Costco is raising the cost of its annual memberships, Amazon is reportedly experimenting with removing gift cards from New York stores, and Copenhagen is offering free lunches and kayak tours. All that and more in this week’s Saturday Selection, our weekly roundup of interesting tidbits from around the web. (links to the original articles are included in the titles).
Costco is raising membership fees for the first time since 2017
Years ago, a Costco GM told me that there are three constants in life: death, taxes, and the price of a Costco hot dog. In 2018, then-CEO Costco co-founder James Sinegal even asked if he could raise that famous $1.50 price point (which has been stable since 1984) a bit. Sinegal’s response? “If you raise that damn hot dog, I’ll kill you.”
Apparently, membership prices aren’t as sacrosanct as the 200 million hot dogs and Polish sausages that fly out of the warehouse giant each year. In all fairness, Costco hasn’t raised its membership prices since 2017. We’ve seen 25-30% inflation since then, so an ~8-9% increase in the cost of an annual membership doesn’t seem like a big deal. For many, the better (and much less publicized) change is that Costco will be raising the maximum annual cash back for Executive Memberships by 25%, to $1,250. For big spenders, businesses, and those profiting from gold-flipping, that more than makes up for the $10 increase in the cost of doing business.
Wells Fargo is letting Bilt cardholders apply… for a card they already have
Wells Fargo and Bilt seem to be living by the theory that “there’s no such thing as negative publicity.” In between blindsiding some folks with 100%+ transfer bonuses and free points when paying rent, the dynamic duo has squashed rumors of marital discord and cracked down on those who might “abuse” their points-earning privilege (“go PPP, yeah, you know me”). Now they’re coming after early adopters.
Bilt issued cards issued by Evolve Bank for about a year before the card was acquired by Wells Fargo. I had no idea, but it turns out those cardholders never switched to Wells Fargo and continued using cards issued by Evolve Bank (which is currently involved in a cybercrime investigation). It turns out Wells Fargo doesn’t have much interest in acquiring the “back book,” as Bilt emailed those longtime customers letting them know that their current card would be closed and that they had six months to decide whether to reapply through Wells (approval not guaranteed) or sleep soundly into that good night. Naturally, there was a range of emotions—from mild irritation to outrage—at people having to burn through a precious 5/24 slot on a card they already had. Bilt tried to soften the blow by offering all affected cardholders who reapplied a 10,000 point bonus, regardless of whether they were approved or not. This led to some particularly irritated people freezing all of their credit reports to get the 10,000 points, guaranteeing a rejection and sparing any impact on their 5/24 status. One guy I know called it “the 10,000 point middle finger.”
Free kayak tours in Copenhagen for a bike tour
Copenhagen is probably my favorite Scandinavian capital, despite having some of the worst weather in continental Europe. It’s a vibrant place full of great restaurants, inviting waterways, and plenty of opportunities for biking, hiking, and kayaking. Now, a new pilot program called CopenPay has launched, allowing people to earn rewards ranging from a free lunch, ice cream, a kayak tour, or free museum admission. All you have to do is take public transportation, bike instead of drive, or help out in one of the city’s many urban gardens (there’s a whole list of qualifying activities). It’s a fun idea; I especially like that visitors can be rewarded for helping to beautify and care for the city alongside the locals. It’s a refreshingly constructive alternative answer to some of the overtourism problems that plague so many European cities. TPG has a more in-depth look at the new program in the post above.
Amazon is experimenting with removing gift cards from New York retailers
It doesn’t take more than one glance at the ubiquitous gift card racks at many retailers to realize that they’re a popular item, both for actual gifts and for earning rewards in bonus categories at stores that might not otherwise have them. I imagine one of the most popular gift cards in the United States is Amazon; who doesn’t need a cheddar with the King Kong of online retail these days? I’ve recently heard rumors online that the company is getting a little disillusioned with selling its gift cards through third-party retailers. After all, why share all that bling with a middleman when people can just go straight to the source at… uh… Amazon? Well, it seems to be putting that theory to the test, as Amazon is now selling its gift cards from every Staple and Office Depot (and possibly other retailers) in the world. the entire state of New York (I can already hear Nick Reyes’ screams of pain from Upstate NY.) Hopefully this plague doesn’t spread beyond the borders of the Empire State. In the meantime, Your Mileage May Vary shares the gory details.
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