WTF Costco? You pre-authorize $150 at your gas pumps????

[Tweak155]

We accept: American Express, most PIN Debit Cards, Costco Credit, and Costco Cash Cards.

so, those are the options. they also DO NOT accept cash.

Oh snap, straight from their site:

Q: How do I pay for my gasoline?
A: The Gas Station is entirely self-serve, with pay-at-the-pump technology. We accept: American Express, most PIN Debit Cards, Costco Credit, and Costco Cash Cards. (Exceptions: Oregon and New Jersey are full-service per law).

 

[KidNiki1]

Oh snap, straight from their site:

my google skills are top notch.

 

[Tweak155]

my google skills are top notch.

Your pay at the pump abilities are very limited though

 

[KidNiki1]

Your pay at the pump abilities are very limited though

HAHA!! this is true. sad, but true.

 

[bruceb]

Pixel, Just an FYI for you. Costco in Wayne, NJ is moving to where the old Fortunoff's used to be. Same lot as Olive Garden and JC Penny. The mall is also getting a Dicks Sporting Goods in the same place. Construction is well under way.

I never use checks to buy things. Just to pay bills. I can not stand debit cards, when a credit card is much better, gives more time to pay it and offers cash rewards back. Costco's biggest issue is the fact they only take AMEX ... the payment terms for AMEX are worse than a regular credit card and it has a yearly fee. No thanks.

 

[ponyo]

Costco has a special deal with Amex where they don't pay transaction fees with Amex. In return Amex gets sole access to Costco members.

OP, use this event to sign up for Costco Amex. You get 3% cash back at Costco gas.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Is it actually worth getting specific Costco Amex or is there any difference at all from generic Amex?

 

[ponyo]

Pixel, Just an FYI for you. Costco in Wayne, NJ is moving to where the old Fortunoff's used to be. Same lot as Olive Garden and JC Penny. The mall is also getting a Dicks Sporting Goods in the same place. Construction is well under way.

I never use checks to buy things. Just to pay bills. I can not stand debit cards, when a credit card is much better, gives more time to pay it and offers cash rewards back. Costco's biggest issue is the fact they only take AMEX ... the payment terms for AMEX are worse than a regular credit card and it has a yearly fee. No thanks.

Amex has plenty no fee cards. Costco Amex is free for Costco members.

 

[zokudu]

My girlfriend is one of you crazy cash people. More power too you but I prefer a credit card. The big thing for me is I don't like carrying a lot of cash and when I go somewhere I want to be sure I can cover the transaction. Say I take $100 out, need to fill up my car? That's $40. Need to get some groceries? $50? Who knows maybe I want to spend more but I'm limited by the cash I have on hand. With my card I can just charge it and not be adding things in my head walking up to the register. It's just more convenient.

 

[Captante]

(1) Walk inside to cashier hand debit card tell them how much gas you want and have your card manually authorized for that exact amount. Inconvenient but it works.

(2) Use credit-card as mentioned and get points/miles/cash back etc.

(3) Pay cash. My personal favorite.

 

[KidNiki1]

(1) Walk inside to cashier hand debit card tell them how much gas you want and have your card manually authorized for that exact amount. Inconvenient but it works.

(2) Use credit-card as mentioned and get points/miles/cash back etc.

(3) Pay cash. My personal favorite.

this is awesome except NONE of this works at costco. ok, well, #2 works as long as it is amex.

 

[lupi]

So you're that guy still using them.

 

[Golgatha]

One of many reasons not to use debit cards ever.

 

[Golgatha]

If you pay with a credit card you may end up paying 10 cents more a gallon than advertised. The price they show on the sign is their "cash discount price".

I get 5% back on gas purchases with my Amex Blue. Once gas goes under $2 a gallon I'll begin to care about the "cash price".

 

[dawheat]

Is it actually worth getting specific Costco Amex or is there any difference at all from generic Amex?

Since you can use any AMEX card at Costco, I actually think the Blue Cash Preferred Card is better since you get 6% back at supermarkets, which more than makes up the $75 annual fee for me. I also don't use my AMEX for gas since I have a Sallie Mae card that gives 5% cash back on gas. So crunch your spending numbers and see which one makes more sense for you.

Blue Cash Preferred: Earn 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%); 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations, 3% Cash Back at select U.S. department stores; and 1% Cash Back on other purchases. $75 annual fee.

Costco AMEX: Earn 3% Cash Back at US gas stations and on gasoline at Costco up to $4,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 2% Cash Back at US restaurants, 2% Cash Back on eligible travel purchases, including at Costco, and 1% Cas

 

[dawheat]

I have....

Fact: It's safer.
Fact: You can earn points and cash back for using it.
Fact: It's more convenient.
Fact: You can track your purchases easily.
Fact: You get extra benefits like purchase protection, extended warranties, and travel benefits.

The only logical reason to use cash is to reduce overspending. I understand this is a problem for some people. But the reality is, if this is your situation, it means you do not trust yourself. That's not a great situation to be in.

Totally agree - people who can't control spending is the only reason to use cash/debit.

1. 0% liability for unauthorized charges makes it better than cash - there's no loss in misplacing it, getting it stolen, etc. You literally only lose the plastic for a week or so it takes to get a new card.

2. I probably get back on average of 3% across all my spending. Over a year, that's well over a grand. Sure it's not a lot of money, but money is money.

3. Many premium cards have tangible benefits from 0% transaction fees for overseas purchases to primary rental car coverage.

 

[Fritzo]

Totally agree - people who can't control spending is the only reason to use cash/debit.

1. 0% liability for unauthorized charges makes it better than cash - there's no loss in misplacing it, getting it stolen, etc. You literally only lose the plastic for a week or so it takes to get a new card.

2. I probably get back on average of 3% across all my spending. Over a year, that's well over a grand. Sure it's not a lot of money, but money is money.

3. Many premium cards have tangible benefits from 0% transaction fees for overseas purchases to primary rental car coverage.

I just find, as a family, we spend a lot more when things are being put on a credit instead of from our checking. We would get into that "we'll pay that off with future money" mindset, but unexpected expenses would always come up. Sure we were getting $1000 in rewards every year, but we were spending $3000 more than we normally would have, and sometimes we wouldn't pay our balance off at the end of the month, resulting in interest charges.

The credit thing just doesn't work well for us. We have a MC debit that gets 1% per transaction and we use that as our credit card. It has all the protections and benefits a normal Mastercard has, only the money comes out of our checking instead of credit.

 

[alkemyst]

What's funny is all these ballers saying they just use cash can't afford to float $150 overnight.

 

[Exophase]

Same old debate... if you can restrain yourself, the benefits from using a credit card are a clear choice. However, peace of mind is worth more than the hundreds you'll get in a year from the points if you don't trust yourself or it makes it hard to track for you.

I've been using credit cards since I was 17 or 18 and have not been charged a cent in interest or any fees... it has been nothing but interest free loans and free money.

Until a while ago my credit card didn't offer automatic electronic withdrawal to pay the balance.. So I got a lot of fees just from forgetting to pay it on time. It was definitely a hassle that I would have preferred to avoid, but it's moot now.

 

[kinev]

Hot Deals Self Plug:


[thread=2390208]Sam's Club Mastercard (5% gas everywhere, 3% restaurants/travel, 1% other)[/thread]

 

[slag]

Why would you use your debit card when you can earn free points on the Amex? I never ever ever use my debit card.

I have 140,000 Amex points for this reason.

Why would you pay a yearly fee to use a card when I can use my debit card for free, not have to worry about paying off a balance monthly as its coming directly out of my account, nor have to deal with having yet another item in my wallet?

Less cards simplifies life. I laugh at those people who have 3-4 credit cards in their wallet and have to think about which one to use. No sir. If I don't have the money in my account, I don't need it for smaller purchases. I'm not including my vehicle or house for obvious reasons.

 

[slag]

He said this ^^^

Then the fight started!

It's also dumb logic. I have good credit and am upper middle class with my salary alone, not including my wife's pay. I don't like using credit. It's just another crutch people use. Pay cash, use debit, or don't get it. My debit card is also protected by Visa.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Why would you pay a yearly fee to use a card when I can use my debit card for free, not have to worry about paying off a balance monthly as its coming directly out of my account, nor have to deal with having yet another item in my wallet?

Less cards simplifies life. I laugh at those people who have 3-4 credit cards in their wallet and have to think about which one to use. No sir. If I don't have the money in my account, I don't need it for smaller purchases. I'm not including my vehicle or house for obvious reasons.

Simple. Because you save TONS of money. If I have multiple cards (which I do, and I have no fees on any of them), I have 1-5% cash back on everything. If I save 5% on gas, I'm getting gas at a cheaper price than the cash value (Assuming that the prices are different, which is pretty rare in my experiance these days)

I just paid for a 600 dollar flight COMPLETELY through credit card rewards. The flight was 100% free because I got it through my rewards.

Most cards don't have fees. Even the ones that do, the idea is that if you use it mainly, the cash back will pay for it, and even if it doesn, the laudry list of passive benefits you get is more useful than 75 dollars a year.

I have never paid a single cent in interest or fees, everything I buy with my card is something I can afford. Then every once in a while, get a free flight somewhere to my liking.

 

[jlee]

Why would you pay a yearly fee to use a card when I can use my debit card for free, not have to worry about paying off a balance monthly as its coming directly out of my account, nor have to deal with having yet another item in my wallet?

Less cards simplifies life. I laugh at those people who have 3-4 credit cards in their wallet and have to think about which one to use. No sir. If I don't have the money in my account, I don't need it for smaller purchases. I'm not including my vehicle or house for obvious reasons.

You assume that people use credit when they don't have cash in their account.

Chase Freedom: 5% cashback on varying categories
Costco Amex: 3% cashback on gasoline
Amex Blue: from before Costco, long-running account with excellent warranty protection - canceling it would damage my credit.

I also paid cash for the three vehicles I own - the only payment I have is my house. Laugh away at my "crutch, if you must.

 

[NoCreativity]

It's also dumb logic. I have good credit and am upper middle class with my salary alone, not including my wife's pay. I don't like using credit. It's just another crutch people use. Pay cash, use debit, or don't get it. My debit card is also protected by Visa.

Crutch? For some yes. For those on here supporting the use of credit no. The proper way to do credit:

- No yearly fee
- Rewards
- Pay off card at every billing cycle
- Only spend what you have available (not credit limit but actual funds in bank).
- Profit!

Seriously, I really don't get the "credit is the devil" attitude from some people.