[Update 2020.5] According to a DP from Feicha, Shanghai Costco shows up on Chase statements as SH Costco Minhgang and codes as Groceries, so it can trigger bonus cashback/points in the supermarket category.

An older Chase Marriott card (Visa version) used by Feicha reader

[Update 2019.9] Costco Mainland China has officially announced its accepted payment methods. Previously there was no formal statement on Visa and co-branded cards; customer service in China had only said they would work. It is now clear that all foreign-issued Visa credit cards and Costco co-branded cards worldwide are accepted! If you have immediate family or an LD in Shanghai, getting them an authorized user card for the Citi Costco card is a pretty good option. Citi authorized user cards do not require an SSN and can be managed through a separate account, which makes them quite practical. HT: Costco China official WeChat

[Update 2019.8] Based on DPs from reader xxxxx999 and WeChat reader gy, you absolutely can enter a US Costco warehouse and check out directly with a Mainland China digital membership card. Credit cards and Cash Card are both accepted. You do not need to change the country code on your number to a US one as customer service had previously suggested. Feel free to leave comments and share more experiences. If any readers have used the Citi Costco co-branded credit card in Mainland China, please also share a DP on the cashback situation!

  • If you are worried that the cashier may be confused by the Chinese name on your Mainland China digital card and the English name on your credit card, just keep a photo of your passport on your phone, or go through self-checkout directly if the warehouse has it. In practice, this usually is not much of an issue, and they generally will not think there is a problem with your digital card.
  • Below is the receipt image from WeChat reader gy using a Shanghai digital card at a US warehouse for checkout. The account shows as International, the card number also starts with 6 like the Mainland version, and the account name is in Chinese:

As onlookers in the US, let’s take a look at just how packed the Shanghai store was at opening. Shopping, trying things out, taking photos—you name it. Legend has it that if you managed to grab Moutai or rotisserie chicken, you were a winner in life:

photo credit: The Paper, Xinmin Evening News, Phoenix Real Estate
It even caused traffic paralysis in the surrounding area for a while:

photo credit: The Paper
[The following quote is from The Paper] The frenzy at Costco’s opening may be related to three factors. First, the Costco brand from the US already had strong name recognition among Shanghai residents. Second, prices were attractive: general merchandise was priced 30% to 60% below market prices, while food items were 10% to 20% lower. Third, the membership-card system itself drew many residents in to join the excitement. According to current information, one Costco membership card can be used to apply for one free household card at the in-store service desk, and each of the two cards can bring in 2 companions. In other words, one membership card plus one household card can bring 6 people into the store to shop.

As I said before, Costco’s first store in Mainland China was bound to become an internet-famous store in the short term. This temporary “closure” generated plenty of publicity for Costco. The news effect from prolonged traffic gridlock probably saved Costco China a lot in advertising costs. As spectators, we naturally hope Costco continues to grow, provide better service in the US, and open more stores in Mainland China so it becomes easier for us to get related authorized user cards for relatives and friends back home. We also hope Costco Mainland China allows the Citi Costco co-branded card and gives 2% cashback on it there as well. If you have a DP, please leave a comment!

[Update 2019.7.29] Before the store opening, Costco in Mainland China had officially lowered the price to 199RMB; originally it was 299RMB plus a 100 coupon. Now it is 299RMB with 100RMB refunded back to the original payment method, which is a bit better than a coupon (the price has now returned to ¥299). Also, to get a Mainland China Costco household/authorized card, both the primary and secondary cardholders need to go to the warehouse together. See the image below:

[Update 2019.7.26] US Costco can now also use a digital membership card! Costco has published a corresponding FAQ for this; see details here.

Here are a few points people care about or that are relevant to this article:

  • At the moment, the digital card can only be downloaded in the latest version of the Costco App. You need a valid US or Canada Costco membership and must be Verified. The minimum version requirements are IOS11.0 and Android V6.0;
  • If you want a more flattering photo, you need to go to a local warehouse to update the digital card photo. If you have a Citi Costco card, they will also renew the credit card for you at the same time;
  • At present, you cannot use the digital card to buy gas at Costco gas stations, and you also cannot scan the US digital card to pay directly; Costco only says this is temporarily unavailable. Other than that, anything the physical card can do, your digital card can do as well.

Costco’s official materials did not mention Mainland China digital cards specifically. But given Costco membership’s global usability, this new content on the US website effectively implies that holders of Mainland China Costco digital cards are allowed to enter the warehouse.

If any readers have entered a warehouse using a Mainland China or Taiwan membership, please share your DP in the comments!

Spoiler first

This article is fairly long. To keep everyone from losing interest before getting to the important part at the end, here is the quick takeaway first:

  • Costco memberships are globally usable for in-store shopping, meaning a China membership can be used in the US, and a US membership can be used in China;
  • Membership pricing differs greatly between China and the US, and promotional intensity also differs a lot;
  • In theory, a China membership card can add a secondary cardholder for use in the US, and the reverse is true as well.

About Costco in China and the Asia-Pacific region

If you live in the US, you probably know Costco, or may already be a loyal Costco fan. KUKU is definitely a Costco fan. Many readers probably also know that Costco has been in Taiwan for many years and was preparing to enter Shanghai. Back when I was about to move back to China, I wanted to cancel my Costco card and get my membership fee back, so I gave a reason that the customer service rep strongly agreed with: “I’m going back to my motherland, but you don’t have a single store in Mainland China!” Next time I can only use a different reason: “You only have a store in Shanghai, and none in other Mainland China cities!”

Costco’s development in Mainland China (partial credit: wikipedia):

  • In October 2014, Costco officially announced cooperation with Alibaba Group and opened its official flagship store on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s well-known e-commerce platform, bringing its private-label food and health products into the Mainland China market.
  • From October 12 to 14, 2014, during the first two days of the opening at Alibaba’s Hangzhou headquarters, the store received 10,000 orders, including 3 tons of Kirkland nuts and 1.5 tons of dried cranberries.
  • In March 2019, Costco officially entered China, with its first location in Minhang, Shanghai, under the name “开市客,” and was scheduled to open on August 27.
  • On April 18, 2019, it launched its WeChat official account: Costco_China
  • On July 1, 2019, the Costco China co-branded credit card began accepting applications.
  • On August 27, 2019, it officially opened.

Costco footprint in the Asia-Pacific region: (credit: wikipedia)

Mainland China (1 location, not yet open), Taiwan (13 locations, where Costco is called 好市多), South Korea (13 locations), Japan (25 locations)

Mainland China store details are as follows:

Costco memberships and credit cards in the U.S., mainland China, and Taiwan

(Note: Costco officially does not define the Household Card as an authorized user card.)

U.S. memberships and credit card

We’re more familiar with U.S. Costco; take a look at this image:

In short:

  • Gold Star: $60, includes one Household Card, no additional cardholders allowed; (compared with mainland China and Taiwan, this is a bit more expensive)
  • Business Member: $60, includes one Household Card, and you can add additional cardholders at $60 each;
  • Gold Star Executive: $120, 2% cash back, includes one Household Card;
  • Biz Executive: $120, 2% cash back, includes one Household Card, and you can add additional cardholders at $60 each;
  • Note 1: If you hold the Citi Costco card, you get an extra 2% cash back;
  • Note 2: Every U.S. membership tier includes one free Household Card;

U.S. Citi Costco co-branded card

  • Network: Visa
  • Annual fee: $60 (waived if you are a U.S. Costco member)
  • Cash back structure: 4-3-2-1, no FTF; if you like Costco, plus an extra 2% cash back at U.S. Costco warehouses, this is a card worth keeping long term
  • (Note: You cannot apply for this card using a Taiwan or mainland China membership. It is also unclear whether this card’s 2% Costco warehouse cash back works across countries. DP welcome.)

Mainland China memberships and credit card situation

At present, only two membership types are offered

  • GlodStar Member (Gold Star Member? The translation feels a little off): the primary card costs 299 RMB (under $45) and includes one free Household Card! (Two cards for just 299 RMB)
  • Business Member (business membership): requires a business license. The primary card also has a 299 RMB annual fee (under $45). You can apply for 6 business add-on cards, each with a 299 RMB annual fee, and each primary or add-on cardholder can separately receive one free Household Card.

The key takeaway: in mainland China, 299 RMB gets you two cards (including one Household Card), which is a pretty strong price. There’s also a digital membership card. The only downside is that it cannot be used to apply for the Citi Costco co-branded card.

Mainland China co-branded credit card:

  • Issuer: Ping An Bank
  • Network: currently UnionPay only (Diamond, Platinum, and Gold)
  • Costco Pay: currently can only be linked to the Ping An Bank co-branded card
  • For those of us living in the U.S., this is not very useful. It earns 1% in mainland China warehouses and 0.5% elsewhere. If your primary card (or Household Card) will be used at Costco in Shanghai for the long term, it may be worth considering.
  • (Note: You cannot apply for this card with a U.S. membership. This card is actually pretty average.)

Features of mainland China’s digital membership card:

The digital card can be displayed in two formats: QR Code and Bar code. The top half includes your photo, which I won’t post here. The QR code changes periodically, while the bar code does not change (it is always your membership number). See below:

Important: this digital card may mean that you can use a screenshot of your China digital card’s bar code to enter a U.S. Costco warehouse and check out there (though it’s still better to use your own app). If this works, please don’t abuse it.

In-store payment methods:

U.S.: cash, all Visa cards (including mainland China dual-network Visa cards), Costco Cash Card (U.S., Canada)

Taiwan: Costco accepts cash, Cathay United Costco co-branded cards, Cathay United Visa debit cards, the U.S. Citi Costco co-branded card, and the Japan Costco co-branded card 【from official terms】 (online: everything except cash)

Mainland China: cash, Costco co-branded card, domestic bank cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay (the latter three currently do not support non-UnionPay cards for shopping at Costco in mainland China) 【from official terms】 (online: everything except cash; Visa is probably not supported either)

Note: mainland China customer service told the author that mainland warehouses will support Visa card payments, including Visa versions of Costco co-branded cards from all countries! (KUKU confirmed this multiple times with customer service, but we’ll have to wait until opening to see. Hopefully customer service is right. It’s possible the POS systems won’t be fully connected yet. This would be one way to use U.S. Visa cards in mainland China.)

Online payment methods:

U.S.: VISA/Master/Discover, Cash card (Visa Checkout also does not support non-U.S./Canada billing addresses)

One more note: just like Sam’s Club, you cannot replace a U.S. membership card in China, nor can you use an international membership to add a Household Card or additional cardholder across countries; the reverse is also not allowed. The China website terms list this separately as the very first item, so they’ve probably been asked about it a lot recently.

Taiwan pricing

At present, only two membership types are offered:

  • GoldStar Member: the primary card costs NT$ 1350 (about ¥299) and includes one free Household Card! (Mainland China and Taiwan are similar here.)
  • Business Member: requires a business license. The primary card costs NT$ 1150. You can apply for 6 business add-on cards at NT$ 900 each. The business primary card can get one free Household Card, but add-on cards do not have this benefit.
  • Note: if you have Taiwan ID, you can open a mainland China membership online; not vice versa, though it may be possible in person.

Taiwan co-branded credit card:

  • Issuer: Cathay United Bank
  • Network: Visa (Infinite, Signature, Platinum)
  • Features: 1% at warehouses, 3% at Costco gas stations, 0.5% elsewhere; the back of the card includes membership details (photo, membership information, etc.)
  • ＊If you hold a Costco international membership card, you may only apply for the Costco co-branded credit card, and may not apply for the Costco co-branded membership photo card.
  • Note: it is currently unclear whether Visa versions of these Costco co-branded cards earn Costco-specific cash back across regions. DP welcome in the comments!

Cross-region usability

Key takeaway: no matter which region your membership is from, you can use valid membership proof to enter any Costco warehouse worldwide. At present, the Visa versions of Costco co-branded cards from the U.S., mainland China, and Taiwan can all be used for payment in each other’s warehouses;

?If you are in mainland China or Taiwan and are about to travel to the U.S., you can register for a Costco membership in mainland China/Taiwan first, especially if you have parents, an LD, or close friends in Shanghai/Taiwan.

?A Taiwan-issued Costco co-branded card can definitely be used for payment at US Costco, both online and in-store. However, the Ping An Bank UnionPay co-branded card definitely cannot be used at US Costco. It is still possible that Ping An could launch a Visa co-branded card in the future.

?If you are in the US and already have a Costco membership, you can enter Costco warehouses in Mainland China and Taiwan at any time using either your US membership card or your Citi co-branded card, and you can also use that card for payment there (cash back unknown).

Key point: no matter which region your membership is from, you cannot use a Costco membership across regions for online shopping (except between the US and Canada)

How to Register for a Mainland China Costco Membership

Since KUKU does not know the Taiwan situation very well and cannot go to Taiwan to apply for a membership anytime soon (there are Xiaohongshu DPs indicating that Mainland residents can apply at a Taiwan warehouse, but not online), this section will mainly focus on how to get a Mainland China membership.

To help test this for readers, KUKU registered for a membership even though not being in Shanghai (my heart was bleeding).

Mainland China membership registration process:

Step 1: Register on the official website. If the site does not open, you may need an overseas VPN to access it (yes, outside Mainland China~). [Recommended VPN: Express VPN, click here for details]. You need a +86 phone number and an identity document (Mainland Chinese ID card, passport, Hong Kong resident ID, Macau resident ID, or Taiwan resident ID are accepted). If your +86 number can still receive text messages, you can apply for a Mainland China membership while in the US. The membership fee currently can only be paid via Alipay, WeChat Pay (foreign CCs are not accepted), a UnionPay co-branded credit card, or a UnionPay debit card (this requires redirecting to Ping An Bank's Ping An Pay channel and manually entering card information, which is a bit cumbersome).

After payment, you will immediately receive your card number and digital membership card. Based on what I saw, I am guessing I was probably among the first 50k people to register, so there were quite a lot of signups. The card number starts with 6000004XXXX, and the validity period initially showed until the same date next year. After contacting official customer service, they clearly stated that this would later be uniformly corrected to August 27, 2020.

Step 2: Log in to the official app and upload your most handsome/pretty/sao photo. It did not seem to require any review; it was approved immediately.

Step 3: If you need to add a household card, you need to bring your LD, best buddy, parents, children over age 18, or other relatives to the warehouse to apply. In principle, you need proof that you share the same address; if you really do not have it, staff on-site may be able to help you work it out.

Also, with the current early-bird registration, you will receive a 100 RMB warehouse coupon. In other words: 199 RMB for two membership cards, 199 RMB. Just 199, 199, just 199, that is right! The 100 RMB coupon will be loaded into your primary card app in mid-August, as shown below:

Actual testing confirms that an official China Costco account cannot be used on the US Costco website. It was already written in the Terms; I specifically tested it myself.

Summary

Overall, there is still quite a bit of convenience here, and having Costco finally open in Mainland China is ultimately a good thing.

US, Mainland China, and Taiwan memberships are actually three separate membership systems and are not linked to one another. If you are really bored, you could sign up for all three in rotation and still not be violating the rules.

For readers living in the US, when is it worth getting a Mainland China or Taiwan Costco membership? KUKU offers the following reference scenarios:

?You want to hold two Costco membership cards at low cost (with the early-bird coupon, 199 RMB gets you two cards; long term, 299 RMB for two cards, about $45, which is roughly $15 cheaper than the US);

?You, your LD, or your family members will live in Mainland China long term, especially in Shanghai (for now), or in Taiwan;

?You, your LD, or your family members will be coming to the US short term and cannot get a Citi Costco card any time soon, while spending is not high or you only visit Costco occasionally;

?You do not have or cannot get a Citi Costco card, but you already have the BofA Visa version of the Cash Rewards card (BofA 123, 2% cash back at wholesale clubs). This gives you low-cost access to Costco and still lets you earn a nice 2% cash back. Or you have the Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5 UR/USD, roughly equivalent to 1.875%-2.25% cash back, which is also decent).

(KUKU clearly remembers getting side-eye from employees when borrowing a friend's card at US Costco; some even only allowed Debit cards. Strictly speaking, borrowing a card is not allowed, but US aunties generally do not bother to enforce it. If you can, it is still better to become a member yourself.)

?If your spending is not high, you can also wait for the quarterly wholesale club 5% category on Discover it and buy a Costco cash card on the Costco website (since the cash-back Cap is $75, you can buy up to $1,500 in cash cards), or use Chase Freedom during a quarter with wholesale club 5% for online or in-store spending (the Cap is the same as the DDiscover it card) [My guess is that you can use a Mainland China membership card together with a cash card purchased in the US].

Note 1: If you are in the US and want a Mainland China membership, you need a +86 phone number to receive the verification text message (currently only Mainland phone numbers work). Download the official "开市客" app to activate your membership, but you would need to return to a Mainland China warehouse to get your household card issued. Alternatively, family members in China can help set it up for you (+86 phone number, photo, identity information), and you can then log in through the app in the US using text verification sent to the registered +86 number.

Note 2: The Mainland China barcode digital card may turn out to be something special~! It is currently unclear whether household cards will also have digital versions, but given how fast things move in Mainland China, they probably will.

Note 3: If you spend a lot at Costco, or if you like the benefits of the Citi Costco card, or prefer the benefits of the US $120 membership version (e.g. if you buy a lot of Costco gas), then you should still get the US $120 membership and apply for the Citi co-branded card~

Note 4: Since the Citi Costco co-branded card can be used in Mainland China warehouses, if it also earns 2% cash back there (still needs confirmation), then if you already have this card, it may also make sense to keep an authorized user card for your LD or parents to use long term in Mainland China or Taiwan.

For readers currently in Taiwan or Mainland China who are about to move to the US for work, study, or exchange:

If you are interested in US credit cards and do not know what to apply for, read more of this site's credit card summary and comparison articles in the menu. If you want to use the Mainland Chinese credit cards you already have and combine them with the currently very strong overseas cash-back promotions, check out our earlier post: How to Use Mainland Chinese Credit Cards in the US for Overseas Cash-Back Promotions (5%-30% cash back, up to 10,000 RMB) [2019 Q3]

We originally thought there would be many useful angles here, and after digging into it carefully, there are not that many—but for certain readers, it should still be somewhat helpful! If you have any DP or thoughts, feel free to leave a comment~

Bonus: About Sam's Club in Mainland China

Before Costco entered mainland China, Sam's Club was basically the only game in town. As the second-largest wholesale club in the U.S., Sam's Club had already been operating in mainland China for many years. While Costco was still evaluating the mainland market, Walmart took the opportunity to open quite a few Sam's Club locations; in recent years, the chain has continued to grow...

Here’s a quick overview of Sam's Club in China vs. the U.S. that readers may care about:

  • Memberships in China and the U.S. can be used in each country’s physical stores, but not online; you can only renew your membership or add supplementary cardholders within the respective region, not across borders.
  • Sam's Club stores in China accept Visa/Master cards for payment (there was a period when the POS systems were being upgraded, but it should be working again recently, so this is one of the ways to use U.S. cards for in-person purchases in China);
  • The main online partner is JD.com, so even if you do not have a membership, you can still buy through JD.com (non-member pricing is a bit higher). If you pay through WeChat Pay, you can use most U.S. cards or foreign credit cards, including V/M/AE/Discover/JCB;
  • Customer traffic: the stores offer free samples (clearly modeled after Costco, though it does feel like there are a lot of wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms...). Stores are still very crowded on weekends and after work on weekdays, and sometimes they are so packed that it is hard to get in;

After Costco entered mainland China, its first store was widely expected to become an instant viral hotspot, with more locations opening afterward. That would likely be a meaningful blow to Sam's Club and Walmart. Hopefully the two sides compete more aggressively and bring better benefits to customers in both China and the U.S.; though honestly, Sam's Club does not seem very likely to beat Costco.