TrueEarnings Card discontinued as Costco, Amex end partnership
In 1999, American Express became the first and only credit card accepted at Costco warehouse clubs. The long standing partnership included a co-branded card for consumers and small business owners known as the TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express.
That relationship appears to have ended as American Express confirmed it will no longer be partnering with Costco to offer a co-branded credit card in Canada. What that means is the TrueEarnings Card is no longer available to new applicants – the card has been pulled from Costco stores and on the American Express website.
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Current cardholders will still be able to use the TrueEarnings Card as usual until further notice.
TrueEarnings card discontinued
The TrueEarnings card had some neat benefits for a cash back rewards card, including:
- 3% cash back on eligible restaurant purchases
- 2% cash back on eligible gas purchases
- Up to 1% cash back on everyday purchases – including at Costco
- Free supplementary card – that person just needs to be a current member on your Costco account
- Show your TrueEarnings Card for entry into any Costco warehouse and use it to pay for your purchases
American Express spokesperson Amanda Betti said the details of the wind-down and alternative options for Amex card members are still being finalized. As of now, Costco is still an accepting Merchant and all American Express card members can continue to use their cards at Costco.
Related: How to use your non-Amex credit card at Costco
“We will inform our Cardmembers as soon as we have concrete information to share with them,” she said.
Final thoughts
We can only speculate at this point, but it sounds like the TrueEarnings Card will be discontinued for existing customers at some point this year.
Perhaps Costco will open up its doors to Visa and/or MasterCard and start accepting those cards in-store. Or maybe we’ll see a new exclusive agreement with one of the big three credit card providers.
Related: My credit card fail with the TrueEarnings Card from Costco
In the meantime, we’ll wait to hear from American Express to decide the fate of the TrueEarnings Card in the coming weeks or months.