Costco's Credit Card Swap May Cost It Memberships

Costco Wholesale Corporation COST members report having problems activating their new Costco Anywhere Visa Inc V cards, issued to replace Costco’s former co-branded card of choice, American Express Company AXP.

Dude, Where’s My Card?

The most common complaint comes from those members who say they still haven’t received their replacement cards, even though Costco officially switched to the Visa cards as of Monday. It remains to be seen whether former American Express-Costco cardholders will simply use an alternate form of payment, try to delay their next Costco visit until they receive their new card, or choose a different retailer to visit altogether.

Experiencing High Complaint Volumes

Members have been waiting hours in many cases to speak with representatives, as Citi - the bank behind the cards - has proven to be unable to keep up with the volume of calls. One member wrote in an email to Business Insider that after calling Costco’s corporate office, he was only provided with a phone number for Citi that he’d already called.

Costco has reportedly told some members that while it prepared for the switch, Citi may not have devoted sufficient resources to it.