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Comment by IAmGraydon | Hacker News Reader

I’m not sure what you’re talking about. A Costco membership is $60 and you can pay in cash. There’s no credit card needed. You don’t have to sign up for their credit card either, and it’s not really even pushed when you sign up for membership. What gave you the impression that you have to qualify for a credit card to shop there?

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Until 2016, Costco and Amex had an exclusive partnership. You could pay either in cash or with Amex, usually the Costco Amex tied to your membership card.

Now they take any Visa card, and have converted Costco Amex cards to Costco Citi VISA cards.

The AmEx agreement was exclusive to credit cards, you could also pay with any debit card.

Oops you’re right - Amex, cash, or debit.

I’ve been a member for 10 years and have always used a Visa credit card.

There’s no credit card needed.

Until a few years ago, Costco didn't even take credit cards. They had an in-store ATM if you needed cash.

This article says they started accepting credit cards 20 years ago:

https://www.techradar.com/news/what-credit-cards-does-costco...

This isn't true. Before a few years ago, they accepted American Express credit cards. (You could also use a debit card at the check-out register.)

Before they accepted American Express they only accepted debit and cash. I remember having the American Express card and being excited that I could finally get cash back on Costco purchases and have a credit card vaguely backed by a company I trust.

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