Costco does not offer financing plans on its products and services purchases. It offers financing options through its flagship Visa Anywhere card.
It also offers discounts and cashback rewards to its loyal customers through its membership plans.
Costco membership is fairly simple and comes in two tiers. Costco also offers comprehensive benefits and discounts to its members on its other services such as a mortgage, auto, travel, and insurance.
Let us see what are Costco’s payment plan and financing options for its customers.
Does Costco Offer Payment Plans 2022?
Costco offers its financing plans through its flagship Visa anywhere card issued by Citibank. It also offers a mortgage program, furniture financing, and credit card payment plans.
However, the key point is that Costco does not offer a direct credit facility to its customers or members. All of the payment plans and credit options are offered through third-party services.
With Costco, you can buy bulk products, groceries, household items, patio furniture, book travel plans, auto programs, and business printing.
More often, customers cannot pay in cash especially for large products like furniture items and expensive household items. You can use one of the few financing alternatives available at Costco.
Alternatives to Costco Financing 2022
The best option to get the maximum out of financing options with Costco is through its Visa anywhere card. Other options may include using the membership program to earn rewards in the form of cash or redemption through shopping.
Costco offers furniture, auto, and mortgage financing options through its partners. However, Costco does not directly support any of these financing options.
Let’s discuss each of these options briefly.
If you are a regular shopper at Costco, then its membership plans should be useful for you. There are two membership plans for individuals and one for business customers.
- Gold Star Membership
- Executive Membership
- Business Membership
All three types are covered under Costco’s refund claim. If you do not like the membership rewards or product quality, you can cancel the membership.
Gold Star Membership
This is the basic membership plan. You’ll need at least the basic Gold Star membership card to shop at Costco. However, there are a few categories where you can still purchase without the membership.
Some of the key features of the Gold Star Membership plan include:
- Valid at all Costco locations
- $60 membership fee annually
- Additional $60 for adding new users through the same membership
- Save 5% on charges while online shopping at costco.com that non-members must pay
The only drawback with the Gold Star membership is that you cannot earn any rewards.
Business Membership
Retailers and small business owners can use the business membership to purchase for resale. The applicants must additionally provide the resale and business information though.
Key features of the Costco business membership include:
- $60 annual fee for membership
- Free household card
- Eligible for purchases for resale
- Additional affiliate membership cards at $60 each
Executive Membership
The executive membership plan offers the best rewards for Costco customers. Members can enjoy additional benefits through cash back rewards and discounts on selected products and services.
Here are a few key benefits of the executive membership:
- $120 annual fee (can be upgraded from the Gold Star plan)
- 2% reward on selected products and services
- Additional discounts and benefits on Costco travel and other products
- Comes with a household card for free
Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi
Costco accepts only VISA cards at its retail outlets. For online shopping, it allows other credit and debit cards including Mastercard and Discover though.
One of its flagship partnership products is the VISA anywhere card by Citibank. Customers can use it without an annual fee. It offers competitive APR and other benefits.
If you are a regular shopper at Costco, this card can save you interest and earn loyalty rewards.
The reward program details for Anywhere Visa card are:
- Approximately, 15.2% APR
- No foreign transaction fee
- 5% on cash advance transactions
- 0 Annual fee for Costco Members
- 4% cashback on gas stations accepting Visa cards. The cashback is applicable for Costco filling stations only. The upper limit for cashback reward for an annual purchase of up to $7,000 only.
- 3% cash back rewards for selected restaurants and travel destinations partnering with Costco.
- 2% cash back rewards for shopping at any of the Costco outlets.
- 1% cashback reward for shopping at any place while using the Anywhere Visa card.
The only drawback with the Anywhere Visa card reward program is that Costco allows its customers to redeem these points during the year-end only. During the year, customers would accumulate points and redeem them at the year-end.
Costco Mortgage Program
Costco offers mortgage and auto programs as well. These programs are open to everyone, however, Costco members enjoy exclusive benefits and discounts on certain terms.
Costo offers the following types of mortgage plans through its partners:
- Conventional Loans (fixed and variable rates)
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- USDA loans
Currently, its partners do not offer mortgage refinancing or jumbo mortgage plans.
Costco members enjoy a special discount on the loan origination fees. The maximum fee for Costco executive members is $350 and for Star Gold members $650.
Applicants can easily apply for a mortgage through the Costco web portal. The approval process should be the same as you apply for any other mortgage through conventional lenders.
Costco’s auto finance is another financing option for its members. It offers a 15% discount on selected spare parts to its members. Similarly, it offers a one-time discount on selected dealer service centers of 50% discount.
Costco’s mortgage and auto finance programs are offered in collaboration with third-party lenders. Therefore, these programs do not qualify as direct Costco financing options as such.
A Special Note on Costco Furniture Financing Options
Like many other furniture sellers, Costco does not offer a financing program. However, it offers furniture discounts and sale promotions between mid-December to mid-January.
The biggest advantage of buying furniture with Costco is that it offers a very low APR of only 14% to its members. Usually, the APR on furniture sales is very high.
Members can purchase Costco furniture through its retail outlets as well as the website.
Costco Membership v Sam’s Club Membership
Sam’s club is a Walmart subsidiary. It is a similar retailer to Costco with a similar selling strategy.
Customers can buy in bulk from Sam’s club through its various outlets and an online portal. Sam’s club has fewer physical store outlets in the US than Costco.
Sam’s club also offers membership, cashback rewards, and other privileges to its members.
Sam’s two memberships plans come with $45 and $100 membership fees respectively. It means the annual membership fees for Sam’s club are lower than Costco’s two membership plans.
Sam’s club also offers cashback rewards to its members. It offers a healthy 5% cashback through its Mastercard spending on filling stations up to $6,000 annually. For other purchases, it offers a cashback of 2% with a maximum of $500 annually.
Overall, Sam’s Club offers competitive membership fees, cashback rewards, and other benefits that stand at par with Costco. However, Costco covers a huge customer base through a wide network of store outlets.
Costco also offers comprehensive mortgage, auto financing, travel, and insurance programs to its members with certain benefits.