Costco members lose access to mortgage program

One of the varied perks and services Costco members enjoy went away at the beginning of this month – the Mortgage Program.

As of May 1, shoppers are no longer able to add a mortgage application to their Costco list after the warehouse club announced the program’s closure.

“Members with questions regarding their current mortgage application and loan should contact the lender they have been working with,” a notice on Costco’s site reads. “Please see the list of lenders and phone numbers where they can be reached.”

While the big-box store might be synonymous with pallets of toilet paper, cheap gas and vats of mayonnaise, the store also offers a host of services not found in grocery stores, such as identity protection, travel planning, RV sales, auto and home insurance and more.

Up until the beginning of May, mortgages were among those services. Costco was affiliated with lenders Box Home Loans, CrossCountry Mortgage, Lending.com, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, NASB, NBKC Bank, Real Genius and Strong Home Mortgage.

Costco didn’t actually handle the loans, according to Nerdwallet. The program acted like a lending marketplace that allowed prospective homeowners to choose their lender, and offered discounted loan origination fees to members.

Nexstar reached out to Costco about the end of the Mortgage Program but did not get a reply before publishing time.