Does Costco take Visa credit cards?

This question is about VISA Card

Jane Cogli, Former Bank Teller

@janecogli10/23/18

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Costco takes Visa credit cards, Visa debit cards and Visa gift cards. In fact, Costco only takes Visa cards. You cannot use Mastercard, Discover or American Express cards at Costco. If you don’t have a Visa card, you will have to pay by cash or check. This has been the case since June 2016, when Costco switched from only accepting American Express cards.

It’s not common for retailers to have an exclusive relationship with one card network. Most stores that accept Visa also take Mastercard. It’s more common for stores to not take Discover or American Express.

Does Costco take Visa? Here are the facts:

Costco takes all Visa credit cards, debit cards and gift cards.
Costco only takes Visa cards. They won’t accept Mastercard, Discover or American Express.
You can tell if your card is a Visa by looking for the Visa logo (usually on the front).
If you don’t have a Visa card, you’ll only be able to pay with cash, a check or a prepaid Costco Cash Card.
Costco has its own co-branded Visa credit card, the Costco Anywhere Visa. You can use it not only at Costco but anywhere in the world Visa is accepted.

The Costco Anywhere Visa card is one of the best Visa cards to use at Costco. However, you will need to have a Costco membership ($60+ per year) in order to get it. That shouldn’t be an issue, though, as you have to be a Costco member to make purchases there anyway. But if Costco’s credit card doesn’t interest you, you can use any Visa you want.

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People also ask

Does Costco accept Discover cards?

Costco accepts Discover cards, but only for online purchases at Costco.com. You can also use Mastercard and Visa cards when shopping at costco.com. For in-store purchases, Costco will only accept Visa cards. American Express cards are not accepted in-store or online. American Express was Costco’s sole credit card partner until 2016. That year, the wholesale club struck a deal with Visa to accept only Visa credit cards at its stores.… read full answer

Because Costco accepts Discover cards online, certain Discover cards may help you get extra value on your online purchases. The Discover it Cash Back, Balance Transfer, Student Cash Back, and NHL cards offer 5% cash back, up to $1,500 spent per quarter, on rotating categories. In the past, Costco has been included in the “wholesale clubs” category. Unfortunately, this feature is not available in 2019. It last ran in Q4 2018.

Costco has its own co-branded card, the Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi. It offers 2% cash back on Costco purchases, among other rewards. And it has a $0 annual fee (though you will have to pay the $60 annual Costco membership fee to make purchases there).

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Does Costco accept Mastercard?

No, you can’t use any Mastercard credit card at Costco. Costco only accepts cards on the Visa network. But that’s a relatively new development. Costco was Amex-exclusive from 1999 until 2016, when they switched to Visa. Before 1999, they only took Discover cards. I don’t think Mastercard has ever been an option, though.… read full answer

So if you only have a Mastercard and want to shop at Costco, you have a couple choices. For starters, you can still pay for Costco items with cash or a check. But do you really want to carry all that cash, take the time to write out a check or miss out on a lot of rewards?

Your best bet is to simply get a Visa credit card. There are lots of really rewarding offers out there, including the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi. You need excellent credit to get it, but you get 4% cash back on gas, 3% on dining and travel, 2% at Costco and 1% on everything else.

Chase Freedom Unlimited and Capital One Quicksilver Visa cards are good choices too.

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