Costco is raising the cost of its annual membership, Amazon appears to be trying to remove gift cards from New York stores, and Copenhagen is offering free lunches and kayak tours. All this and more in this week’s Saturday Pick, our weekly roundup of the best news from the interwebs. (links to original articles are embedded in articles).
Costco to raise personal expenses for the first time since 2017
Years ago, I had a Costco GM tell me that there are three constants in life: death, taxes, and the price of a Costco hot dog. In fact, in 2018, the CEO of Costco at the time asked his co-founder James Sinegal about increasing the famous price of $1.50 (which has been stable since 1984). Senegal’s answer? “If you raise a hot dog, I will kill you.”
Obviously, membership fees aren’t as holy as the 200 million hot dogs and Polish sausages that fly out of the warehouse every year. To be fair, Costco hasn’t raised their member prices since 2017. Since then, we’ve seen inflation between 25-30%, so an increase of ~8-9% at the cost of an annual membership does not seem difficult. For many people, the best (and least publicized) change is that Costco will be raising the maximum annual bonus for Executive Members by 25%, to $1,250. For big spenders, businesses and people who take advantage of the gold rush, that more than makes up for the extra $10 in the cost of doing business.
Wells Fargo lets Bilt cardholders apply…for a card they already have
Wells Fargo and Bilt seem to agree with the idea of ”there is no such thing as bad publicity.” In between surprising other people with 100%+ referral bonuses and free points when paying rent, the power duo has been shooting down rumors of marital discord and punishing people who want to “abuse” the right to see the score (“get down with PPP, yeah you know me”). Now, they come after the early adopters.
For about a year, Bilt issued cards issued by Evolve Bank, before the card was taken over by Wells Fargo. I didn’t know, but it turns out that the cardholders were not transferred to Wells Fargo and continued to use the card issued by Evolve Bank (which is currently involved in a cybercrime investigation). Wells Fargo doesn’t have to be very interested in getting a “back book,” as Bilt is sending long-time customers to let them know their current card will be closed and they have months t have decided to apply again. Wells (admission not guaranteed) or ease into the night. Of course, there were a range of reactions – from annoyance to anger – over people having to burn a valuable 5/24 slot for a card they already have. . Bilt tried to make things a little easier by offering all cardholders involved who use a 10,000 point bonus as well, regardless of whether they were approved or not. This has led some desperate people to press all their credit reports in order to get 10,000 points, guaranteeing that they will decline and avoid any impact on their 5/24 status. . A guy I know called it, “the 10,000 point middle finger.”
Free kayak tours in Copenhagen for cycling
Copenhagen is probably my favorite of the Scandinavian capitols, despite having some of the worst weather in Continental Europe. It’s a vibrant area full of great restaurants, beautiful waterways and plenty of opportunities for biking, hiking and kayaking. Now, it has launched a new airline program called CopenPay, which allows people to earn rewards ranging from a free lunch, ice cream, kayak tour or free museum entry. All you have to do is take public transportation, ride a bike instead of driving or help out at one of the city’s many parks (there’s a full list of eligible jobs). This is a great idea; I really like that visitors can be rewarded for helping to beautify and take care of the town along with the locals. It is a refreshing and constructive response to some of the tourism challenges that many European cities are facing. TPG goes in-depth with the new program in the post linked above.
Amazon is trying to take gift cards from New York retailers
It doesn’t take much more than a look at the gift card racks available at many retailers to confirm that it’s a popular item, for genuine gifts and rewards in bonus categories that stores might otherwise have. this one. I would think that one of the most popular gift cards in the United States is Amazon; these days who doesn’t use cheddar in the King Kong of online stores. I’ve heard chatter online recently that the company is increasingly discouraged from selling its gift cards through third-party sellers. Besides, why share the game with a middle man, when people can come straight to the source on…the…uh…Amazon? It sounds like it’s putting that theory to the test as Amazon appears to have removed all of its gift cards from every Staples and Office Depot (probably other retailers too) at. throughout New York state (I can already hear Nick Reyes’ cries of anguish from Upstate NY). We hope that this epidemic will not extend beyond the borders of the Empire State. Meanwhile, Your Mileage May Vary shares more information.
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