Costco Extends the Manufacturer Warranties on Major Appliances 1 Year
Update: The Costco Anywhere Visa no longer adds a 2-year extended warranty to major appliances that are purchased at Costco with the card, but Costco still adds a 2nd year extended warranty to appliances through Costco concierge, free of charge. I’ll cover the current Costco appliance return policy, the old 2-year Costco Anywhere Visa appliance warranty extension, the Costco appliance warranty 2nd year extension, and how to make a warranty claim in this article.
Long-time readers may recall my cheap DIY kitchen renovation a few years back. As part of the renovation, we upgraded our appliances – or, so we thought. I had spent a good amount of time researching consumer reviews of appliances before making my picks, but just over 3 years after that renovation, we were frustrated to find ourselves with a useless, dead dishwasher.
My first instinct was to check the manufacturer’s warranty to find out if a repair and replacement would be covered. Unfortunately, the full warranty coverage was only a year, as is the case with most major appliance manufacturer warranties (some manufacturer’s extend that to cover a limited selection of parts for longer periods, but most have a full warranty of just one year). After that, the manufacturer claims zero responsibility if the appliance stops working. You’re on your own for any parts uncovered parts, service, or unit replacement.
My next step was to try to troubleshoot the issue and even replace a key part that was often cited for breaking down. That didn’t work either, and I eventually came to the sad conclusion that the motor on the unit had died. Instead of syncing hundreds into a new motor and a service visit on a dishwasher that was <$300 to begin with, I decided to cut my losses and shop for a new dishwasher from a different manufacturer.
As a Costco member, I was surprised to see that Costco was offering an extensive selection of dishwashers (they didn’t a few years back, and I can’t recall ever seeing appliances in store) and a few of the models I had narrowed my search down to were being sold at Costco.com. Costco was not only offering similar prices as other retailers, but I was excited to find that delivery, installation, and haul-away of the old unit was free in my state. I could handle all 3 of those on my own at no charge, but if you’re not so inclined, this can add up to hundreds in added charges at other retailers (and it will save me some time).
The Current Costco Appliance Warranty Adds 1 Year to the Manufacturer’s Warranty, For Free
I was even more excited to find details on Costco’s extended warranty on appliance product pages:
The extended appliance warranty applies to not only dishwashers, but other major appliances, TVs, non-tablet computers, and more. Costco concierge states:
Costco extends the manufacturer’s warranty on the following items for up to 2 years from the date of warehouse purchase or date of delivery if the item was purchased online:
- Televisions
- Projectors
- Computers*
- Major Appliances†
†Refrigerators (above 10 cu. ft.), freezers, ranges, cooktops, over-the-range microwaves, dishwashers, water heaters, washers and dryers.
How to Use the Costco Appliance Warranty
Costco has a very lenient return policy (90 days on major appliances), but ff you have an appliance warranty claim in the first year and cannot return the item, you will need to contact the manufacturer. In order to use the Costco extended appliance warranty in the 2nd year of ownership, you must call Costco Technical and Warranty Service at 1-866-861-0450 for warranty information and assistance. Costco states,
Costco reserves the right to fulfill the second-year warranty obligation through, at Costco’s choosing, repair, replacement, or a refund up to the purchase price.
The Costco Anywhere Visa 2-Year Extended Appliance Warranty Ended January 22, 2023
The Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi previously had a great additional 2-year extended warranty on top of the Costco 2nd year (making 4 years total), which is partly why it was the best credit card for Costco use. Costco Concierge (used to) state:
In addition to your Costco Concierge Warranty, if you make your purchase with your Costco Anywhere Visa Card, Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card or Costco credit card reward certificate, Citi will extend your manufacturer’s warranty for an additional 2 years. Coverage begins when the manufacturer’s warranty, or an extended warranty you purchased, expires. In no event will total coverage exceed seven years from the purchase date. You’re covered for up to $10,000 per item*.
This Costco appliance extended warranty benefit disappeared in January of 2023. The following alert showed when logging in to the Costco Visa account benefits page:
Effective January 22, 2023, Extended Warranty coverage will be discontinued and will no longer be provided for purchases made on or after that date. Coverage for purchases made before that date will continue to be available in accordance with the current benefit terms. For additional information on these changes and your remaining benefits, please see FAQs under Card Benefits.
Now, if you feel the need to add to the 2 year warranty after the change, you can purchase relatively inexpensive extended warranties at Costco – but you’re probably better off without one, on average.
Shopping for new appliances is no fun and can be stressful, but a 2nd year extended warranty for Costco members is a nice value add. And, no, this is not a sponsored post for Costco or Citi – I’m an actual Costco member who was pleased to have this customer perk. This benefit is one of many that makes Costco membership worth the cost for me (in addition to high quality store brand food, cheap Costco gas, Costco’s Kirkland dog and cat food, and Costco’s alcohol, wine, beer, and spirits.
Note: most Costco appliance purchases are available to members only, so if you intend to shop at Costco without a membership, you’re probably out of luck.
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I know this is an old article but I purchased a kitchen Applicance set in June 2022 and the dishwasher is throwing codes now. We used our Costco card to pay for the set, knowing that it added 2 years to the warranty of the manufacturers so 3 years total. Is our warranty still good? Thanks for the information. Costco keeps eliminating perks.