Costco locations in Canada drop American Express eff Jan 1, 2015
Sep 29, 2014, 11:34 am
#46
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 415
I think the deal probably went the other way. I think Costco Canada probably saw there were far more advantages to dumping Amex in Canada and partnering up with CapitalOne/Mastercard. That deal with Mastercard and CapitalOne came about so quickly, that it must've been in the works for a long, long time beforehand and not just as a fall-back option in case Amex backed out. I would bet that it was CostCo's intention all along to dump Amex and go with CapitalOne/MasterCard, and Amex was either unwilling or unable to offer a better deal.
Sep 30, 2014, 2:11 pm
#47
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Ontario, CAN
Posts: 5,813
Amex in the USA and Amex in Canada are two completely different kettles of fish really. In Canada Amex issued cards and Amex merchant acceptance is (obviously) far lower than in the US, where Amex cards are very common and acceptance is magnitudes higher. So one agreement ending in Canada will not neccessarily mean that another is going to go the same route.
At the end of the day it is bad for Amex Canada cardmembers, but clearly when Costco Canada placed a deal on the table, it was simply not acceptable to Amex.
Amex is not new to partnerships. Globally they have hundreds of deals and tie-ups with airlines, hotels and retailers and I'm pretty sure they fully understand the ramifications of a deal like this one dissolving and have done their sums (loss of revenues and billings, customer dissatifaction, customer attrition and so on). At the end of the day if Costco tried to push their hand too strongly and wanted to extract more value from the deal than Amex was able (or prepared) to give, well, that's what happens sometime in negotiations and parties walk away. If Amex Canada had needed to re-sign this deal at any cost, then they would have come to an agreement. Clearly they didn't.
At the end of the day it is bad for Amex Canada cardmembers, but clearly when Costco Canada placed a deal on the table, it was simply not acceptable to Amex.
Amex is not new to partnerships. Globally they have hundreds of deals and tie-ups with airlines, hotels and retailers and I'm pretty sure they fully understand the ramifications of a deal like this one dissolving and have done their sums (loss of revenues and billings, customer dissatifaction, customer attrition and so on). At the end of the day if Costco tried to push their hand too strongly and wanted to extract more value from the deal than Amex was able (or prepared) to give, well, that's what happens sometime in negotiations and parties walk away. If Amex Canada had needed to re-sign this deal at any cost, then they would have come to an agreement. Clearly they didn't.
Oct 2, 2014, 4:02 pm
#48
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Detroit; Formerly Dubai
Posts: 3,652
As a Yank who spends a fair amount of time in Canada, I wonder whether this means I'll no longer to enter Canadian Costco's with my Amex Green Biz Card. (I have a real Platinum which I charged things on to get around currency issues). Its not a big thing, but I probably spend $500 to $700 a year in Canadian Costcos (compared to 10 times that in US ones).
Oct 13, 2014, 10:36 am
#49
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Alberta, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan, and others.
Posts: 11
My spend on Amex at Costco went a long way to providing me with Aeroplan and distinction status points. Is there a Mastercard that would allow the same benefit towards Star Alliance use, or are Mastercard users in Canada out of luck. What are the best Mastercard alternates?
Nov 5, 2014, 4:16 am
#50
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SEMM
Posts: 1,379
My spend on Amex at Costco went a long way to providing me with Aeroplan and distinction status points. Is there a Mastercard that would allow the same benefit towards Star Alliance use, or are Mastercard users in Canada out of luck. What are the best Mastercard alternates?
Nov 5, 2014, 5:39 am
#51
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YYZ (YUL/LHR)
Programs: AC - E50, CX - G, Accor Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 903
Tricky to say what is the best Mastercard on the market; Visa is so dominant on the high street in Canada these days. These could be an important step towards recapturing some marketshare by MC. Nothing will earn into Aeroplan, I would have thought the Capital One Aspire and the RBC Westjet gave the best returns.
Nov 5, 2014, 6:54 am
#52
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: YUL
Programs: AC SE (*A Gold), Bonvoy Platinum Elite, Hilton Gold, Amex Platinum / AP Reserve, NEXUS, Global Entry
Posts: 5,691
Not willing to pay yet another annual fee, I opted for the MBNA Smart Cash card for my Costco purchases. I guess if someone really wanted to accumulate Aeroplan miles at Costco, one could buy MasterCard prepaid cards using an Aeroplan-earning card, but you'd be paying a fee on each prepaid card.
Nov 5, 2014, 1:24 pm
#53
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 415
I personally like the MBNA Rewards World Elite MasterCard. Mine is grandfathered as no-annual-fee from the old, long-gone MBNA SPG MasterCard, but I think you can get it as first-year-free. It is essentially a straight 2% cashback card.
Nov 5, 2014, 4:29 pm
#54
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: SAN
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, American Air, National Car
Posts: 1,131
Nov 6, 2014, 7:07 am
#56
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,955
Discussion of the relationship between Costco (USA) and American Express is in another thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...g-amex-us.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...g-amex-us.html
Last edited by mia; Nov 6, 2014 at 11:06 am
Nov 6, 2014, 11:05 am
#57
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: YVR to SEA
Posts: 2,535
Costco.ca accepts Visa. You can buy Costco Cash cards to use in-store (and the US, better exchange rate than any Amex Canada card due to AE's 2.5% upcharge)
For Americans reading this thread, buy Costco Cash cards using Amex in the US and use it in Canada no problem. Depending if your Amex has no forex fees you might come out ahead anyways.
Best miles earning Mastercard? Alaska Airlines, hands down. If stuck on Aeroplan, use the Costco.ca roundabout trick.
For Americans reading this thread, buy Costco Cash cards using Amex in the US and use it in Canada no problem. Depending if your Amex has no forex fees you might come out ahead anyways.
Best miles earning Mastercard? Alaska Airlines, hands down. If stuck on Aeroplan, use the Costco.ca roundabout trick.
Nov 6, 2014, 6:46 pm
#60
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YVR
Posts: 625
Costco.ca accepts Visa. You can buy Costco Cash cards to use in-store (and the US, better exchange rate than any Amex Canada card due to AE's 2.5% upcharge)
For Americans reading this thread, buy Costco Cash cards using Amex in the US and use it in Canada no problem. Depending if your Amex has no forex fees you might come out ahead anyways.
Best miles earning Mastercard? Alaska Airlines, hands down. If stuck on Aeroplan, use the Costco.ca roundabout trick.
For Americans reading this thread, buy Costco Cash cards using Amex in the US and use it in Canada no problem. Depending if your Amex has no forex fees you might come out ahead anyways.
Best miles earning Mastercard? Alaska Airlines, hands down. If stuck on Aeroplan, use the Costco.ca roundabout trick.