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If you have a Costco credit card from Citi, we have some unwelcome news to report. I — along with other cardholders — received a notice that Citi is removing the extended warranty benefit from these credit cards in early 2023.
Here’s a look at what’s happening with the extended warranty protection offered on Citi’s Costco credit cards and how this change might affect you.
What is extended warranty protection?
Extended warranty protection adds time to a qualifying warranty, giving you more time to enjoy protection on your valuable purchases. This benefit can help to cover the costs of repairing or replacing an item when you’ve purchased it with a credit card that offers extended warranty protection. Depending on the card you use, you can add an extra year or two to the length of your warranty.
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Presently, both the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi and Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi offer extended warranty protection, adding 24 months to manufacturers’ warranties — up to a seven-year total coverage limit. There’s a maximum of $10,000 per claim, reimbursing up to this amount or the cost to repair or replace an item — whichever is less.
Related: How an often overlooked credit card benefit put $1,400 back in my wallet
It’s important to note that most extended warranty benefits don’t cover things like boats, housing or antiques. Coverage extends only to the purchased item, not anything that becomes damaged when this item stops working. For example: If you had a laptop covered by the extended warranty protection, you couldn’t file a claim for a desk that was burned when your laptop’s battery overheated — unless you also purchased that desk with a credit card offering extended warranty protection.
When does extended warranty protection end?
Many Citi Costco Visa cardholders received notice recently that their cards are losing the extended warranty protection as of Jan. 22. Even if you haven’t received this notice in the mail, this change still applies to you.
If you haven’t received a notice from Citi, there’s still a way to find it online. When logging in to your Citi account and navigating to the card benefits page, click on your Costco credit card. You’ll then receive this pop-up message:
A pop-up window provides notification about the extended warranty changes. CITI.COM
You’ll also notice that the left side of the image above shows two different benefits guides for cardholders: one that’s effective now through Jan. 22, and another guide that takes effect on that date. And while the notice I received in the mail and on Citi’s website mentioned only my Costco Anywhere Visa card, a spokesperson for Citi confirmed this benefit will also be removed from the Costco Anywhere Visa Business card.
This move follows Citi removing nearly all shopping and travel protections from its credit cards in 2019. Extended warranty protection was one of the few benefits that survived these cuts in 2019 — and even then only survived on some credit cards.
How your existing coverage is affected
If you have made purchases with your Costco credit card, your extended warranty protection is not affected. Until Jan. 22, when this benefit is removed, all purchases will continue to be covered as they have been until now.
On Jan. 22, new purchases will stop receiving extended warranty protection. However, if you used your Costco credit card to make an eligible purchase in 2020, for example, your extended warranty benefit on previous purchases will not be affected. You will continue to receive an additional 24 months on top of the manufacturer’s warranty — up to a maximum coverage period of seven years from the date of purchase.
Related: The best credit cards for extended warranties
For covered purchases, the claims process will not be affected even after new purchases stop receiving extended warranty protection.
Bottom line
Citi’s credit cards lack many of the travel and shopping protections available from other issuers. What few benefits survived the massive cuts we saw in 2019 will be further reduced on Jan. 22, when the Costco Anywhere Visa and Costco Anywhere Visa Business lose extended warranty protections.
On Jan. 22, we’ll check Citi’s credit card benefits to see if any other cardholder perks have disappeared and will provide updates if needed.
