WTF Costco?

[BarkingGhostar]

I just got a letter from them regarding the dissolution of their relationship with Amex. I knew about this, but the letter implies they are handing my personal data over to Citi in order to assign me a Visa credit card I don't want, need or asked for.

Sorry, when it comes to personal information I do not care to do business with Citi. I had prior dealings with Citi years ago and their anti-consumer positioning to always make you guilty for fraud before accepting liability themselves just chaps my hide.

Costco, if you give out my information without my expressed permission not only will I close my account but I'll happily place my name on any west Texas class action suit against you.

Fuckers!

 

[Jimzz]

Close the Costco Amex account now then. That way there is nothing to move over.

 

[Rakehellion]

Maybe you should tell then instead of posting about it on the internet.

Also, you agreed to let them do this when you signed their seven-page contract without reading it.

 

[spacejamz]

Did you check the fine print of your amex card to see if there is anything that covers this before you starting throwing around 'class action lawsuit'?

 

[boomerang]

Before going postal maybe you should verify that what you think they're implying is what they're actually doing. I highly doubt that Citi is going to issue you a CC with no intervention on your part.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Before going postal maybe you should verify that what you think they're implying is what they're actually doing. I highly doubt that Citi is going to issue you a CC with no intervention on your part.

This.

I suspect you'll get nothing more than an application in the mail. Or two. Or three. Or one every month for the rest of your life.

 

[Insomniator]

Relax. Class action suit lol. My personal data!!!!

 

[CraKaJaX]

Maybe you should tell then instead of posting about it on the internet.

Also, you agreed to let them do this when you signed their seven-page contract without reading it.

+1

Good luck with that lawsuit though. I'll subscribe and patiently wait for updates.

 

[boomerang]

Perhaps I'll be getting that same letter today. I'll be interested to see it because I'm trying to decide what path to take. The Costco AmEx is one of two CC's we use and it's the one we use most often by far. From what I've read of late, the Costco AmEx will no longer work anywhere at all on or around April 1st.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Costco, if you give out my information without my expressed permission not only will I close my account but I'll happily place my name on any west Texas class action suit against you.

Debt get's bought and transferred all the time - no one sold your information.

Nonetheless, close your account and calm down.

 

[ponyo]

Close the Costco Amex account now then. That way there is nothing to move over.

This. If you're that unhappy, you have an easy way out. Personally, I'm glad Citi and Costco will issue me a new card next year without me having to anything. It makes for seamless transition and saves me the hassle, time, and money of having to temporary thaw my credit just to apply for Citi Costco Visa.

I'm curious what perks Amex will offer me to try to keep my former Costco Amex card business. I get a new Cit Costco Visa card with better benefit = win. I get new Amex card with competitive benefit = win. I don't see how I can lose.

 

[JM Aggie08]

You probably post those declarations on Facebook trying to secure your profile, don't ya?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I just got a letter from them regarding the dissolution of their relationship with Amex. I knew about this, but the letter implies they are handing my personal data over to Citi in order to assign me a Visa credit card I don't want, need or asked for.

Sorry, when it comes to personal information I do not care to do business with Citi. I had prior dealings with Citi years ago and their anti-consumer positioning to always make you guilty for fraud before accepting liability themselves just chaps my hide.

Costco, if you give out my information without my expressed permission not only will I close my account but I'll happily place my name on any west Texas class action suit against you.

Fuckers!

Any details of which card? Any bonus for sign on?

I want to preserve my AMEX Costco credit history since it was one of my firsts.

 

[OutHouse]

Costco, if you give out my information without my expressed permission not only will I close my account but I'll happily place my name on any west Texas class action suit against you.

no you wont.

did you sue your mortgage company when they sold your loan to a new bank?

do you have a balance on your amex? if not close it and open a new amex account. but i bet you have a few grand on your costco amex so you cant just close it.

 

[Xonim]

Any details of which card? Any bonus for sign on?

I want to preserve my AMEX Costco credit history since it was one of my firsts.

Which you'll likely be able to do. AmEx isn't just going to close all of those accounts, they'll probably convert them to something else like the Blue Cash Everyday or just the AmEx Everyday.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Which you'll likely be able to do. AmEx isn't just going to close all of those accounts, they'll probably convert them to something else like the Blue Cash Everyday or just the AmEx Everyday.

....Except if I'm understanding the letter correctly, ALL of that (credit history, etc...) is being passed on to Citi.

Hence, why everyone that does not do anything will receive a Citi card without a hard credit check. It is VERY weird to EVER receive a new card without a credit check.

At the same time, I don't want a fucking new Citi card if they are going to transition it without a bonus. I would rather continue under another AMEX (to keep my credit history going), and then separately sign up for the new Costco card if it has a sign-on bonus. Otherwise, I could honestly careless. Because after this starts ANY Visa card will work at Costco. Not just Citi ones.

 

[boomerang]

I'm reading a lot of conjecture in this thread.

I can fully believe that Citi may purchase the customer base from AmEx if they come to an agreement to do so. That would fall under the parameters of the agreement you have with AmEx. But take over the balance, no way. An individuals credit history in regards to the card will transfer? Uh-uh. Not gonna happen.

You want an AmEx, fine, here are the cards we're offering and a nice shiny new hard hit on your credit to make sure you qualify. You want a Costco Citi Visa to replace your Costco AmEx? Just submit an application and we'll do a hard hit on your credit report to see if you qualify.

I think some of you are forgetting that getting a Costco AmEx was an option, not a requirement. I've already talked to AmEx and they offered me a replacement card if I wanted it. Offered is the key word. I called about a fraudulent charge but once that was settled, I got the pitch for a replacement card. I was told that they expected a huge amount of activity regarding replacement cards and were strongly suggesting it be done sooner rather than later. They can't just automatically issue you a replacement card and even if they could, they'd be crazy to not do their due diligence as it relates to your financials. And Citi cannot just automatically issue you a Costco Citi Visa to replace the Costco AmEx. Once again, due diligence. Plus, I bet it's illegal as illegal gets.

Remember, we get credit card offers in the mail, not credit cards themselves.

I may be wrong about this, but if so, I bet I'm not far off.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Well that's just not right. OP, give me your credit card number and I'll get this all sorted out for you...

:sneaky:

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I'm reading a lot of conjecture in this thread.

I can fully believe that Citi may purchase the customer base from AmEx if they come to an agreement to do so. That would fall under the parameters of the agreement you have with AmEx. But take over the balance, no way. An individuals credit history in regards to the card will transfer? Uh-uh. Not gonna happen.

You want an AmEx, fine, here are the cards we're offering and a nice shiny new hard hit on your credit to make sure you qualify. You want a Costco Citi Visa to replace your Costco AmEx? Just submit an application and we'll do a hard hit on your credit report to see if you qualify.

I think some of you are forgetting that getting a Costco AmEx was an option, not a requirement. I've already talked to AmEx and they offered me a replacement card if I wanted it. Offered is the key word. I called about a fraudulent charge but once that was settled, I got the pitch for a replacement card. I was told that they expected a huge amount of activity regarding replacement cards and were strongly suggesting it be done sooner rather than later. They can't just automatically issue you a replacement card and even if they could, they'd be crazy to not do their due diligence as it relates to your financials. And Citi cannot just automatically issue you a Costco Citi Visa to replace the Costco AmEx. Once again, due diligence. Plus, I bet it's illegal as illegal gets.

Remember, we get credit card offers in the mail, not credit cards themselves.

I may be wrong about this, but if so, I bet I'm not far off.

While what you're saying sounds good on paper, I honestly don't think that's the case.

As OutHouse said, is it illegal when your mortgage company sells your loan off to another lender? Nope. I've had that happen myself, Bank of America sold it off. It wasn't an option, and I wasn't warned. Plus, the new loan company was a piece of shit that wanted to charge all kinds of fees depending on what type of payment method you use (Credit Card vs Check vs Calling it in vs online). AND Wanted fees for any kind of documentation request as well.

 

[spacejamz]

I had a US Airways credit card (issued by Barclay). After their merger with American, I received a new American Airlines credit card (from Citi) without applying for it...

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I'm reading a lot of conjecture in this thread.

I can fully believe that Citi may purchase the customer base from AmEx if they come to an agreement to do so. That would fall under the parameters of the agreement you have with AmEx. But take over the balance, no way. An individuals credit history in regards to the card will transfer? Uh-uh. Not gonna happen.

You want an AmEx, fine, here are the cards we're offering and a nice shiny new hard hit on your credit to make sure you qualify. You want a Costco Citi Visa to replace your Costco AmEx? Just submit an application and we'll do a hard hit on your credit report to see if you qualify.

I think some of you are forgetting that getting a Costco AmEx was an option, not a requirement. I've already talked to AmEx and they offered me a replacement card if I wanted it. Offered is the key word. I called about a fraudulent charge but once that was settled, I got the pitch for a replacement card. I was told that they expected a huge amount of activity regarding replacement cards and were strongly suggesting it be done sooner rather than later. They can't just automatically issue you a replacement card and even if they could, they'd be crazy to not do their due diligence as it relates to your financials. And Citi cannot just automatically issue you a Costco Citi Visa to replace the Costco AmEx. Once again, due diligence. Plus, I bet it's illegal as illegal gets.

Remember, we get credit card offers in the mail, not credit cards themselves.

I may be wrong about this, but if so, I bet I'm not far off.

My student loan debts transferred hands probably about 4-5 times before I went into payment.

 

[Xonim]

I'm reading a lot of conjecture in this thread.

(1) I can fully believe that Citi may purchase the customer base from AmEx if they come to an agreement to do so. That would fall under the parameters of the agreement you have with AmEx. But take over the balance, no way. An individuals credit history in regards to the card will transfer? Uh-uh. Not gonna happen.

(2) You want an AmEx, fine, here are the cards we're offering and a nice shiny new hard hit on your credit to make sure you qualify.

In regards to (1), it'd have to be a LOT of money. According to this Bloomberg article, 10% of the 112 million AmEx cards are Costco branded. AmEx isn't just going to let 11.2 million customers walk away. I don't know how the transition is going to be handled, but I can almost guarantee AmEx will be just doing product-changes for Costco AmEx holders with accounts in good standing. Maybe not ALL the accounts, but I'd guess if you don't have any late payments, you'll be getting product changed to something else.

And with regard to (2), product changes don't result in new hard pulls. Chase lets you downgrade your Sapphire Preferred to a Freedom without a hard pull. Citi lets you convert AA Platinum Mastercards to a Double Cash as long as you've held the AA card for more than 12 months.

Now, Citi may require a hard pull in order to qualify for the new Costco Visa, whatever that may be. But I sincerely doubt AmEx will for whatever they issue to replace the Costco AmEx.

Edit: This was in that article I linked above. I guess that makes me wrong on #1.

As part of Costco’s new agreement, Amex must sell the loan portfolio to Citigroup, a deal that the two banks are still negotiating. Chenault says the company will do whatever it can to get Costco cardholders to switch to regular Amex cards. But that will be difficult. Chenault frequently boasts about his company’s powerful brand, but Costco’s may be more alluring.

 

[boomerang]

My student loan debts transferred hands probably about 4-5 times before I went into payment.

Who's underwriting the loan? That may not be the right terminology because I'm not in the business. let me explain it this way. You qualified for the loan with the backing of a government agency should you default whether you knew it or not. That has not changed. Your loan has been sold for whatever reason to companies that earn money by servicing it. The backing of the loan has not changed.

No different for a mortgage.

When it's a credit card, it's on the back of the card issuer. That's the difference. It's a revolving line of credit. A home equity loan is a revolving line of credit. Comparing what's happening here with a loan such as a mortgage or student loan is not an apples to apples comparison.

 

[ponyo]

From the letter Costco sent me few days ago:

"Costco American Express Card holders need not apply for any new credit cards nor take any other immediate action regarding their Costco American Express Card(s). We want to assure you that Costco, Citi, and Visa are focused on making the transition to our new co-branded credit card as seamless as possible."

From the FAQs in the back of that letter:

"Will I need to apply for the new Costco Visa Card if I already have the Costco American Express Card?"
"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."


I've had many credit cards over the years. Some of the cards were sold by the issuing bank to another bank. Some changed from Visa to Mastercard or vice versa but I never had to apply for the new card. The new card was automatically sent to me. Couple of cards I did have the option to opt out if I didn't want the new card. Some came with credit increase. Given what Costco told us, I expect to receive a new Citi Costco Visa card without having to apply. Really, this isn't a big deal. It's just another card in sea of cards.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

From the letter Costco sent me few days ago:

"Costco American Express Card holders need not apply for any new credit cards nor take any other immediate action regarding their Costco American Express Card(s). We want to assure you that Costco, Citi, and Visa are focused on making the transition to our new co-branded credit card as seamless as possible."

From the FAQs in the back of that letter:

"Will I need to apply for the new Costco Visa Card if I already have the Costco American Express Card?"
"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."


I've had many credit cards over the years. Some of the cards were sold by the issuing bank to another bank. Some changed from Visa to Mastercard or vice versa but I never had to apply for the new card. The new card was automatically sent to me. Couple of cards I did have the option to opt out if I didn't want the new card. Some came with credit increase. Given what Costco told us, I expect to receive a new Citi Costco Visa card without having to apply. Really, this isn't a big deal. It's just another card in sea of cards.

Yes, but why do you want it to transition to the new card if it say... has a sign-on bonus? You won't be given the sign-on bonus since it's not a normal application.

Oh and since you already have the card (through AMEX transitioning it), you are no longer eligible for a sign on bonus. Congrats!

That's the only issue I have as well as preserving my credit history.