Costco CITI credit card

[Brat]

Watch out, there is no grace period!!

Use another Visa.

We have NEVER had an issue with a credit card until CITI.

 

[Another Reader]

I have not had that problem. It's like any other card.

If you took a cash advance, that's different. There is no grace period. All credit cards charge interest from the date the advance was made.

 

[RetireAge50]

No problem with mine either.

 

[euro]

Agree - the grace period is there if you pay by the due date.
I have actually come to like the card for gasoline and restaurants (4 and 3%cash back).

 

[Brat]

HD had it set up to be paid before the due date but it wasn't posted until the day after. CITI and Chase are pointing fingers at each other.

 

[splitwdw]

OP, What grace period are you talking about? This card works the same as any of my other cards.

 

[Another Reader]

I have the CC company pull the payment rather than push it from the checking account. That way, they take the responsibility for the payment.

 

[euro]

HD had it set up to be paid before the due date but it wasn't posted until the day after. CITI and Chase are pointing fingers at each other.

I have had this happen but they agreed to waive the fees after I called and challenged (I would have let them slug it out with Fidelity had they not agreed - Fido guarantees delivery of the cash if you scheduled it correctly so they'd have been on the hook).

I should add that this wasn't CITI/Chase but an Elan Visa

 

[audreyh1]

Hmmmm - I hope that doesn't happen to me. I have it set up with BofA to pay one day before due date. Maybe I'll change it to be a few days before.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, with interest rates of .01% you ain't loosing much dough paying early.

 

[nwsteve]

I have the CC company pull the payment rather than push it from the checking account. That way, they take the responsibility for the payment.

+1
I prefer to push payments but with our travel, not always in a reliable place to schedule the payment And, really try avoid having to "play the game" with the banks.
Nwsteve

 

[audreyh1]

BofA accepts ebills from Citi like they did from American Express, which I was very happy about. But I had better make sure the payment is timely!

 

[calmloki]

Very torn - a huge Costco believer and a recipient of totally miserable Citi service. Hoping the good of Costco can overcome the evil of Citi. Also allow cards to pull full payment each month in hopes of avoiding grief.

 

[Brat]

CITI wrote a huge book of business when they took on Costco. I think that our experience was the result of CITI's payment system being less than optimal and a weekend was involved. Costco told DH that their contract with CITI contained a provision that there is a 7 month waiver of interest which I believe anticipated possible back office issues.

The Costco customer service rep told DH that he has received several similar complaints.

We had NEVER had a late pay, so much so that DH would schedule payments just a few days before the due date. I kept telling him not to do that for just this reason but the memory of float having economic value is still a part of his thinking. He wants to close the CITI account but I have asked him to hold off, perhaps his anger will cool down.

 

[RobbieB]

I always get a late pay a year. Something always slides under a stack of papers or I just let 'em pile up too high.

My fault. That's why I try to pay 'em when they come in now. And I still screw up from time to time. Yeah, about once a year.

 

[Another Reader]

I always get a late pay a year. Something always slides under a stack of papers or I just let 'em pile up too high.

My fault. That's why I try to pay 'em when they come in now. And I still screw up from time to time. Yeah, about once a year.

Autopay will fix that. I don't use it because I monitor the accounts on line and pay them when the bill is created. But I'm paranoid and I review Personal Capital daily as well.

 

[tulak]

Autopay and scheduling payments a couple of days before is my strategy. I'm optimizing for convenience and lack of hassle.

I also make sure to check the first month after setting up autopay, just to make sure there are no surprises.

Other than that, the Costco card is our go to card for gas and restaurants. It's hard to beat 3%/4% rewards. Everything else goes on the Fidelity 2% card.

 

[ERD50]

Autopay and scheduling payments a couple of days before is my strategy. I'm optimizing for convenience and lack of hassle.

I also make sure to check the first month after setting up autopay, just to make sure there are no surprises.

Other than that, the Costco card is our go to card for gas and restaurants. It's hard to beat 3%/4% rewards. Everything else goes on the Fidelity 2% card.

+1. I do about 1 week early, just in case. I have it auto pay a set amount (larger than my typical bill), in case I forget. But I update it before the due date, (I need to check if any of these allow pay-in-full now, previous cards would only let you auto-pay the minimum).

Then I use the Amazon Visa at Amazon (3%) and my other auto-pay credit card charges. Seems less likely to get a fraud alert, since I only use it at those places. So less chance of having to update those accounts.

-ERD50

 

[OverThinkMuch]

... and a weekend was involved.

Ahem... Sue their ass!

Credit card companies have repeatedly lost this battle when class action lawsuits are brought against them, and you're already hearing many people going through the same thing. Why not see what's involved in a class action?

They demanded payment on a weekend, even a Sunday, when the mail doesn't arrive. So they can't actually be paid on their due date, making it a trap for consumers. They didn't push the due date out one day when it was impossible to pay, despite computer systems that could easily spot "it's a Sunday". They benefit, so they don't change. But when the same companies get sued twice, they can't call it an innocent mistake the second time.

Somehow they like to get away with this - maybe the penalties need to be higher? At any rate, if you don't go the "sue them" route, at least look up one prior lawsuit of this nature to use in your argument with them. Remind them of past lawsuits over this exact problems and that the credit card company lost. And then ask for fees and penalties related to the weekend due date be waived.

 

[panacea]

Hmmmm - I hope that doesn't happen to me. I have it set up with BofA to pay one day before due date. Maybe I'll change it to be a few days before.

This is what I ended up doing a few years ago when there was a timing issue. I always schedule online bill pay for a couple days ahead now just to ensure it's not late. Never had a problem since.

 

[misanman]

I pay as soon as I have the statement. Eliminates a lot of potential problems for me.

 

[RetireAge50]

All of our bills (except property taxes) pay themselves automatically. I do no manual monkeying.

 

[cathy63]

(I need to check if any of these allow pay-in-full now, previous cards would only let you auto-pay the minimum).

The Citi Costco Visa allows you to setup autopay for the last statement balance and have it pulled on the due date. So far I've had one processed on a Sunday and one on a Saturday with no late charges the following month.

Our other card (a Wells Fargo Visa) allows autopay to collect the last statement balance or current balance in addition to the usual minimum payment of fixed amount choices. I use the last statement balance on that one also and have never had a problem, though it's just being paid from another Wells Fargo account.

 

[Walt34]

I pay as soon as I have the statement. Eliminates a lot of potential problems for me.

That's my practice as well. I don't even look at the due date. Statement comes in, I sit down and write the check, and it is mailed out the next day.

 

[Just_Steve]

I pay as soon as I have the statement. Eliminates a lot of potential problems for me.

+1 as I would never give any company access to my bank account.