@shawbridge, I often order Lavazza also - it’s probably my go-to over all others.
Regarding Costco In Hawaii, chocolate covered macadamia nuts are something we get there. Dark chocolate are Especially great. The liquor and wine are great prices there also. A friend swears by their pre-made mai-tais in Ha, but they aren’t great if you ask me.
My Costco in Brooklyn is on two levels, with escalators for carts and customers.
Yes, they do have a few local things at Costco—men’s aloha shirts are $19.99 apiece, some of the Mac nut items are HI & CA only, I believe. They have some local snack items, sweet rolls, sometimes mochi, fish, poke & sashimi.
They also have some books written by local authors and sone Hawaiian music. Can’t think of much else offhand.
At Sam’s they have Mac nut roca. It’s yummy and nice to give out when I travel.
They used to have Hershey’s Mac nut kisses at Costco but haven’t had it in years. 
Oh, yeah, they have coffee grown in HI as well.
We have NE Patriots champion sweats etc. Not clear we have any other NE products.
How much do costco charge pure Kona coffee per pound? They cost a fortune in our TJ stores and it does not taste better. Obviously, they do not offer that in any of the Costco I have visited.
100% Kona coffee is sold in local Costco stores. It DOES cost more. If I recall it’s like $40 a pound or so, maybe less. I don’t drink coffee but am told it’s a darker, heavier coffee. They also sell Maui and s Kauai coffees. I’ve been told they’re great but no idea. I will try to remember to check coffee prices on my next Costco visit.
Just returned our rental car, rented on Costco site @$229 for 8 days in SF, including both H and me as drivers. It seemed like a very reasonable price! They to charged us a slightly higher amount when we returned the car, but when I said I’d take it up with Costco, they issued me a credit for the small overage.
“I wish that Costco emulates what Sam’s does well: 1) anyone can walk in without having to flash the card; 2) wi-fi availability; 3) self-check out stations; and 4) self-check out using the cell-phone app. I was at Costco yesterday, and I immediately missed all these four areas of convenience.” ~ TiggerDad
- The only major credit card Costco accepts is Visa. Sam's accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover and AmEx.
- Sam's has in-store (and curbside at many locations) pickup on groceries, frozen foods and case meats. Order online and Sam's does all the shopping, you just pick it up at the scheduled time - only takes a few minutes. No fee, no minimum. Costco doesn't have in-store pickup on any food-related items.
- Sam's has longer hours of operation, and early shopping hours exclusively for Plus members. Costco doesn't have early shopping hours.
- Sam's has a broader selection of brand name products.
Have any Costco CC holders (citi) paid attention to citi’s changes in their card benefits? I can’t work out if I missed something recently because I cannot imagine costco’s customers being happy with this?
“For purchases as of September 22, 2019, Citi will be discontinuing the following on cards that currently offer these perks:
Worldwide Car Rental Insurance
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection
Worldwide Travel Accident Insurance
Trip Delay Protection
Baggage Delay Protection
Lost Baggage Protection
Citi Price Rewind
90 Day Return Protection
Roadside Assistance Dispatch Service
Travel & Emergency Assistance”
https://thepointsguy.com/news/citi-slashes-benefits-on-cards/
I have never been happy with Citi and this further cut in services angers me. It’s going to hurt in terms of car rentals especially for city dwellers here who have no car, therefore no car insurance to pick up the rental insurance.
I prefer the merchandise selection at Costco over Sam’s or BJs.
I do not see Costco Anywhere Visa on that list. (that is what Costco card is called).
Dang. Now I can’t edit my post to add more?
I have not recieved any emails from Costco regarding those benefits being taken off. Not that I would care - none of that is relevant for us.
We always rent our car with Chase Sapphire because it has primary auto insurance coverage. We used it once because some thief smashed the rear window of the hatchback SUV and stole S’s backpack with his electronic goodies. I’m not a fan of Citi.
It is very hard to find how the costco card is affected, because the change popped up on my citi web page from the link on benefits.
But
“The Costco Anywhere Visa Card Guide to Protection Benefits, which is effective until September 21, 2019” is interestingly dated for sure. https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/creditcards/citi.action?ID=citi-costco-credit-card-conversion.
It is certainly something Costco people would want to be watching and vocal about IMO. I will call and clarify, the travel and car rental insurance issues are significant IMO.
From that link:
“The Costco Anywhere Visa Card Guide to Protection Benefits, which is effective until September 21, 2019, and the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card Guide to Protection benefits can be viewed via the links below. Please note that effective September 22, 2019, Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection and Citi® Price Rewind will be discontinued.”
I do not see anything regarding discontinuation of other benefits.
Yes, but that expires in sept. If Costco is being left out then terrific, but even the higher fee citi cards are affected, so it would strike me that it is something to be aware of. I would be delighted to think it is all good, but I doubt it is. More likely that this is an industry wide shift in it’s infancy. I
I’ve always had some sort of United credit card (currently have the Explorer Card) so never have had a need for using the Costco Visa card for anything except for making Costco purchases. And now that I have this Explorer card, I use the Explorer card to make my Costco purchases now.
As long as they keep the cash benefit intact, it is all I personal care about. It is a terrific benefit. Real $$ back, not some funny money points.
The citi double cash card was so good until this LOL. 2%, not Costco funny money even. But that one is really screwed by this change.
Costco Visa cash rewards can be redeemed for $$ at the store - no purchase needed. You just give a cashier your certificate and walk out with a check or a wad of cash. Not points, not some account credit. Real money that can be spent any way the cardholder desires.