Why does costco only take amex

You can then redeem your cash back at any Costco warehouses in the U. Fortunately, once you have a membership, this card can act as your membership ID card. Your lifestyle and interests can play important roles when deciding on a rewards card. But you may find a different Visa that better matches your needs. No matter which card you choose, make sure it makes sense for you and gives you what you want from a credit card.

Image: Young woman in front of refrigeration case with cheese and dairy, shopping in a warehouse-style grocery store. Advertiser Disclosure We think it's important for you to understand how we make money. Costco warehouses and gas stations only accept Visa credit cards, cash, debit cards, and Costco Shop Cards gift cards. They do not accept Mastercard, American Express, or Discover cards. History: For 16 years, Costco accepted only American Express credit cards due to an exclusive partnership.

But a few years ago, the retailer made the switch to Citi Visa. The branded cards also switched over at that time, and cardholders received the Costco Anywhere Visa Card. Here are some of the top contenders that can help you earn generous rewards on Costco purchases:. The generous bonus points on travel and dining make this card a great choice if you enjoy traveling and could take advantage of the extra perks, such as no foreign transaction fees.

That said, you could potentially earn more points by using a card with higher cashback value, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited, and then moving the points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. If you can remember to activate your bonus category each quarter, you can stack up a lot of rewards by using your Chase Freedom Flex for shopping in each category. Note: If you still have the older Chase Freedom Card, you can also take advantage of when the rotating bonus category applies to wholesale clubs.

However, in terms of a rewards card, you may get more value from a cashback credit card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited, especially when paired with a Chase premium card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

You should also make a point of purchasing your gas from Costco in order to maximize the rewards. It also made shopping more flexible for current Costco members.

Instead of being locked into using an American Express card, members can now take advantage of the variety of Visa cards available in the marketplace. It also has the benefit of being a Visa card, which is accepted at more merchants worldwide than American Express. Reward points are only redeemable at Costco warehouse stores and on Costco. Per their agreement, Visa is the only payment network that Costco will work with. Payment networks are the key to credit card payments.

When a credit card is swiped in a store, the transaction information is sent through the credit card processor to the payment network in this case, Visa.

The bank sends the approval or denial back to the network, which sends it to the processor, then the store. To use the payment network, the merchant must pay an interchange fee, which is a percentage of the charge amount.