Costco will stop accepting American Express next year

Costco and American Express are splitting

(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

published 13 February 2015

Costco members, you'd better make sure your checkbook is stocked. For 16 years, the wholesale market has accepted only American Express credit cards, along with cash, checks, and Visa and MasterCard debit cards. On Thursday, AmEx said that it had failed to reach a deal with Costco that "would have made economic sense," and that their unusual exclusive arrangement would end March 31, 2016. AmEx's stock price dropped 6.4 percent on the unexpected news.

American Express also offers a Costco-branded credit card, and those will stop working when the partnership dissolves. What will replace AmEx at the Costco checkout line? Costco isn't saying. Its Canadian operation has partnered with MasterCard and Capital One, and the U.S. unit could pair up exclusively with either one or Visa or Discover, or it could accept more than one credit card, The Wall Street Journal reports.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.