Costco treats credit cards differently from pretty much any other major retailer.
Instead of taking any credit card and offering its own branded card with bonus perks, the chain has an exclusive credit card partner
For a long time, the warehouse club worked exclusively with American Express and did not accept Visa or Mastercard in its stores. That changed in 2016, when the chain swapped out its American Express relationship for an exclusive partnership with Citibank for the Costco Anywhere card by Citi, a Visa card that gave Costco members perks, including 5% back on gas at its own filling stations. When the switch was made, Costco stopped taking American Express and only accepted Visa in its stores.
Members didn’t have to use the co-branded Costco Anywhere card by Citi, but if they wanted to pay via credit card, they had to use a Visa. Costco expands its app Costco CEO Ron Vachris shared during its third-quarter earnings call some of the changes the chain has made to its app. “The enhancements we have made include improvements to the mobile wallet, the introduction of digital membership card with quick access on the Costco app, and the rollout of our shopping cart prescan tool internationally,” he said. These changes allow Costco members to use the app as their membership card, and some of them were allowed to link a credit card for payment.