Costco AMEX Replacement Card

[audreyh1]

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

[Done]

I tried using the "tap and go" feature at Ulta and didn't work. Wonder where you can use it.

Tap-and-go is supposed to work anywhere the terminal shows that wave symbol. It worked at Macy's, but when I tried at Panera, it actually froze the terminal. They had to ring me up at another register (swiping the card) while they rebooted. Don't know if that was a one-off, but maybe we should all show up at a Panera tomorrow and try. I finally have an answer to "What do you DO all day?"

 

[psweath]

Searched the thread -didn't see anything about whether the restaurant rebate applies to Starbucks purchases? Anyone know? Thanks.

 

[Another Reader]

OK, now I am angry. AMEX reported my Costco account as "closed" to TransUnion, dropping my credit score 7 points. Anyone else see this yet?

 

[audreyh1]

OK, now I am angry. AMEX reported my Costco account as "closed" to TransUnion, dropping my credit score 7 points. Anyone else see this yet?

I got alerts from Equifax that the account had been transferred, not closed. I don't understand the inconsistency if AMEX is doing the reporting.

 

[Another Reader]

Did your score change?

 

[cathy63]

On CreditKarma.com, mine shows under Recently Closed accounts as "Status: Closed - Transfer/Sold" on 6/17/16, and my score dropped 5 points. The new Citi visa doesn't show at all yet, but I think that would take at least a month. Based on the way they're reporting the Amex dates, I'd say the Citi date will show with an open date of 6/20/16.

Our score is still very high, and we're not planning to do anything that would require a credit check anyway, so it's not a concern for us. I can imagine it would be frustrating and could make a difference for someone who's trying to get a loan if something like this that's out of the consumer's control moves the score across the good / excellent boundary.

 

[audreyh1]

Did your score change?

I didn't check. There are lots of things affecting my score recently.

But since Equifax was reporting it as an account transfer I wasn't worried.

 

[akck]

Just looked at Credit Karma. AMEX is shown as being closed, age of credit history went down and % utilization went up. Costco Citi not mentioned. Of course my score went down. If it works like they said it will, these should go back to where they were once Citi reports the Costco card.

 

[kaneohe]

Got my first Citi/Costco statement today and after going over it w/ fine-tooth comb am pleasantly surprised that all seems to be well. All charges are pre-change-over date of 6/20 and last payment was made manually also prior to that date. All charges/payments are reflected correctly as are all rewards.
A nice feature is that rewards are updated for current month transactions unlike AMEX where you were always a month behind. Would have been nice if the autopay feature had been automatically carried over but that's the only issue I can find so could be much worse. You can even call them w/o a horrendous wait now.

 

[audreyh1]

On the Fidelity transition - FIA Card Services AMEX to Elan VISA

Both cards are currently active. The big switchover is July 26th - after that the FIA card will no longer function. I stopped using the FIA Card as soon as I got the new Fidelity VISA.

I just got a statement closed on FIA, and decided to go ahead and pay it so that transfers will be zero. That way I can reconcile it out in Quicken and be done with it.

On the Elan website it said statement was closing on 7/14, but I looked today and now it's saying 8/12. It looks like the 7/14 was just for the FIA account (yes, that date matches), but I already have charges on the Fidelity Elan VISA prior to that. It looks like they aren't going to make me pay for those early July charges until after the 8/12 statement closes. Interesting....... Fine with me.

 

[Done]

That way I can reconcile it out in Quicken and be done with it.

I decided to merge the old and new accounts in Quicken to keep all of the history in one place. To do this, I deactivated online services for the old card, then set up online services using the new bank name and linked to the existing Quicken account. I did this for both the Costco and Fidelity transitions and only needed to correct the transition transfers and several unmatched transactions.

 

[audreyh1]

I decided to merge the old and new accounts in Quicken to keep all of the history in one place. To do this, I deactivated online services for the old card, then set up online services using the new bank name and linked to the existing Quicken account. I did this for both the Costco and Fidelity transitions and only needed to correct the transition transfers and several unmatched transactions.

That is actually what I am going to do (and did for the Costco card). But I didn't want to change until I had the old card statement reconciled. I was also trying to avoid overlap.

I wish I had figured out years ago to just replace the card number in a given Quicken credit card account when I get a new card issued due to fraud. Dumb me just kept accepting the new account prompt box when downloading a statement with a new card number. I had to keep updating my reports, and now I have tons of old hidden credit card accounts.

Well, I've wised up now. No More!

 

[Done]

now I have tons of old hidden credit card accounts.

If it really bugs you, you can still merge the closed Quicken accounts into the active accounts. Back up your file first and note your balances. Select the old transactions (except Opening Balance), right-click "Cut transaction(s)," go to the new account and "Paste transaction(s)." Manually set the Opening Balance in the active account and check your balances. Transfer transactions (card payments) come out okay but you may need to re-mark them Reconciled on each end.

It's best to disable confirmation prompts in Edit > Preferences > Register > Notify before starting unless you want carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, if you use "Move transaction(s)" instead of cut/paste, Quicken prompts for each reconciled transaction, no matter what is set in preferences.

 

[akck]

It's been almost 3 months since AMEX was replaced by Citi. Has anyone seen their new Costco card on their credit report? I have a feeling it's not being reported because it will appear as a new card on your history and not as a XX years old card.

 

[jonat]

I just pulled a report - the Amex shows as "transferred" but indeed the Citi account does not appear. It should appear at some point, but I don't know how it will be classified.