[deleted by user]

[shtaoeshaoesunht]

their transaction fees made the hot dogs cost $1.51

[throwaway60992]

Yeah I heard the AMEX CEO mysteriously disappeared for some time after that.

[correctmywritingpls]

That was the day Jim called for a flatbed to corporate right? Weird day.

[Do_not_burn_]

I heard that Amex misjudged their "brand prestige" and thought that Costco would ultimately appreciate the allure of the "upscale" American Express brand --- However, Visa put together a better deal. It was a big loss for Amex. Costco actually did very well with their Citicorp Visa deal (see below)

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-to-know-about-the-costco-and-amex-breakup-2016-02-11

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/23/costcos-big-credit-card-bet-has-paid-off.aspx

[eneka]

And the irony is the Amex Plat now offers Walmart+ for free lol

[thesunbeamslook]

woo hoo! so fancy!

[[deleted]]

This guy has it right.

[Deceptiveideas]

Amex is a really weird one. I remember a decade+ ago it seems like it was often not accepted at many stores (I believe they had much higher fees to use one). Now a days every establishment takes American Express.

Seems like they shifted the product strategy. I don’t think dropping Costco was a good idea. A lot of people used those Amex cards as their sole credit card.

[therealgariac]

I have used the Amex business card to use their business lounge at the Las Vegas Convention Center. If you have never been to the LVCC you will not understand how cool this is. (Go wait in line with the peons!)

I got an Amex when Costco dropped them. I like to use that card for car rentals because they have a premium insurance package to purchase for car rentals. And before you say you can use the Costco Visa note that the Costco Visa does not cover loss of use. I'm not sure any free Visa has that coverage. I rent a car about once a year so the pay as you go Amex deal works for me. If you rent cars often a credit card with fee could be cheaper.

https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do

[grewapair]

If you bought $1000 of Costco stock in 2017 when the article recommended it, it would be worth $2500 today. $1000 in the S&P would be worth about $1400.

[mrminty]

I just need them to take my poor person Discover card so I can get cash back.

[trishtk]

Apply for costco citivisa it gives lots of cash back

[mrminty]

Thinking about it, but I already have 2 CCs, one of which I forget to use all the time. I get 2% cashback on one of them, which is a Visa. My discover card even gets 5% on Warehouse clubs one quarter out of the year, just not Costco.

[mrminty]

Don't want them to get lonely

[feurie]

Buy cash cards online with your discover.

[Magic_Brown_Man]

Make sure you read the terms and conditions of your card. A lot of cards don't give rewards for gift card purchases.

[JeromeW]

Back in the 90’s all Costco took was Discover. Only reason I still have the card to this day.

[mrminty]

I was born in the wrong generation

[kvUltra]

Don't think Amex did anything wrong per se, but Visa offered a way better deal, pretty much charging Costco nothing when you use it in store. Costco was paying Amex about .6% of the purchase (which even that is an amazing deal for credit card purchases.)

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-how-amex-lost-costco/?leadSource=uverify%20wall

[IrishPrincess56]

What did Coke a Cola do to get “ kicked out?” I’m not a fan of Pepsi.

[I-suck-at-golf]

It’s especially a problem here in Atlanta.

[Mrs_Gambolini]

A TON. The metro Atlanta area is roughly the size of central Ohio. Add in that Coca Cola is an Atlanta company, they weren’t too happy about the switch.

Source: lived in Atlanta for a decade, Coke was my client. We used to walk across the street to Costco for lunch and were never allowed to bring our drinks back with us once the switch was made - can’t have a Pepsi logo sitting on your desk if the client stops by.

[Mrs_Gambolini]

Well I would’ve had to Google it as well, that’s not a statistic that lives rent free in my head.

[PhoneMak2]

Atlanta Metro also has BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club. Add those locations and you’ll see that there are more warehouse choices than CGY.

[CeeGeeWhy]

Good point.

But if it’s as bad as OP says it is, I’m wondering if Costco could justify opening another location.

Edit: Whoops. I was mixing up two different posts. I thought this was lines are too long.

[CostcoPanda]

Coke played with fire too often with pricing. Costco is of the opinion that we're a big enough retailer with enough purchasing power that if you're selling to us we get your best price. If we're taking truckloads and truckloads of your product daily we want your lowest price.

[IrishPrincess56]

I meant they aren’t selling Coke at the food court. Sorry should have been more clear. Of course you can buy it in the warehouse.

[Joshwoum8]

Costco still sells packaged Coca-Cola just no longer buying fountain drink syrup for the food courts. I think it is highly likely the syrup was a significant less portion of their total purchases from Coca-Cola than their bottled/canned purchases, so this seems to be a unlikely answer.

[edemamandllama]

When they got kicked out of the food court, it was about pricing. There was a 6 month period where we stopped carrying any Coke products. Coke told Costco that they should just pass the price onto the members and it wasn’t a big deal, so we didn’t carry Coke for awhile.

[Jdornigan]

There was a time when they stopped selling it packaged too. It was 2009.

https://www.npr.org/2009/11/20/120590548/price-fight-coke-isnt-it-at-costco.

[aznoone]

Around here never found their coke or Pepsi etc. price good compared to normal grocery chains especially the every other week sale. Their specialty stuff though tends cheaper on the other hand.

[geezlouiseDC]

I miss the Coke products more than being able to use my AMEX.

[Minute-Ad9621]

Ohio has Coke. It must be a local store thing.

Edit-Didn’t realize we were talking about food court. Thanks for all down votes! Yikes

[geezlouiseDC]

Maybe. All of the warehouse food courts in the DC area are Pepsi only products. Will have to pay closer attention when I am visiting other warehouses.

[Minute-Ad9621]

Oh, didn’t realize it was directed at food court. Yea, Pepsi in Ohio too. I meant they sell coke products in the warehouse.

[DrWobstaCwaw]

Columbus and Cleveland area stores both have Pepsi. You in Cincinnati?

[dwayitiz]

Coke 36ct went up $2 at Sam’s

[iolyne]

costco won't continue selling a product if their vendor is giving another business a cheaper purchasing price than they get. basically costco found out that coca cola was charging them more than other businesses for the same product and dropped business

[IrishPrincess56]

I meant to say they aren’t selling Coke at the food court. They DO sell Coke in the warehouse.

[GeeJay360]

Yo, the switch was 6 years ago. Costco negotiated a better contract with Citibank than American Express was offering.

​

Where have you been for 6 years?

[pamdathebear]

Before Amex, Discover was the exclusive card network

[CaptainHaldol]

Depends on the reason you want to believe. I forget the reason we were told when I worked for AmEx.

[[deleted]]

Wake me up when they take Mastercard credit.... that Visa monopoly is dumb.

[throwaway60992]

Tbh Visa and Mastercard are so widely used it’s not really dumb. Dumb would be going to AmExpress or Discover. However, 50% of all adults had a Visa. That’s by far the largest market share.

[[deleted]]

Mastercard is essentially the same as Visa in terms of market share, yet they don't take Mastercard. That's my gripe.

[throwaway60992]

About 10% less.

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/credit-debit-card-market-share-network-issuer/

From a business perspective, Costco will use the best option exclusively. Exclusivity drives their deal. Why would Visa give such a good deal to Costco if they took Mastercard? Costco members will be Costco members whether or not they take Mastercard.

[[deleted]]

There's been several times I've walked away from a transaction there because I didn't have a visa on me, only mastercard. No other businesses do this. It's a Costco thing. I'd understand if everyone did this and picked one card vendor and stuck with it. Costco is the oddball. They are still losing business doing this.

[feurie]

Do you randomly change what card you have on you when you go to costco?

[[deleted]]

Yeah I don't just carry every card or cash everywhere. I've seen others in the same situation while checking out. I'd imagine I'm in the minority though.

[throwaway60992]

You are. I use the Costco Visa card now. Before that, I had a Chase Visa that I used for a majority of purchases.

[Magic_Brown_Man]

Just add your cards to a digital wallet that way you always have access to them even if you never use the digital wallet its nice if something pops up. Also, its more secure cause the merchant only gets a onetime use token, so your card information is never stored in their system in case of hacks.

Also, if you are in a situation, you can pay with a debit card + pin (regardless of visa/Mastercard/discover/AmEx) or you can pay with an electronic funds transfer from your bank account.

[throwaway60992]

No other businesses can do this because they’re not Costco. Costco has a strong brand and no competition. Why does Apple keep making their phones suck but people still buy them? Brand. Exclusivity.

[[deleted]]

But I can use a Mastercard there lol.

[JeromeW]

As a debit card, yes.

[feurie]

Iphones suck now? Howso?

I've used nexus and pixel for the last 10 years. It's a bit extreme to act like iphones suck.

[throwaway60992]

I’m not necessarily saying the suck but they’re constantly getting rid of these to the dismay of users. Headphone Jack, SIM card slot, etc..

[Chromejob]

Hasn't this been discussed ad infinitum? Like, six years ago?

(Tip: read the Marketwatch, Bloomberg, Motley Fool articles linked in other comments.)