I am sure I will have more than $300 reward on my new Amex card by the end of the year. My 3 week vacation accumulates a lot.
Re: post 257, @ClaremontMom, if you have everything set to autopay, it’s probably no different in terms of control. I still receive bills (either email or physical–whichever I’m signed up for) so I know what I need to pay and I don’t need to go to any other websites. I then just log on to my bank’s website once a month (or use the app on my phone) and pay them all at one time. Takes about 5 minutes. And I schedule them to pay on a particular day so, if a bill isn’t due for a couple of weeks, I set it to pay a couple days before the due date. I can see, however, if a utility will accept a credit card, that there’s a real benefit to that method too. Several of my utilities (water, garbage, electric) don’t take credit cards.
^^Some of mine will not do autopay but will take a cc payment.
I still haven’t received a bill from Costco Visa. I did get something in the mail today about welcoming me to Visa. I can also go online and look at my account, but I want a bill so I can go to my bank and pay it so I need an address and an account number.
Because of this thread, I called to get balance, then paid by phone.
We tried to call to dispute a charge last night and got the message, “Call volume is high. Please try calling back later” CLICK. (auto hang-up) That is ridiculous. American Express always answered their calls.
I went online today and my last payment was due on July 8 but it was on my Amex account which I paid. Next statement will close on July 12 so hopefully I will get a bill in the mail after that. I really don’t want to have to log in to VISA each month to pay. I want to pay all my bills from the same bank website. It did ask if I want to go paperless. No I don’t.
I returned some items to Costco that I purchased on the Amex card. They gave me the option of store credit or cash. Of course I took cash. I thought that was very nice.
@BunsenBurner - I found this in the information they sent us recently:
Should you choose to redeem only a portion of the reward coupon for merchandise, you will receive the remaining balance in cash at the Costco warehouse register upon checkout. Requests for cash may be fulfilled in the form of a check at the discretion of Costco.
ClaremontMom, I opened CC to post the same thing. Great mind think alike! I just got the envelope with Citi Costco Visa benefits guide out of the mailbox and finished reading it. Yup, saw the same info. Good news, indeed. No changes.
There is a price protection benefit that I will definitely try to use. 
But it will have to wait until the December clearance time, because I am done shopping until then. 
I just got off the phone with Citi bank regarding and interest charged to my account. (Remember the poor handoff between AE and Citi, the cards were activated on June 21 and the billing date was due a week later.) I logged on to my account to check it in June and saw the statement date, paid the balance and thought I was good for a month. Apparently I had one pending bill I was not aware of with incurred an interest payment of 9 dollars. (I did not notice this on my next bill) I paid my next statement in full and on time for July and I just paid my August statement which is where I noticed a $13 dollar interest charge. I called to find out why and they took me through the scenario of the missed pending charge in June. I then understood what happened to incur a $9 dollar charge but I did not understand why this month has an additional $13 dollars, especially because I paid July in full. I was told it takes two months of interest charges to clear. This was pretty convoluted to me so I had to have them explain it to me moving up the ladder of supervisors.
My July statement date was 7/27 and due by 8/23, I paid it on 8/31via bank electronic transfer. If I had paid on 7/27 it would have taken care of the $9 dollar interest charge but because I paid it one week later (well before the official due date of 8/23, the interest continued to be applied for the next month and on the whole amount of my new monthly statement. I was shocked, I am still shocked. I always pay my statements in full and on time. I can see how the first interest charge happened but to tack on another month penalty based not on the original missed pending amount of $300 dollars but the whole month’s amount and not for the week between the statement issue and the payment but the complete month seems so unethical to me.
They removed the $22 dollars from my bill because, well, lets just say I was not happy. Why am I writing this? Just in case there is anyone out there which this may have happened, check you statements.
Sadly, I can see why people fall into CC debt if this is the standard practice.
Glad you caught and resolved this issue. I am NOT a fan of Citi. I have found their customer service the worst!
I think you mean you paid the 7/27 statement on 7/31 not 8/31, right? If so, then what they did was unethical. You should complain to Costco.
It is not just Citi, it is a standard practice that in some situations, it takes 2 billing cycles to return to no interest due. Cards with minimum interest due even if the balance is one cent are even worse. Macy’s, I am talking about you.
@greenwich, yes sorry I paid it within a week of the statement being issued.
@BunsenBurner, I was shocked at this practice. I always pay on time and while I understand Interest on balances, it totally shocked me that it was not wiped clean when I paid the next month in total. And that the new charge was based on the new month’s balance that were current and not overdue. Thats just wrong. I am questioning if I should have stayed with AE although they probably may not be any different.
Wondering if Chase does this. I agreed to the CitiBank visa before realizing that you could use ANY visa at costco. I had been thinking about getting one of the Chase cards (can’t think of the name of the particular one at the moment) but it’s frequently touted as the “best” for rewards if you pay your balance off each month.
I will say, I’ve had to call Citi twice now and, both times, the call was picked up pretty quickly and the CSR was friendly and helpful. On the flip side, I really hate how I’m forced to hear all these details about my account before being transferred to a rep; both times I’ve called, the reasons had nothing to do with all the account info that was forced upon me. Felt very disrespectful of my time. AmEx does not do that, nor, IIRC, does Cap One.
Almost ALL credit cards have a 60 day cycle, so you will be charged interest on the balance over the 2 months if you didn’t pay in full. It is allowed by law and industry practice.
I have a CapOne Spark business Visa I really like, 2% back on all purchases and $59 annual fee–nice signing bonus when requirements are met) as well as a Chase Sapphire preferred visa ($95 annual fee with CDW primary coverage and travel insurance–nice signing bonus when requirements are met). I have been very pleased with both CapOne and Chase, and their CS staff.
There are many other visa options–check out signing bonuses which can be $500+!
Chase Sapphire! That’s it. Thanks, @HImom. D just got one as her first card all on her own post college. (She had one in her name from the bank she had a debit account with since she was 16 but she considers this her first “adult” one.)
Our D loves using the points we earn–she’s booked several last minute flights between LAX and HNL for 12,500 points or about $125 or so. It’s great for her to have the flexibility to book at the last minute without us having to pay an arm and leg.
I love the travel insurance and primary CDW for car rental. We haven’t had to use it yet to make claims, but it provides great peace of mind, especially when we book non refundable tours.