I believe I have a Discover card because Costo only took Discover once upon a time and then got an AMEX card when they switched to that being the only card they take. I still have the Discover account but closed the AMEX one years ago.
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like a black fly in your chardonnay?
(more like crappy luck than irony imo)
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i use several cards. One each for costco, sams, amazon, dining out, and periodic billings.
Much easier to catch disputable charges when you just have fewer charges each month on each card.
Also, a charge like “Ted’s Hobby Supply” will stick out on your Costco card.
I don’t think Costco ever had an affinity relationship with Discover. They probably took it, but they always had the special deal with AmEx. It’s why when that relationship stopped and they partnered with Citi, it was a major deal because that relationship was nearly 10% of AmEx’s business.
I have been to Costco before, but never felt inclined to join. With a household of 2, large bulk purchases haven’t been a compelling reason to join.
I must be confused with another merchant then that had Discover as preferred method but I thought back in the 90s that’s why I got a Discover card.
You do have to be strategic about shopping at Costco. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest. Your selection on some stuff may be more limited. There are things that Costco doesn’t offer. Yes, there’s a downside to buying in bulk when you don’t need it / won’t use it.
The practically no-hassle return policy is absolute gold, though. No, you can’t return expired foods. No, you can’t return your freshly-cut Christmas tree 2 weeks after Christmas. (Yes, I watched someone try that.) You can however return the furniture that you bought a year and a half ago when it breaks. [We’ve done this.] There’s been several times we’ve bought something knowing if we don’t like it, we can just take it back where at other places, we’d have skipped it.
Also nice to get gas there and it’s 15-20 cents cheaper than surrounding places. That, and 4% back on the purchase is a pretty decent deal.
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+1 for the ‘Costco warranty.’
sams club had the discover card connection
I think 2022 is the year we get a membership. Just have to try to think about grocery shopping more strategically. Currently, we go to the grocery store, that is less than a half mile away, several days a week. Pre-pandemic, it was 5-6 times a week. So we don’t really plan well for our shopping trips, and I suspect that model doesn’t work well with Costco, especially since our nearest one is 20 minutes away.
Same. We have 3 grocery stores within a mile of our house so it is super convenient to grab whatever we want anytime rather than doing a lot of advance planning. Costco is about 25 minutes away.
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Obligatory Simpsons vid:
We plan out menus for the week (this is my wife who is organized, not me) and hit the grocery store(s) on Saturday. Sometimes that’s our only trip for the week, other times we run out of stuff or forgot something and make a mid week trip.
We got to Costo about once every 6 weeks on average and stock up on bulk items we use. We store a lot of canned good type stuff and stuff that won’t spoil in the garage.
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this is pretty much how I do it. Sunday is weekly meal planning and grocery list day. Fruit, vegetables, bread, anything that can spoil. I usually also need 1 (sometimes 2) additional trips to pick up fresh ground beef for dinner or if I forgot to put bread or bananas on the list or something. Today is such a day. It’s chili night, and I don’t generally know exactly what is going to go into it, so I wander the aisles and pick out what looks appealing.
I go to Costco every month, month and a half, for freezer stuff (breakfast sandwiches, Orange Chicken, thick-cut bacon, Uncrustables, meat that can be frozen and thawed again like pork tenderloin or chicken breasts, vegetables), toilet paper / wipes / dishwasher detergent, and Cheez-Its.
Pretty sure I’ve spent as much money at the snack bar as I have on the annual fees.
lol, pick the longest line that’s all single men. I do this also.
My Costco is working on catching Sam’s for in-store convenience. They now have self check lines where you have to take items out of the cart to use scanner in checkout machine and put items in weighing tray, but oftentimes there is a worker who will use the restricted-from-customers scan gun for you, so everything stays in cart.
When I go into Sam’s (as opposed to making a pick-up order which is free), I use Scan and Go app. I scan items as I put in cart and check-out/pay in the app. Door checker scans the QR code and a few items in my cart and I’m done.
I am spoiled because I live within 2.5 miles of Sam’s, Walmart, Costco, Sprouts, Publix, and Target. That order is probably my grocery $ ranking. Sam’s/WMT overtook Costco in the pandemic due to curbside pickup. Now for me in-store trips are generally forgotten stuff, plus alcoholic items.
I really like their packaged vacuum sealed meats like the 6 packs of chicken breasts where each pack has two pieces. We can grab a pack out of the freezer and have meat ready for dinner.
They generally select good products to stock. I have only had one or two really bad purchases.
You get two extra years on top of a manufacturer warranty if you buy with their card.
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I definitely stock Costco frozen ground beef, chicken breasts, and salmon at all times. Also frozen fruit for smoothies. I used to keep their frozen broccoli stocked too, but now it’s cheaper at Trader Joe’s. I might still get Costco’s broccoli if I’m there and need broccoli and don’t particularly need anything else from Trader Joe’s. Price is close enough that it’s not worth an extra trip.
I miss the frozen spinach & broccoli ravioli. The fresh options aren’t as good. I wish they’d bring that back.
Yep! 2% executive rewards plus another 2% on the credit card = 4% back on every Costco purchase. Not too shabby!
The triangles? I think ours still has those sometimes. Might just be out of stock temporarily.
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