How many people here are going to apply for the new Capital One - Costco credit card?

[Rerun]

... now that American Express's contract is up as of Dec 31 and will no longer be accepted at Costco stores effective Jan 1, 2015.... after that it's Mastercard only.

I use my AMEX all the time at Costco (I buy all my gas there, plus other stuff) so I guess as of Jan 1. I'll have to get a Mastercard (anything but a Capital One card - they really pissed me off a few years ago and I refuse to deal with them).

I like no fee cash back cards so I'm seriously considering applying for the MBNA/Mastercard Smart Cash Platinum card. It looks like it gives you the biggest bang for your buck.... perhaps even better than the Capital One/Mastercard-Costco card.

[MoneyGuy]

I've had it for three years. I love the Cap One card for the points.

[Canehdianman]

I already have a Cap One mastercard (Aspire Travel).

I use it at Costco now (Mastercard is already accepted!)

I don't think I'll bother getting the Costco version, since it seems to have worse rewards for me.

I will have to dig out my Costco card now though, as I always used the AmEx before.

[calgarygeologist]

I won't be getting a Costco Capital One Mastercard but I probably will shop around for a new Mastercard at some point.

[BlackArcher101]

Woah woah woah... Mastercard is accepted at Costco already? Damnit, I'm still using debit.

[Rerun]

I'll be using my new replacement AMEX cash back card at Costco right up until the Dec 31 deadline because they currently have a 5% cash back promotion on every purchase. The 5% is good for the first 6 months then it drops to 1.25%

By Jan.1 I should have my Mastercard for use at Costco.

[CaptainYooh]

No choice, really, but to switch if you need to use a CC at Costco.

[rayne008]

I've found that Costco not accepting visa/mc has stopped me from making purchases that I really didn't need. Sure I'd walk around the store with the giant 10 person inflatable raft for an hour, but having to pay cash would usually would smarten me up.

[RedMileDJ]

Ticks me off. I got my Aeroplan Amex card 3 months ago purely for Costco and business expenses. I had no idea this change was happening. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have gotten it.

I guess I'll need to get the MC with Aeroplan. But the yearly fee is something ridiculous like $120 a year.

Need to look into it.

[schooner]

All mastercards are accepted so just get the best MC you can. I personally dont like Cap1 but there are lots of options. The BMO world elite gets you 2% back (on travel) which is decent. Just depends on what you are looking for with regards to fee and rewards. At least there are a lot more options with mastercard than Amex.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I'll be using my new replacement AMEX cash back card at Costco right up until the Dec 31 deadline because they currently have a 5% cash back promotion on every purchase. The 5% is good for the first 6 months then it drops to 1.25%

By Jan.1 I should have my Mastercard for use at Costco.

I don't think the 5% applies to Costco purchases now. It's considered a "super store" and so is exempt. Costco gas still qualifies for the 5%, however.

[Tyler]

This is so awesome.

Just got the new WestJet MC so I can get free bags. Looks like I'm gonna be padding those points in no time

[GP_Matt]

I think it is finally open to the public, but the best card I have seen (and had for years) is the MBNA Rewards World Elite
They don't advertise it as a cash back card, but cash is one of the options you can choose and it pays 2% on everything.

This is a card that changed its name about a dozen times and it used to be that they only offered it to some people but you couldn't apply for it. I just looked and with the current iteration you can apply for it publicly.

[#-3]

Any news on what will happen to the costco amex.

Will they just send out new cards without even asking, minus the costco photo?
cancel them without telling anyone?
Or just ignore the fact that costco dumped them?

I figure it will be one of those 3. knowing credit card companies.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by #-3

Any news on what will happen to the costco amex.

Will they just send out new cards without even asking, minus the costco photo?
cancel them without telling anyone?
Or just ignore the fact that costco dumped them?

I figure it will be one of those 3. knowing credit card companies.

They automatically switched it to a no fee cash back Amex a couple weeks ago. The new card gives you 5% back on most groceries, gas, and restaurants for 6 months, 1.25% back on everything else. Just received the card in the mail. No picture, same number, new expiry and 4 digit code.

[Rathji]

This is such a good change for me, since I started my new job, I put all my gas on the credit card and have avoided filling up at Costco for this reason.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by psyang

I don't think the 5% applies to Costco purchases now. It's considered a "super store" and so is exempt. Costco gas still qualifies for the 5%, however.

Thanks for pointing that out. Went back and read the fine print on the replacement AMEX SimplyCash card and its, for the first 6 months, 5% back on gas, groceries, and restaurants. Everything else is 1.25%. There also is a max refund limit of $250.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Thanks for pointing that out. Went back and read the fine print on the replacement AMEX SimplyCash card and its, for the first 6 months, 5% back on gas, groceries, and restaurants. Everything else is 1.25%. There also is a max refund limit of $250.

Yup - basically, we are going to use the new card for 6 months just to get the 5%, then swap to using the Mastercard.

But we'll still keep the Amex card around because the switch to Mastercard is for Costco Canada only. If you go to Costco in the States, they will still only accept Amex or cash/debit. A Costco cashier here speculated that, once the contract with Amex runs out in the States, they will switch to Mastercard as well. No idea when that might happen, though.

[Rerun]

Just want to mention that for those thinking of applying for the Capital One/Mastercard-Costco credit card, I think there are better deals out there.

The benefits of the Cap One card are:

No annual fee
3% on restaurant purchases
2% on gas purchases
0.5% on the first $3,000 you spend annually on all other purchases, and 1% after that

Earn 6% cash back at restaurants and 4% at gas stations on all your purchases – up to a combined total spend of $1,500 for both during the three-month promotional period.

Earn 1% cash back on the first $3,000 you spend on all other purchases annually, and 2% after that. You'll earn at these rates up to a total spend of $8,500 during the three-month promotional period.


However, the MBNA Smart Cash Mastercard has:

No annual fee
Get up to 5% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases for the first 6 months
Get up to 2% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases thereafter
Get up to 1% cash back for all other eligible purchases
1.99% promotional annual interest rate† (AIR) on balance transfers✪ for the first 10 full months
If eligible, you will be considered for an upgrade to a Smart Cash World MasterCard® credit card

[red sky]

What are people's thoughts on the RBC WestJet credit card? I travel with the family a few times a year and seems like a good option.