Costco members will earn more cash back with new Visa credit cards

Costco Wholesale members are receiving details in the mail on the transition to Visa credit cards from American Express.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The end of Costco Wholesale's long relationship with American Express will translate into more cash rebates for members who use the new Visa credit cards.

And for the first time, both the business credit card and consumer card will give identical rebates for purchases inside and outside a warehouse.

The change to Visa as membership and credit card is scheduled for June 20, 2016.

That's when the rebate on gasoline purchases worldwide, including gas at Costco, goes up to 4% from 3% with a Costco-American Express True Earnings Card.

The American Express True Earnings Business Card already gives 4% back on gasoline.

3% back at restaurants

Cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases goes up to 3% from 2%; on purchases from Costco and Costco.com, the rebate will go to 2% from 1%; and all other purchases will earn 1%, the same as now.

Any cash rebates you earn on American Express credit cards will be transferred automatically to the new Visa cards.

The new cards will be mailed to you, so there is no need to reapply and no credit report will be pulled, Costco says.

And, like the American Express cards, there is no annual fee with the new Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi and Anywhere Visa Business Card by Citi.

How rebates pay 

Costco members pay an annual fee of $55 to $110, but rebates earned inside and outside of the warehouse more than cover that expense.

That means you enjoy great Costco prices on food, clothing, electronics and more, and get to laugh all the way to the bank with hundreds of dollars in cash rebates from American Express and soon Citi. 

The Executive Gold Star Membership ($110) also entitles you to an additional 2% annual cash rebate from Costco itself, up to $750.

First, Costco shoppers pay to join, then get fee back in cash rebates

The Costco Wholesale warehouse in the Teterboro Landing shopping center off of Route 46 in Teterboro is bigger than the old Hackensack warehouse. Improvements include a separate entrance for merchandise returns, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Costco Wholesale members gladly pay an annual fee of $55 or $110 to join the club, because they know they will get far more back in cash rebates.

This month, I received two reward coupons from American Express, which issues my True Earnings-Costco credit card.

They total more than $274, compared to my annual Executive Membership fee of $110.

The credit card itself has no annual fee.

The coupons include cash back on purchases at Costco, outside gas stations, restaurants and other stores.

I'll also be receiving a 2% cash rebate on my warehouse food, clothing and merchandise purchases from Costco -- a unique benefit of joining at the higher Executive Membership level.

How your neighborhood ShopRite can be a big pain in the neck

On Monday, I had the gall to return one of the two boxes of Moroccan Clementines I bought on sale at ShopRite in Paramus, above, but the store responded with a Catch-22.

Editor's note: The shopping experience and return policies at ShopRite and Costco Wholesale couldn't be more different. Today, I discuss trying to return fruit without a receipt to the Paramus ShopRite, and the generous cash rebates at my Hackensack warehouse store.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I returned a box of discolored and misshapen clementines to ShopRite in Paramus, but because I didn't have a receipt I received a store credit, not a refund.

On Monday, the customer service employee scanned my PricePlus store card and confirmed that, on Feb. 27, I had purchased two 5-pound boxes of Roxy Clementines from Morocco on sale for $3.99 each.

But I was told that without a receipt, I could only receive a store credit of $3.99 on a slip of paper.

Not only that, but if I couldn't find an item for the exact amount of the credit, I wouldn't get any change.

I looked and looked and finally found 1.5-quart packages of Friendly's Ice Cream on sale for $1.99 each or two for $3.98.

Would you believe the cashier actually had to call over a supervisor to approve giving me back the penny? 

I returned these sorry looking clementines to ShopRite in Paramus, 224 Route 4 east, below.

The Paramus ShopRite is on the way home from my gym and closer to me than the ShopRite on South River Street in Hackensack.

Costco's cash rebates

As an executive member of Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, I don't need a receipt to return an item.

In addition, shopping with the True Earnings credit card from Costco and American Express returns cash rebates at the warehouse store, as well as at restaurants (2% back), gas stations (3% to 4% back) and other businesses (1% back).

I have two True Earnings cards, one personal and one business.

Last month, I received American Express rebate checks totaling about $330 -- three times the annual cost of the Costco executive membership ($110).

I also will be receiving a rebate check from Costco equal to 2% of what I spent in the past year.

Now, Costco Wholesale has announced that it is ending its exclusive relationship with American
Express and, beginning in April 2016, will be partnering with Citigroup and Visa.

It remains to be seen whether the Visa credit card will offer cash rewards of up to 4% outside Costco, as the American Express card does. 

Another American Express card, Blue Cash Everyday, returns a 3% cash rebate on groceries at ShopRite and other supermarkets, but not on food purchased at warehouse stores.

On Monday afternoon, I picked up a prescription at the Costco Wholesale pharmacy in Hackensack, and did some food shopping -- organic bananas (3 pounds for $1.99); fresh wild Atlantic cod fillets ($7.99 a pound), Anjou Pears and Kashi Bars. But the cashier didn't have enough money to cover the $171 in change from my rebate check, and I had to wait about 10 minutes for a supervisor to deliver $200 to her. A woman behind me also had a big rebate check, and was told to get in another check-out line.