AMEX worth it after Costco contract lapses?

[Kostya1992]

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@nyancat wrote:

Costco was only a very minor part of my interest in Amex, and the loss of Costco will not in any way push Amex away from being my card of choice. The purchase protection, extended warranty and overall excellent service are what matters - not Costco.

Now, will I ditch Costco? Nope, I won't... but it might reduce my willingness to buy electronics at Costco. They have an EXCELLENT warranty policy, so it won't immediately... but I have to wonder if leaving Amex is the beginning of a path of Costco becoming less customer-friendly.

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I thought they are pairing with Citi in an attempt to offer lower prices since AMEX charges ridiculousmerchant fees?

[nyancat]

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@Kostya1992 wrote:

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@nyancat wrote:

Costco was only a very minor part of my interest in Amex, and the loss of Costco will not in any way push Amex away from being my card of choice. The purchase protection, extended warranty and overall excellent service are what matters - not Costco.

Now, will I ditch Costco? Nope, I won't... but it might reduce my willingness to buy electronics at Costco. They have an EXCELLENT warranty policy, so it won't immediately... but I have to wonder if leaving Amex is the beginning of a path of Costco becoming less customer-friendly.

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I thought they are pairing with Citi in an attempt to offer lower prices since AMEX charges ridiculousmerchant fees?

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Correct, but Costco has always been about more than low prices - it has been about cutting costs while maintaining excellent service. The Amex relationship really reflected this, and I wonder if is is a sign Costco has lost its traditional way - featuring extremely high quality products and services at good prices by keeping selection limited. A Citi Visa? Really? Heck, at least in Canada they got a Capital One card... but Citi?!?!?!?!?!? Do they not care about their customers at all anymore....

[Kostya1992]

You will not NEED a citi visa to shop there, you can use any VISA. The AMEX TE will turn into a Citi Visa though.

[dds2be]

Take it from a costco employee. Amex is my card of choice and the split does suck , but costco wanted to give its members a better card, but both parties  couldn't come to agreement. SAMs offers 5% gas, 3% on dining/travel and 1% everywhere else. This new card I'd better than the TE and costco needs to compete with that. The rewards structure will be great and members that care about savings will have a great cash back card! Just wait and see.

[Anonymous]

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@Kostya1992 wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

Also for me amex has two of the better rewards programs in spg and MR. I know its popular to hate on amex but if you are at all interested in traveling , i still think amex is a pretty card to carry around. 

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Nobody is hating on AMEX. I think they are still the best with high limits & customer support. However, the average Joes are freaking out about the contract lapse.

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The vast majority of AMEX holders don't have the card because of Costco and could care less about the split.  Never confuse a small segment of people being representative of everyone.

[Anonymous]

Actually, backdating benefits rewards hounds like myself and others on this forum.

[deltatee]

I've been wondering the same thing.  I like the idea of having the 4 horsemen of credit cards, but I've been wrestling with the question of whether it is worth picking up  replacement Amex after the split. At the moment, I'm not terribly inclined to do so. The TE offers mediocre rewards, and their other cards don't fit my needs very well. I've also discovered that I have better card benefits with Discover and Visa Signature.  I'm optimistic that citi will offer better rewards, hopefully with 3% dining.  Between SAMs and the Cap1 Costco Canada card, I think better rewards are coming.

[smc733]

While I don't shop at Costco, I do agree with the growing sentiments that:

A.  The rewards aren't all that great, especially on the no-AF cards.  Since I have the Preferred Rewards program as a BofA banking customer, I'm getting a much better return on the cash rewards in every category compared to BCE.  Even without that for a second, the BCE offers only average rewards, and I'd rather use a Visa Signature for wider acceptance.  Some of the Amex Offers are pretty good deals at times (just got 2x$25 off FiOS bill, 3x$10 off AT&T cell bill).  Regardless of all of this, unless you spend/travel enough to get a benefit from the AF cards, either the BCP or MR cards, chances are there are better rewards cards out there.

B.  Customer service isn't all that great, and neither is the website (when's that free FICO coming???).  I find they have heavily overseas call centers, and the reps are wildly untrained.  With no disrespect toward anyone, I prefer to patronize companies that keep jobs in the United States, and Bank of America and Discover have never answered from anywhere but a US center.  Amex reps seem very limited in their ability to help lately, and are not super knowledgable about their products.

All in all, Amex is not a bad card anymore, but they're a shadow of what they once were, and quite clearly riding yesterday's reputation.  I could give a darn about backdating, but I do know that if my Amex were to be closed tomorrow, I would exert 0 effort in trying to re-open one.  They have to have a leg up to make the less than Visa acceptance worth it, and IMO, for most middle-class shoppers (a lot of the Costco client base), they're just not worth it.

[Open123]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Kostya1992 wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

Also for me amex has two of the better rewards programs in spg and MR. I know its popular to hate on amex but if you are at all interested in traveling , i still think amex is a pretty card to carry around. 

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Nobody is hating on AMEX. I think they are still the best with high limits & customer support. However, the average Joes are freaking out about the contract lapse.

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The vast majority of AMEX holders don't have the card because of Costco and could care less about the split.  Never confuse a small segment of people being representative of everyone.

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Right, I'd consider myself your "typical" CC user.  

I've never had a Costco membership and find Amex's Costco card, aside from using it for gas at Costco, to be their most underwhelming card.  Well, it's a tie with the BCE on which I find the most lackluster.  I suspect the overwhelming majority of Amex cardmenbers either (1) couldn't care less about what card they use at Costco, and (2) aren't even Costco members.  Most people I now would rather just piggy back another's Costco membership rather than paying for their own.  In my case, I'd never spend enough at Costco to justify the regular membership, let alone the Excecutive one.

Losing the Costco relationship will reduce revenue and net profit for the next couple of years, but net profit margin should increase once Amex replaces Costco's loss revenue stream.  Since any revenue earned from expenditures at Costco would be minimal, the value for Issuer's is when Costco cardmembers spend elsewhere.  I suspect some Costco members will continue to use their Amex cards outside of Costco.  Moreover, becuase of the reduced swipe fees, I highly doubt the cobranded Citi Costco will offer 2% cashback when used at Costco.  Just as with Amex, it would be more beneficial to use a non cobranded Visa while shopping at Costco, such as Venture, Priceline or Fid Visa.

Loyal Costco members can have the best of both worlds here.  Citi Costco for gas; 2% Visa at Costco; and, Amex for travel.

[TRC_WA]

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@dds2be wrote:

Take it from a costco employee. Amex is my card of choice and the split does suck , but costco wanted to give its members a better card, but both parties  couldn't come to agreement. SAMs offers 5% gas, 3% on dining/travel and 1% everywhere else. This new card I'd better than the TE and costco needs to compete with that. The rewards structure will be great and members that care about savings will have a great cash back card! Just wait and see.

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Good post.

I was all excited about getting my Delta AmEx in December because I was a heavy shopper at Costco.  I don't use the card anywhere else... 

I entered a Sam's the other day for the first time ever.  I was approved for the MC and actually like the store... the bulk quantities are smaller than Costco (which is good for this single guy) and the prices are still competitive.

That and the Sam's Club MC has the 5%/3%/1% like you said.

Dare I say I might SD my AmEx?  LOL