fine print and study the rewards malls and redemption areas before applying for a credit card.
The claim from the PNC Points Visa Business Credit Card is 5% for ALL purchases, unlimited. You can see it here at (pnc.com/en/small-business/borrowing/business-credit-cards/pnc-points-visa-business-credit-card.html). We will not be linking to this worthless card.
A friend of mine messaged me saying “It looks like the Disney magic act. 50,000 points for $100. lol. That’s very deceptive. Rip off… deceptive to say you earn 5points per dollar.” We totally agree with this because when you sign up for a card and work to spend $3,000 on that particular card that is like an investment to get the bonus of say 25,000 points. You then would expect 25k on the PNC cardto redeem for 1:1 but there is a major catch.
We went over to the rewards mall and $100 check was 50,000 points. Should be 10,000
25k points should = $250 after 3k spend. Such a rip-off.
We did find one good thing to say about this Business Credit Card from PNC. You can get an introductory 0% APR for the first 9 billing cycles following account opening on purchases and balance transfers. Special limited time offer ends 6/30/2016.
PNC Claims: Earn 5 Points for Every $1 Spent
There is no limit to the number of points you can earn on qualifying purchases.
Reality: 5,000 Points do not equal $5 when it comes time to redeem.
Uber launched Uber Business several months ago and we are just now getting to try it out now that they are offering a $50 rebate. Setup was somewhat simple and takes a few minutes to set up at least 2 other accounts and verify their email and uber accounts to add into the program.
Uber Business is designed so that account administrators can manage a central account for all employees, simplifying the ground transportation and accounting process. By linking your American Express OPEN Business Card to Uber for Business your employees can charge their trips to your account while traveling for business.
You can add or remove your employees from your Uber for Business account in one easy step. Managing employees and tracking your team’s travel expenses is simple to do online in the main account. This will give employees a way to take advantage of Uber in 300+ cities, 58 countries. Much more trackable than taxi’s that take cash only or whatever currency you will need to pay. (more…)
The Chase Ink Plus and the American Express Business Gold are the best bonuses on travel right now if you own a small business. Get both of these cards and you can score over 100k in points or miles and that adds up to a few free flights.
#1 Chase Business Ink Plus – 50,000 Bonus Points after $5k spend in 3 months. One of the best Business Credit Cards to own. The annual fee of $95 is waived the first year. Chase’s Ultimate Reward Points transfer to United 1:1, so you can have 50,000 United Miles. You will have enough for 2 domestic round trip tickets. Some are able to refer friends (not me for some reason) but you can get 5,000 points if they sign-up through your link. [applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?PID=CFFD2&SPID=FDTR&CELL=6RLJ&MSC=1516016578]
#2 American Express Business Gold 75,000 Point Bonus after $5k spend in 3 months. Best reason to have an AMEX card right now is the offers they give you with the Twitter Sync #AMEXOFFERS. These are amazing. You may be targeted for this offer. If you are not you will have a $10k spend instead. You pay no annual fee as it is waived for the first year and is normally $175 . You have until September 29 to take advantage of this so act fast. There are so many great things to do with Membership Rewards points such as transferring them to Avios or other airline miles and they normally offer some type of bonus. You can also use MR points for Uber Rides. [www262.americanexpress.com/business-card-application/member/business-gold-charge-card/login/44446-104-1-CAPOBGRC]
OfficeMax and Office Depot could not have merged soon enough and Staple’s may also be on the path to non-existence with the latest announcement from Amazon. The giant eCommerce site is going after small and medium sized businesses with Amazon Business and they have some promotions to make them take notice.
You can register for an Amazon Business Account to earn a free $75 Amazon gift card after making $500 in purchases from the Business, Industrial and Scientific categories good through 6/30/2015. Amazon also upgraded the business account options to include free 2-day shipping on orders of $49 or more. You can also purchase on a line of credit, get special pricing that regular members do not get, and purchase things that only business accounts have access to buy. (more…)
Nothing is worse in rewards schemes than devaluations after you sign up or to see that your points magically redeem for less than half of their value. While PNC Bank is not as popular as Chase, 
