# Costco's "our credit card only" policy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700 "2009-01-10T19:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/21 "2009-01-10T21:52:25Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > That bit about legal tender printed on U.S. banknotes only applies to pre-existing debts. One usually doesn’t go into debt to the merchant in the course of normal shopping. > > \*\*\* Ponder I don’t mean by that bit on currency. We all know about “debts public and private”, but I seem to remember a thread here about hotels being required to accept cash, though I didn’t have time to read all the posts. Cash seems to be on it’s way out anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/22 "2009-01-10T21:58:53Z")
Woodman’s accepts cash, checks or _debit cards_\* ONLY. \*With a PIN, not signed for like a credit card. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/23 "2009-01-10T22:00:44Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Under some circumstances, requiring the purchaser to use only payment service, _and_, as part of that refusing to accept cash, could be found to be a tying arrangement. [Antitrust and Tying Arrangements - Competitive Intelligence / Competitive Strategy, by Arik Johnson](http://www.aurorawdc.com/arj_cics_tying_arrangements.htm) That’s obviously not happening here. So, to see if I understand your link corrctly, if Cosco required me to use an AE card, and I had to pay for that card, that would be a tying arrangement? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/24 "2009-01-10T22:00:51Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > At least until recently most stores that I frequented didn’t accept AmEx. Thats because generally AmEx Charges a higher percentage/per transaction fee than Visa/MC. I accept Amex at my biz, but I lose about another .7% of the total for each transaction. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/25 "2009-01-10T22:02:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Woodman’s accepts cash, checks or _debit cards_\* ONLY. > \*With a PIN, not signed for like a credit card. That’s because: > [@](#): > > Every time a consumer makes a purchase on a credit card, the merchant is charged a fee (typically 2%–3% of the purchase price, but sometimes as high as 15%) by the credit card network. The level of fee relates to the merchant’s industry and size and, most crucially, the level of rewards (cashback or frequent flier miles, etc.) that come with the consumer’s credit card. As a result, \*\*credit card transactions cost merchants, on average, about six times as much as cash transactions and twice as much as check or PIN-debit card transactions. \*\*These feestotaled over $40 billion in the United States in 2005. [http://www.tobinproject.org/welcome/downloads/RP\_Merchant\_Restraint\_Rules.pdf](http://www.tobinproject.org/welcome/downloads/RP_Merchant_Restraint_Rules.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/26 "2009-01-10T22:05:07Z")
I prefer to use a credit card, then pay the balance when due, because CC transactions are protected. True debit card transactions are not. So, no Woodman’s for me. Wassat? Like Cabela’s? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/27 "2009-01-10T22:07:37Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > So, to see if I understand your link corrctly, if Cosco required me to use an AE card, and I had to pay for that card, that would be a tying arrangement? Possibly. You’d still need to make out the rest of the elements (economic power, for example) and they could still have affirmative defenses. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/28 "2009-01-10T22:12:10Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > That’s because: > > [http://www.tobinproject.org/welcome/downloads/RP\_Merchant\_Restraint\_Rules.pdf](http://www.tobinproject.org/welcome/downloads/RP_Merchant_Restraint_Rules.pdf) I’m MORE then aware of why that do it (I do all the accounting for a small business). I was just providing an example. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/29 "2009-01-10T22:18:47Z")
Another point to bear in mind is that as a “member” of CostCo you have an interest in them doing business as cheaply as possible in order to (theoretically) save you money, thus the AmEx, debit Card, or cash payment scheme. It also helps explain the reason they limit your access into the store and a their quasi-Nazi like security procedure for letting you out of the business, reduced theft rates in exchange for a minor inconvenience to you the member. I like the fact that if you don’t do a certain amount of business with them over the year to justify a certain level of savings they will refund a portion of your membership fee. Last year I got $33 back on a $100 executive membership fee. 🆒 I also like the free munchies they set up before and after lunch. Sometimes I just go there to chow and shop, probably made up the other $67 in my cost for membership right there alone.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/30 "2009-01-10T22:22:29Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It used to be that AmEx only issued their “charge cards” directly – there was no credit and you have to pay the balance off each month. (They still do these.) > > But in recent years they’ve licensed their brands to banks to issue regular credit cards just like MC and Visa, under their “blue” line and others. The Blue card is a proprietary Amex lending product. It predates the opening of the Amex network by several years. Before Blue, Amex also issued a lending product called Optima. It has since been discontinued. Other banks in the US have only issued Amex plastic since 2005, when Amex won a landmark supreme case against Visa. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/31 "2009-01-10T22:32:12Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m MORE then aware of why that do it (I do all the accounting for a small business). Perhaps some of the other folks who are reading this thread don’t do accounting for a small business and are therefore less aware than you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/32 "2009-01-10T22:38:33Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > So, no Woodman’s for me. Wassat? Like Cabela’s? It’s a Wisconsin-based grocery store, known for very big stores. I miss Woodman’s; there aren’t any down here in Flatland. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/33 "2009-01-10T22:44:35Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > Thats because generally AmEx Charges a higher percentage/per transaction fee than Visa/MC. I accept Amex at my biz, but I lose about another .7% of the total for each transaction. And, that gets to why some merchants don’t like to take credit / charge cards. The merchant pays a fee for each card transaction to the card issuer. It’s becoming increasingly rare to find merchants who don’t accept cards; it’s now generally seen as a price of doing business, and a convenience that’s offered to their customers, though I do occasionally see a few places (notably gas stations) that offer a discount for paying with cash. But, ultimately, to get to the OP’s question…there’s no legal requirement for a merchant to take a credit-card payment. AmEx was traditionally a “travel and entertainment” card, and, thus, was most likely to be accepted at restaurants, hotels, airlines, etc. As AmEx continues to try to increase their market share, they’ve worked hard at being accepted in more places, in an effort to be used by their members as more of an “everyday card”. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/34 "2009-01-10T22:46:31Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s a Wisconsin-based grocery store, known for very big stores. I miss Woodman’s; there aren’t any down here in Flatland. Do you know Collinsville, home of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle? I passed through there more than forty years ago. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/35 "2009-01-10T22:49:43Z")
I see that the question has already been resolved and that they do in fact take any Amex card - I was going to say that I would expect restricting acceptance to one flavour of Amex to be a violation of some article of their merchant agreement with Amex. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/36 "2009-01-10T22:52:56Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I see that the question has already been resolved and that they do in fact take any Amex card - I was going to say that I would expect restricting acceptance to one flavour of Amex to be a violation of some article of their merchant agreement with Amex. Indeed it is. All cards must be accepted, and the price to the merchant is the same for all products. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/37 "2009-01-10T23:05:01Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Other banks in the US have only issued Amex plastic since 2005, when Amex won a landmark supreme case against Visa. Fascinating. Do you have more information? > [@gfactor](#): > > These feestotaled over $40 billion in the United States in 2005. That’s crazy. That’s besides the fortune they make in interest payments. It’s armed robbery. The government _should_ do something about it, because the concept of making it free to consumers but then gouging the merchants distorts incentives. All you would need is a rule like, “CC charges must be paid on top advertised price,” and you’d see how quickly the fees would drop. Also, the current system fosters descriminatory pricing against smaller merchants, which downright hurts the economy. > [@](#): > > When I shopped around for merchant accounts for a hotel I was working for, the cost of taking a credit card can be made up by one sale per month of a hotel room. For a hotel it doesn’t matter, because the sale of a room is almost pure profit. It’s a completely different situation for a merchant working on margins. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/38 "2009-01-10T23:05:58Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Do you know Collinsville, home of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle? > I passed through there more than forty years ago. 🆒 I know of it, though I’ve never actually seen it. AFAIK, the bottle’s still there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/39 "2009-01-10T23:24:41Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s a Wisconsin-based grocery store, known for very big stores. I miss Woodman’s; there aren’t any down here in Flatland. Hop on 88W and get off 23 miles west of Brookfield, IL at the Orchard exit, in North Aurora (just past the Fox River). Take a right on Orchard; Woodman’s is right there. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700/40 "2009-01-10T23:36:09Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Hop on 88W and get off 23 miles west of Brookfield, IL at the Orchard exit, in North Aurora (just past the Fox River). Take a right on Orchard; Woodman’s is right there. OOOOOOH!!! I didn’t know there was one there! A bit of a trek for groceries, but still! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costcos-our-credit-card-only-policy/480700.md?page=3)