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A customer leaves the Costco Wholesale Warehouse in Hoover, Ala., on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Jon Anderson/janderson@al.com)
Shoppers at the Costco Wholesale Warehouse store in Hoover today said they are largely pleased with changes announced Monday concerning what credit cards will be accepted at Costco stores nationwide.
But some are reserving judgment until they see the fine print for new credit card offerings.
Costco announced Monday that the only credit cards that will be accepted at their stores, starting April 1, 2016, are Visa credit cards. Visa will replace American Express, which has had an exclusive deal with Costco for 16 years.
That's just fine with Linda Patterson of Clanton, who has avoided getting an American Express card to shop at Costco. She pays with cash or a check instead, she said. "I don't want any more credit cards," she said.
She already has two Visa cards for which she pays no annual fee, she said. She's glad that she will be able to use them at Costco next year, she said.
Nicole Hopkins of Maylene also is pleased with the change. She doesn't have an American Express card either, opting instead to use her Visa debit card at Costco. While Costco does have an exclusive credit card deal with American Express, debit cards from other companies are welcome, including Visa and Mastercard.
Hopkins said her family doesn't use credit cards very often, but it will be nice to have that option with Visa now at Costco.
Karen Conner, a Hoover woman who said she shops at Costco just about every week, said her family uses American Express for almost everything they buy. They have the American Express/Costco co-branded credit card and last year earned about $1,000 cashback with it, she said. They pay off the balance every month, she said.
They'll start using a Visa card at Costco if they have to, Conner said. They have a Visa card, but they don't use it much now, she said. They'll probably keep the American Express card, but "It remains to be seen how much we'll use it."
Costco also struck a deal to partner with Citigroup to issue a co-branded Visa credit card that will replace the current co-branded card with American Express.
David Cunningham, a Shelby County man who was shopping at Costco today, said he has been an American Express card holder since 1976 and likely will keep his American Express to use at other places.
However, he also has a Visa card, and he'll evaluate the terms of the new co-branded Citigroup/Costco Visa card once those terms are announced to see what it would mean for him.
"If it lowers the overall cost of doing business, I think it's a good thing," he said. "We'll have to look at the terms when we see them."
Costco has indicated that details of a rewards program with the new co-branded Visa card are still being worked out. More information will be provided to members well in advance of the changeover, the company said.
There are three Costco stores in Alabama - in Hoover, Huntsville and Montgomery. As of November, the company had 671 stores, including 474 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, according to the Costco website.