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…
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Last I knew, Costco in Taiwan didn’t take AMEX. They’re also the first place I found that refused my Visa because it didn’t have a chip on the card. I was going to argue with the cashier but my brother-in-law whipped out his Visa card to pay for it.
In any other place, I would have dug out another form of payment but I remember reading about the trouble some Formosans previously had with returns at Costco and was about to go on a crusade to educate the checker on proper credit card acceptance (“Crusade” is likely code for: Jerk who ties up the check-out line rather than carry a valid form of payment so it’s probably better than I was denied my moment of justice).
Businesses have the right to determine what forms of payment they take, and you weren’t due any “justice”.
Furthermore, the cashier doesn’t have any say in the matter. An appropriate response would have been to pay cash, then fill out a suggestion form to give your feedback to management.
[quote=“mrjared”][quote=“Icon”]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…
[/quote]
Last I knew, Costco in Taiwan didn’t take AMEX. They’re also the first place I found that refused my Visa because it didn’t have a chip on the card. I was going to argue with the cashier but my brother-in-law whipped out his Visa card to pay for it.
In any other place, I would have dug out another form of payment but I remember reading about the trouble some Formosans previously had with returns at Costco and was about to go on a crusade to educate the checker on proper credit card acceptance (“Crusade” is likely code for: Jerk who ties up the check-out line rather than carry a valid form of payment so it’s probably better than I was denied my moment of justice).[/quote]
Well, they used to take my AMEX -no cobrand, real American Express card with Greek god log- when i did not have the cobrand Chinatrust, and in their website it does say they take AMEX, plus Chinatrust is now hooked to AMEX as cobrand, hoping it won’t lose all those Costco customers. So, my point is that if they refuse your AMEX card you CAN and actually should make a stink.
[quote=“Dragonbones”]Businesses have the right to determine what forms of payment they take, and you weren’t due any “justice”.
Furthermore, the cashier doesn’t have any say in the matter. An appropriate response would have been to pay cash, then fill out a suggestion form to give your feedback to management.[/quote]
Not exactly true. Visa and MasterCard are quite explicit about the processes by which a merchant can accept/deny cards. There are local laws that may overrule the merchant agreement but some things that might surprise you: usa.visa.com/download/merchants/ … chants.pdf
Most countries, a merchant is not allowed to ask for identification as a condition of sale when using Visa/MasterCard. In United States, two states have laws that override this requirement but the other 48 don’t.
Until recently, merchants were not allowed to add a fee when people used Visa/MC.
Merchants are not allowed to have a minimum charge.
Merchants can’t refuse a card just because it’s issued from another country or has a competitor’s brand on the card (usa.visa.com/download/merchants/ … s-main.pdf). Not sure if this applies to chip-less cards but a dozen other retailers had no problem accepting my card.
“Justice” was a tongue-in-cheek reference to problems I’ve seen others experience on this site. I get amazingly good service at home and Costco is supposed to have consistent services around the globe. I’m actually a big fan of Costco so I’m disappointed when their reputation in Taiwan isn’t as good as it is back home.
Most countries, a merchant is not allowed to ask for identification as a condition of sale when using Visa/MasterCard. In United States, two states have laws that override this requirement but the other 48 don’t.[/quote]
Most countries, a merchant is not allowed to ask for identification as a condition of sale when using Visa/MasterCard. In United States, two states have laws that override this requirement but the other 48 don’t.[/quote]
Is one NJ?[/quote]
Oregon and Washington. IIRC, this only applies to Visa/MC and not AMEX. Actually, the Costco by my house doesn’t even require a signature if it’s under $200 USD.
[quote=“Dragonbones”]Businesses have the right to determine what forms of payment they take, and you weren’t due any “justice”.
Furthermore, the cashier doesn’t have any say in the matter. An appropriate response would have been to pay cash, then fill out a suggestion form to give your feedback to management.[/quote]
Time for me to eat a little crow. I just heard back from Costco HQ and was told they take AMEX but not Visa. I thought my brother-in-law was telling me I needed a card with a chip but now I’m not sure what the situation was about. Would learn more Chinese but it’s pretty low-priority when you’re only going to Taiwan every 1-2 years.
Interestingly, the cards I’ve had trouble abroad, that they couldn’t read, were the ones with electronic chip, all flat, no indentations. Old style cards with magnetic stripe only no problem.
Costco in Potomac let me pay with my old Amex, they were very happy about the 500 usd we dropped there.
Just wanted to do a quick follow-up about the Chinatrust card situation in case anyone has questions about it. I talked to them today, and I was told that the Costco card will be automatically replaced with the Super Life Card in December. You do not need to call in or send anything in to them to get it. For the cobranded Amex card, you just need to sign the application that you got in the mail, and that’s it. It’s not an actual “application”, really; it’s like a pre-approval letter where you’re just indicating that you want it, and once they get your authorization, they’ll send it out. I have no idea how they’ll be assigning limits and whatnot, but basically, you’ll be getting 2 cards in place of the original Costco one.
[quote=“dan2006”] So was it card customer service who said that we can get 2 cards, one automatically, and one amex with the signed form?
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Yes. I went into the branch to turn in the Amex form and ask about the Super Life card, and they put me on the phone with a guy from the credit card customer service that could explain in English what was going on. He said that the Amex would be sent out now, and the Super Life in December. I’ll post an update when the Amex comes in, assuming that he was correct. I think there may be a time limit for how long that pre-approval form is good for though, so I wouldn’t wait until the end of the year to turn it in.
[quote=“Icon”]
Any luck anyone with Cathay’s official Costco card?[/quote]
I plan to try out Cathay next week. Waiting on new business cards to be printed up at work (I know having them usually helps). I’ll let you know how it goes.
About a week after I submitted my application at Chinatrust for the new Amex, I got a text saying that they had received it and were processing it. Yesterday (about a week after that) I got another text telling me that they were sending the card out and I should expect in 3-5 days. So, it seems like what I was told was correct, and anyone that had a Costco credit card before will automatically get this one too as long as they want it.
As for the Cathay, I submitted all of my documents last Thursday, and I was told that I would hear back in 7 - 10 days. I don’t really have high hopes since it says on their website for the card that foreigners must make 1.5 mil a year (and the locals only need to make 200k - not even a double standard…it’s an octuple standard ). However, if I’m denied, I do plan to begin emailing Costco headquarters about it. It’s just so ridiculous.
About a week after I submitted my application at Chinatrust for the new Amex, I got a text saying that they had received it and were processing it. Yesterday (about a week after that) I got another text telling me that they were sending the card out and I should expect in 3-5 days. So, it seems like what I was told was correct, and anyone that had a Costco credit card before will automatically get this one too as long as they want it.
As for the Cathay, I submitted all of my documents last Thursday, and I was told that I would hear back in 7 - 10 days. I don’t really have high hopes since it says on their website for the card that foreigners must make 1.5 mil a year (and the locals only need to make 200k - not even a double standard…it’s an octuple standard ). However, if I’m denied, I do plan to begin emailing Costco headquarters about it. It’s just so ridiculous.[/quote]
They pulled that 1.5m a year for the sogo card but I didnt pursue it with Sogo. If they do it again with their Costco card I will pursue it this time with Costco Usa and Canada.
I didnt see the part on the website where they said foreigners need to make 1.5m can you point me to it? I was told it verbally though. Good way of getting rid of all weigouren other than the most rich.
[quote=“dan2006”]
I didnt see the part on the website where they said foreigners need to make 1.5m can you point me to it? I was told it verbally though. Good way of getting rid of all weigouren other than the most rich.[/quote]
Here it is: cathaybk.com.tw/cathaybk/ca … duce2.html
The lowest card can be given to someone with an annual salary of 20萬元, but below that, it says
4. 外籍人士年收入需150萬元以上(無限卡需200萬元以上)。
I had been talking to one of my coworkers about wanting to get this card for a while, and she believed with my work history, salary, length of time in Taiwan, etc. that I would have no trouble getting the card. On the day I planned to submit my stuff at Cathay, I showed her the information above and she was disbelieving so called the bank to make sure it was correct. The lady at Cathay told her that it was true and that she wouldn’t be able to accept my application because there was no way I would get approved. She said that the rule is in place because foreigners get credit cards and then leave the country. (Seriously how long are they going to keep spouting off this line…no one gives us credit cards, so how could we run off without paying?)
Anyway, my coworker is lovely and argued with the lady for about half an hour explaining why the rule is ridiculous. Eventually, the Cathay employee admitted that the rule was too restrictive and offered to try and get my application approved. Who knows how much she’ll actually do, but she did take my documents, and even photocopied some extra things that I had brought by that weren’t listed on the application. I don’t know why she would have bothered to do that if she wasn’t going to try and help. Now I just have to wait and see.
How does that justification even work? People who make 1.5 million NT a year can run away from debts just as easily as those who make less than that amount.
How does that justification even work? People who make 1.5 million NT a year can run away from debts just as easily as those who make less than that amount.[/quote]
The logic is that it completely eliminates the English teacher crowd which we all know are a bunch of no good transients that run away from debts. Sadly I have known many that actually did this.
Discrimination like this should not be accepted, no matter what reasoning the bank comes up with. We are legal residents of Taiwan, therefore we should be entitled to the same services that the locals get.
As to whether people will run, of course you will get a few. But how is that dealt with in the west? Foreigners with work permits might be required to deposit a sum of money for up to 2 years, but if they behave and the record is good, they will get that money back and the account will unsecure.
Instead of discriminating, the bank should be prudent and figure out the best way of making a loan without getting burned, while at the same time, not openly discriminating against a group as a whole.
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Would learn more Chinese but it’s pretty low-priority when you’re only going to Taiwan every 1-2 years.
). However, if I’m denied, I do plan to begin emailing Costco headquarters about it. It’s just so ridiculous.