Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

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SpaceCowboy
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Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by SpaceCowboy »

I've started receiving offers from Amex to replace their Costco card with Amex's Blue Everyday Cash Card. 3% back on groceries, 2% on gas and 1% on everything else.
I've gotten two different sign up bonus offers. One was for $200 cash back on $1000 in purchases within 90 days and the other was for $300 cash back on $2500 in initial purchases. Also 0% interest for first 15 months.
Have others been getting different offers and what's the best version that anyone's gotten?
sport
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by sport »

I have not received any offers, and my FICO is very good.
dpc
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by dpc »

We haven't gotten anything yet.
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Green Nut
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by Green Nut »

Been getting emails and messages via online account access for a while. I like the idea of $300 back for spending money I'll spend anyway, but I'm thinking of just letting AMEX just go away. Why do I need an AMEX card. Just stinks that I'd let 10+ years of good account standing go bye-bye. Not sure what to do. Maybe just get it and sock drawer it after the cash-back.
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6miths
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by 6miths »

I just cancelled my Amex when the transition to MasterCard happened in Canada. I had considered going to one of their premium travel cards with airport lounge access but the cost went up and the features went down so I passed.
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OnceARunner
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by OnceARunner »

Haven't received any offers either. 800+ credit score if that's a factor.
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unclescrooge
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by unclescrooge »

I always liked the fact that AMEX extended the manufacturers warranty on electronics for another year.

But I'm considered not having an AMEX card now.
EHEngineer
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by EHEngineer »

rrppve wrote: One was for $200 cash back on $1000 in purchases within 90 days
I took this offer. They credited the $200 promptly when I crossed the $1000 threshold. They didn't even wait for the end of the statement cycle.

FYI - they increased my credit limit 60% and approved the new card without requiring me to unfreeze any of my credit bureau files. They also kept my "customer since" date from my costco card; I got to keep/add a long standing line of credit.

I doubt credit score is the main factor for making offers. I suspect they want to keep customers with high transaction volume, good payment history, and stable or improving credit score. That's what I would want if I were them.
Last edited by EHEngineer on Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Afty
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by Afty »

unclescrooge wrote:I always liked the fact that AMEX extended the manufacturers warranty on electronics for another year.

But I'm considered not having an AMEX card now.
FWIW, the Citi Double Cash card also extends the warranty. It has similar benefits to the Costco Amex but gives 2% cash back.
JeffroZ
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by JeffroZ »

rrppve wrote:I've started receiving offers from Amex to replace their Costco card with Amex's Blue Everyday Cash Card. 3% back on groceries, 2% on gas and 1% on everything else.
I've gotten two different sign up bonus offers. One was for $200 cash back on $1000 in purchases within 90 days and the other was for $300 cash back on $2500 in initial purchases. Also 0% interest for first 15 months.
Have others been getting different offers and what's the best version that anyone's gotten?
Just so you understand this is not a replacement for the Costco Amex, but an offer for a new card with Amex. From the "rumors" Amex sold the portfolio of business and Citi will take over. This is the clearest from the FAQ:

Q. Will I need to apply for the new Costco Visa Card if I already have the Costco American Express Card?
A. It is unlikely that you will need to apply for the new Costco Visa Card. Costco will provide more information as we finalize the details of our new credit card program.
Jeff P
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by Jeff P »

They also kept my "customer since" date from my costco card; I got to keep/add a long standing line of credit.
Did you do this stuff over the phone or just apply online? If I'm keeping AMEX I want my credit history to remain in tact and my credit limit to substantially increase.
jaj2276
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by jaj2276 »

I received the offer for the Blue Everyday Card, both in a mailing and when I logged in to my Amex Costco Account. My offer was for $500 once $3000 was spent and 0% interest through Feb 2017.

I promptly took the offer and received my $500 credit. I'll make the minimum monthly payment for the next 10 months and then pay it off. I don't think this has an annual fee but if it does, I'll cancel the card before then.
SpaethCo
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by SpaethCo »

EHEngineer wrote:FYI - they increased my credit limit 60% and approved the new card without requiring me to unfreeze any of my credit bureau files. They also kept my "customer since" date from my costco card; I got to keep/add a long standing line of credit.
Based on information posted in other forums (myfico/fatwallet), there are a couple things that you might want to check on your credit report.

Many people have reported that if you use the link for existing TrueEarnings members, Amex will approve a new card without a hard credit pull. Amex normally does regular soft pulls of your credit anyway, which can trigger their infamous financial reviews if they see something they don't like. Approving a new trade line is straight forward -- the risk associated with your TrueEarnings tradeline is being transferred to Citibank, so they can establish a new tradeline using the same risk profile.

Also, the "Member since" date has been reported as being purely cosmetic. Amex stopped backdating entirely last year, so on your credit report if you take the BCE card it will show up with a new tradeline established date, and will affect your average age of accounts.
EHEngineer
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by EHEngineer »

SpaethCo wrote:there are a couple things that you might want to check on your credit report.

Many people have reported that if you use the link for existing TrueEarnings members, Amex will approve a new card without a hard credit pull. Amex normally does regular soft pulls of your credit anyway, which can trigger their infamous financial reviews if they see something they don't like. Approving a new trade line is straight forward -- the risk associated with your TrueEarnings tradeline is being transferred to Citibank, so they can establish a new tradeline using the same risk profile.
What is the "thing to check" related to this?
SpaethCo wrote:Also, the "Member since" date has been reported as being purely cosmetic. Amex stopped backdating entirely last year, so on your credit report if you take the BCE card it will show up with a new tradeline established date, and will affect your average age of accounts.
I checked and you are correct, the new amex shows a 2015 account opening date. Huh.
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SpaethCo
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by SpaethCo »

EHEngineer wrote:What is the "thing to check" related to this?
If you can pull a credit report that includes soft inquiries, you'll see inquiries from Amex that should line up with your approval date. It's not a big deal - it doesn't impact your credit score at all.

I only mention it because people have posted about avoiding applying for credit cards because some aspect of their file is not in an ideal state (high utilization at the time, or whatever), so when it was reported that you could open this card without a hard credit inquiry they applied under the assumption that data wouldn't be reviewed. Anecdotally, it appears underwriting still looks at the soft credit pull data, and will set the limit on the new card according to information in your credit file.
Topic Author
SpaceCowboy
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by SpaceCowboy »

jaj2276 wrote:I received the offer for the Blue Everyday Card, both in a mailing and when I logged in to my Amex Costco Account. My offer was for $500 once $3000 was spent and 0% interest through Feb 2017
Looks like I'll wait till I get a $500 offer.
There is no annual fee on the card.
miles monroe
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by miles monroe »

the first offer i got was the $300 one. i didn't bite, so they responded (several times now) with the $200 one. i better sign up before they try to tempt me with $100.
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dm200
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by dm200 »

rrppve wrote:I've started receiving offers from Amex to replace their Costco card with Amex's Blue Everyday Cash Card. 3% back on groceries, 2% on gas and 1% on everything else.
I've gotten two different sign up bonus offers. One was for $200 cash back on $1000 in purchases within 90 days and the other was for $300 cash back on $2500 in initial purchases. Also 0% interest for first 15 months.
Have others been getting different offers and what's the best version that anyone's gotten?
About 2 months ago, I took the Amex Blue offer with 0% for a period (can't remember hw long), same limit at the COSTCO card and $200 for charging $1,000 in first 3 months.
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wassabi
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by wassabi »

Afty wrote:
unclescrooge wrote:I always liked the fact that AMEX extended the manufacturers warranty on electronics for another year.

But I'm considered not having an AMEX card now.
FWIW, the Citi Double Cash card also extends the warranty. It has similar benefits to the Costco Amex but gives 2% cash back.

I have both AMEX and Citi Cash but always use the AMEX for electronics. Thanks. :thumbsup
miles monroe
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by miles monroe »

i know someone -- who isn't a costco member -- who got a "come back" offer from amex for this card for $250. they had an amex card at their last job which ended a year ago.
dreamchaser
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by dreamchaser »

Got $300 offer for ABE in email and mail. Looks good but at this point I'm not even sure if I want to keep Amex if its not going to work at Costco. So going to hold on this for now. May be will switch to whatever Costco offers :) !!
takeshi
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by takeshi »

No offer here but I already have the BCP and the BCE is of no interest to me.
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Fat-Tailed Contagion
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by Fat-Tailed Contagion »

Yes, I did the $200 offer.

If you can, I'd take the $300 offer.
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heartwood
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by heartwood »

dm200 wrote:
rrppve wrote:I've started receiving offers from Amex to replace their Costco card with Amex's Blue Everyday Cash Card. 3% back on groceries, 2% on gas and 1% on everything else.
I've gotten two different sign up bonus offers. One was for $200 cash back on $1000 in purchases within 90 days and the other was for $300 cash back on $2500 in initial purchases. Also 0% interest for first 15 months.
Have others been getting different offers and what's the best version that anyone's gotten?
About 2 months ago, I took the Amex Blue offer with 0% for a period (can't remember hw long), same limit at the COSTCO card and $200 for charging $1,000 in first 3 months.
I got the $200 offer late last year, followed by a $100 offer. My wife got a $100 offer for her Costco Amex account replacement. I got still another offer today for $100. After reading about the $300 offer here I called them and asked for the $300 offer. I was told the amount of the offer is tied into your prior spending on the Costco card and they could only now offer me the $100 offer I had in hand unless I had the reference number on the $200 offer. She would not confirm there is a $300 offer.

She also told me I'd probably receive several more offers between now and when the Costco card goes away. I'll wait and see or maybe call back and talk with someone else.
MnD
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by MnD »

I'll wait till the benefits of new Costco card are announced.
That's when I think the best "and keep an Amex card" offers will roll out.
Now they are competing against nothing.

We have the Amex biz Costco card and received something from Amex a long time ago (shortly after the switch was announced) but nothing recently.
It would have to be something major for us to get an Amex replacement. It serving as a Costco membership card and the 4% back gasoline everywhere was the only reason we had one.
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Alan S.
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by Alan S. »

Based on this latest news, Amex is likely to become more desperate to replace the lost card business, however they may be entering an adverse competitive cycle as well:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americ ... atest_news
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Leif
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by Leif »

I got the $200 cash back offer. I have the Fidelity AmEx card, but not the Costco AmEx. However, the Fidelity card is going away as well.
SandDollar
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by SandDollar »

We received the $500 offer for Blue Amex back in Nov. We temporarily stopped using Amex Costco and quickly crossed the $3000 threshold and received the statement credit. Easiest $500 we've ever made. We've never chased miles or points but I'm rethinking things.....
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by saltycaper »

This was the first promotional credit card offer I ever took. I wasn't going to do it at first, but the 3% cash back at grocery stores made me change my mind. I don't spend a great deal at stores in the grocery category, but even if I only get an additional $25 or so a year over the 2% I was getting, plus the initial statement credit, why not?
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by sunny_socal »

SandDollar wrote:We received the $500 offer for Blue Amex back in Nov. We temporarily stopped using Amex Costco and quickly crossed the $3000 threshold and received the statement credit. Easiest $500 we've ever made. We've never chased miles or points but I'm rethinking things.....
Same here. I'll quit using it now that I've made my $500, no need for Amex after Costco stops accepting it.

And I signed up for the new $0 fee Fidelity Visa 2% card. It seems like the best cash back card at the moment and will be a great way to pad the emergency fund.

Other good signup offers: $500 for Capital One Spark Business, 50k 'points' (~$500) for Chase Sapphire.
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Re: Amex Costco Card Replacement Offers

Post by mrc »

Kudos to the board. I was tossing the Amex offers (separate offers to me and DW) until I read this topic. I froze our three credit reports after the OPM breach, so I was going to ignore the Amex offers until I heard from Costco/CB/MC. But an easy $250 :moneybag is just too hard to pass up! I tried to accept my offer online and as I expected, was denied (because of the credit freeze) and I was given an 800 number an "individual tracking number" PIN. When I called, rep said to obtain a PIN from Experian and call them back. Instead, this morning, I temporarily unfroze DW's credit report and renewed online. So in case anyone is wondering, Amex is using Experian (at least in our case).
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