1200 nts = 40 usd. BTW, you can only use American Express credit cards or their own brand -but their own has teh advantage that purchases make points and that is taken off your membership or selected shopping spree.[/quote]
Wait can you pay cash? I can’t recall I always paid with Mastercard back home… or was it visa debit… I can’t remember I have lost so many memories.
Yes, you can pay cash. But the only card you can use is Amex or their own branded credit card.
In the US, you can pay by cash, check, debit card, or American Express.
1200 nts = 40 usd. BTW, you can only use American Express credit cards or their own brand -but their own has teh advantage that purchases make points and that is taken off your membership or selected shopping spree.[/quote]
Wait can you pay cash? I can’t recall I always paid with Mastercard back home… or was it visa debit… I can’t remember I have lost so many memories.[/quote]
Of course you can! Money is money! But when you run 10 thousand nt bills -which can be quite often- better have a card -for which you can apply on site, tell them you are a foreign spouse if they give you any grief.
One liter of Kirkland brand maple syrup was only $297 today at the Tainan branch.
Really? Is that maple-flavored, or all real maple, and does it indicate the grade?
It’s Grade A dark amber pure maple syrup - the real thing.
I’m sure it’s very close to the sell-by date–but I doubt it matters much for that.
Doesn’t seem to work for all items… I bought cheese that’s supposed to expire july 1 and it’s still full price.
[quote=“haokaiyang”]I went to the Neihu Costco just before closing tonight, and I couldn’t find literally half of what I wanted. No angel hair, only the whole wheat spaghetti that takes forever to cook; no nut mix, just giant containers of only one type of nut; no frozen burritos (I think they don’t sell them anymore), just frozen beef and chicken bakes; no small bags of tortilla chips (I’m afraid they’re gone too), just the ginormous bag of Costco’s chips that I don’t really like. Oh, and there was no four-flavor smoked salmon–that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that missing. I get that they switch out items from time to time for variety’s sake, but damn, it’s really annoying when you take the time to go there only to leave without what you wanted.
On the bright side, they actually have sea salt kettle chips now.[/quote]
i saw mixed nuts at neihu costco yesterday. on the second floor towards the back near where the drinks are. unsalted and salte.
Yeah, they’ve had those in constantly. The packaged snack nuts and much of the junk food (cookies and crackers) as well as drinks are all on 2F. The baking (raw) nuts are on 1F. I recommend mixing the salted and unsalted ones to get a light (healthy) but still salted (tasty) version.
All hear this -not good news:
Chinatrust cards no longer will work with Costco. If you want points to be deduced from your Costco bill/year fee, [color=#FF0000]you have to apply for Cathay United Bank’s Costco card.[/color]
Or hang on to your Amex card… to be confirmed if still useful…
Wow! Now what am I gonna do. Hope Cathay will give me a card since I’ll no longer be able to use the Chinatrust one there. Looking online, I believe that Amex will still be ok. (nownews.com/2013/07/09/320-2960638.htm) And it seems like the new Cathay card will be available starting next month. The old chinatrust costco card can be used (and collect points) until the end of the year, but I’m not quite sure about what happens after that. Chinatrust has a card that can replace the costco one, but I’m not clear if you must request the change or if you will automatically get it. It looks like you don’t have to reapply for it though. Basically, if you qualified for the Costco card, you will be able to have this Super Life card.
Seems you have to reapply for the Chinatrust new one, as it is AMEX co brand. I got an application in the mail yesterday.
I today’s paper, it says this new card will have quite some perks, so people won’t switch to Cathay -Chinatrust doesn’t want to lose the business, LOL>
Cathay’s requisites for foreigners are a bit stiff: income of 1.5 million a year. And still not guaranteed they will give it to you. That is the main problem of applying for any new credit card.
The 1.5 million a year requirement is ridiculous. I guess it is their way of excluding all foreigners.
Chinatrust customer service the other week told me I needed to go into the branch to discuss my card options. i didn’t know what they were talking about at the time but now i get it. I hope I can just call the customer service and get them to switch it out to the new Super Life card and I really hope it isn’t just an Amex that is accepted just about nowhere it seems anymore.
[quote=“dan2006”]The 1.5 million a year requirement is ridiculous. I guess it is their way of excluding all foreigners.
Chinatrust customer service the other week told me I needed to go into the branch to discuss my card options. i didn’t know what they were talking about at the time but now I get it. I hope I can just call the customer service and get them to switch it out to the new Super Life card and I really hope it isn’t just an Amex that is accepted just about nowhere it seems anymore.[/quote]
Well, I have almost all their co-branded cards -I would suggest you do the same, just ask for them. You can choose Visa or Master Card for Taipei 101 card, for example. You already have one, doesn’t hurt another one, they have no excuse not to give it to you, and you get points elsewhere. It is just the same credit line split into different “options”.
I think we are going to have to have a serious heart to heart with Costco about the salary requirements. It’s ridiculous.
[quote=“dan2006”]The 1.5 million a year requirement is ridiculous. I guess it is their way of excluding all foreigners.
[/quote]
And Taiwanese, too.
Would you rather they give credit to anyone regardless of their ability to pay it back?
I think they are simply being wise and not want to be like the US where they give credit to anyone and their dogs, and when they couldn’t pay it back the bank get in trouble.
I personally can do without credit cards…
I better clarify this. The 1.5 million a year rule is a specific discriminatory rule for foreigners for the Sogo card which is the same issuing bank (Cathay), which likely will be what they try to use for the Costco card. Locals can likely make $20000 a month and get accepted. If they pull this nonsense on me, I will be speaking with Costco USA.
And banks in Taiwan are like the US. They do give credit to all locals, even students whose income is not high. Just try walking out of the movies at Vieshow and see who they are getting to sign up.
Fresh California blueberries were going for NT$179 for 510 gm (18 oz) today. Not a bad deal.