Visiting San Francisco Bay Area Costco – March 2015

March 2015

It was an exciting weekend. I visited Costco in San Francisco Bay Area. Flying from Burbank to Oakland was just about an hour. I rarely leave my comfort zone. It was exciting and fun.

Friday: I arrived in San Francisco Bay Area late evening. The first thing I noticed was that people seemed classier in San Francisco Bay Area. We went to a fast-food restaurant for a late-night bite. Young people working there were classier than what I was used to. A bunch of high-school kids walked in for Friday night fun. It was a group of kids of mixed races. They were all well behaved, quiet, and classy. Throughout the weekend, I saw nothing but classy people. People were different there. It was strange, and I liked it.

Saturday: We took BART, a public transportation subway system, to downtown San Francisco for lunch. It was not busy because today was Saturday. But now I know how people in the Bay area commute to the big city every day.

I had good, authentic Chinese food for lunch. Then I learned they didn’t take credit cards. Pretty much all restaurants in China Town had “Cash Only” signs.

Sunday: We went to Costco in Danville (San Francisco Bay Area). The entire warehouse looked familiar, except they had an insane amount of coffees. They had about twice as many coffee varieties compared to Costco in my area.

It was cool to see San Francisco Giants’ “World Series Champion” hoodies. I felt the patriotism.

It was a glorious weekend I will never forget.

Costco Shopping – March 25, 2015

I went to Costco after work for quick shopping, and I sampled this amazing fish stick. “Please have some more,” the lady said. So, I took one more sample and took a bag home.

I thought garlic-flavored olive oil was interesting.

Costco pineapples are so good and so cheap.

I cut the rotisserie chicken in half and vacuum-packed it for later (single life 101). It’s a lot of food for one person. This vacuumed-packed half chicken will be good for several months.

Instant coupons saved $7.50.

*Photograph was taken with iPhone. iPhones take OK pictures. But picture quality is pretty bad compared to REAL cameras.

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Costco Shopping – March 13, 2015

I bought staple items such as kitchen sponges, frozen foods, pancake mix, shampoo, conditioner, toilet papers, and laundry detergent. They will last a few months. Kitchen sponges and pancake mix will last over a year.

Coupons saved $39.80

Frozen edamame & broccoli florets are quality food items. They are tasty and good for you. I would snack on these instead of potato chips.

I treated myself with turkey jerky.

No more American Express at Costco

The partnership between American Express and Costco will dissolve on March 31, 2016

Currently, American Express is the only accepted credit card in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other forms of payment accepted at Canadian, United Kingdom, and United States Costco locations include cash, Costco Cash Cards, Costco credit cards, checks, EBT cards (food stamps), and PIN-based debit cards (Interac in Canada). Costco also accepts Flexible spending account (FSA) debit cards for qualifying purchases at the optical and pharmacy departments in the U.S.

Online, Costco.com accepts the American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa cards. The website also accepts PayPal Credit accounts for payment.

As of January 1, 2015 MasterCard is the only accepted credit card at Costco warehouses in Canada.

As of February 12, 2015, the 16 year partnership between American Express and Costco will dissolve March 31, 2016, meaning that Costco will no longer accept American Express credit cards and members that enrolled in TrueEarnings Costco-American Express cards will no longer be able to use it anywhere else within the United States after March 31, 2016. There may be some leeway to this date, where the cards may be accepted beyond March 31, 2016, but it depends on what happens between the two companies in the following months. American Express mentioned that it and Costco failed to reach an agreement that would have continued their partnership beyond March 31, 2016, the end date of their contract. The department between American Express and Costco will have a large impact on consumers because Costco is one of the few large-scale retailers that only accepts American Express and not Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. However, Costco accepts debit cards from Visa and MasterCard. The TrueEarnings Costco-American Express card does not have an annual fee and offers cash back on certain tiers of purchases. American Express however, offers a deal to new cardholders, such as zero percent interest for six months, followed by a variable rate at 15.24%. The result of the termination of contracts between the two companies will open doors to other financial service companies. Although Costco has not confirmed their new and upcoming credit card holder, it has been rumored though that Costco may consider adopting MasterCard and Capital One to replace American Express.

Costco American Express Cash Back Reward

Costco and American Express are breaking up. My American Express card will no longer work at Costco next year. I will no longer receive a cashback reward check. Without a Costco cash-back reward, I have no reason to continue using the American Express card.

Anyway, here’s my cash back reward certificate of $262.03

I am crossing my fingers for good news on the AmEx alternative for Costco members.

Happy Valentine’s Day (2015)

Happy Valentine’s Day (2015).

Viagra girl says that half of the men over 40 suffer from some form of ED. But, I think most men can solve their problems by just watching this commercial (this model).

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