The partnership between American Express and Costco will dissolve on March 31, 2016
Currently, American Express is the only accepted credit card in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other forms of payment accepted at Canadian, United Kingdom, and United States Costco locations include cash, Costco Cash Cards, Costco credit cards, checks, EBT cards (food stamps), and PIN-based debit cards (Interac in Canada). Costco also accepts Flexible spending account (FSA) debit cards for qualifying purchases at the optical and pharmacy departments in the U.S.
Online, Costco.com accepts the American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa cards. The website also accepts PayPal Credit accounts for payment.
As of January 1, 2015 MasterCard is the only accepted credit card at Costco warehouses in Canada.
As of February 12, 2015, the 16 year partnership between American Express and Costco will dissolve March 31, 2016, meaning that Costco will no longer accept American Express credit cards and members that enrolled in TrueEarnings Costco-American Express cards will no longer be able to use it anywhere else within the United States after March 31, 2016. There may be some leeway to this date, where the cards may be accepted beyond March 31, 2016, but it depends on what happens between the two companies in the following months. American Express mentioned that it and Costco failed to reach an agreement that would have continued their partnership beyond March 31, 2016, the end date of their contract. The department between American Express and Costco will have a large impact on consumers because Costco is one of the few large-scale retailers that only accepts American Express and not Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. However, Costco accepts debit cards from Visa and MasterCard. The TrueEarnings Costco-American Express card does not have an annual fee and offers cash back on certain tiers of purchases. American Express however, offers a deal to new cardholders, such as zero percent interest for six months, followed by a variable rate at 15.24%. The result of the termination of contracts between the two companies will open doors to other financial service companies. Although Costco has not confirmed their new and upcoming credit card holder, it has been rumored though that Costco may consider adopting MasterCard and Capital One to replace American Express.