Costco Membership - Over $50 in Savings - New Members Only

Quote from akoforever22 : Question! 1. My mom and brother are costco members but I am not...my mom never goes alone and always goes with my brother anyways...Is there anyway for my mom to switch her card to my name so I don't have to buy my own membership? I just want to use it to buy cheap lunches (1.50 hotdogs and 10 pizza) but they don't always let me in to go to the food court without a card.

Just tell them:

A. My mom (friend, uncle, whatever) went inside already, I am with them

B. I'm going to buy alcohol (assuming you're at least 21, or look it). They have to let non-members buy alcohol.

C. I'm going to get a prescription filled. They have to let non-members use the pharmacy.

D. I have to use the bathroom!

E. Go in the return entrance by the exit door. No one checks for a card. Then, just wander off into the main store. This is the easiest way to get in, if you're worried about getting hassled at the entrance.

F. Go to a Costco that has an outside cafe, half of the ones near me are outdoors.

G. Have your mom go to customer svc and tell them she "lost" her card. They'll issue a new one, and you can use the old one to gain entrance. Just don't try to use it to buy anything except going to the food court, and to buy gas (no one checks whose card it is at the gas pumps).

Any one of these things could work, and will. I don't even bother taking my card out most of the time. Just wait and follow behind anyone going in, the door person will assume you are with them.

Quote from Roundabout : I don't think they could force you to buy the membership, they just refuse to sell you anything, confiscate the card, and tell you if you want to purchase anything you must buy membership. I was able to have free membership for almost 10 years using a friends extra card, but when they starting hassling people at the self-check line (it was easy up until then, since no one looked at the physical card) I decided to join by splitting membership with another friend. I don't live at the same address (or even in the same town) but made a fake "proof" like I mentioned in my post.

I saw a guy was pressured to join cuz he didn't wanna deal with the humiliation in front of other shoppers.

For those who plan to use your brother/sister card, pay ONLY CASH.

Quote from SAN_MARINO : I saw a guy was pressured to join cuz he didn't wanna deal with the humiliation in front of everybody.

Maybe, if he felt embarrased enough. If it happened to me, I'd just walk out and go join Sam's Club. And tell them why.

BTW: I mentioned this earlier, but Sam's won't "out" you, if you use someone else's card. They don't like it, but they won't confiscate the card for it. They might tell you that you need to get your own membership, but they will still sell you whatever you have that day. This happened to a friend of mine that I loaned my Sam's card to. 98% of the time, they don't even look at the name or photo on the card.

Quote from SAN_MARINO : For those who plan to use your brother/sister card, pay ONLY CASH.

That won't work, either, if the cashier is strict (and many are). They'll ask to see I.D. and if you can't produce it, they won't proceed with the transaction. I've run into some cashiers like that in the past, when I was using someone else's card. Then they'll try to take the card away on top of it. So what you suggest might or might not work, depending on the cashier's mood that day. And some are real jerks about it.

Quote from IreneW6215 : yes its exactly the same. pretty sure they are even manufacturerd in the same plant just bottled separately. both are 5x distilled and made in france i used to buy it all the time

lol I'd be very surprised if this was the case. If you have proof lay it out there?

Quote from Roundabout : That won't work, either, if the cashier is strict (any many are). They'll ask to see I.D. and if you can't produce it, they won't proceed with the transaction. I've run into some cashiers like that in the past, when I was using someone else's card. Then they'll try to take the card away on top of it. So what you suggest might or might not work, depending on the cashier's mood that day. And some are real jerks about it.

Agreed with some jerk/bitch cashiers. I guess your Costco is not busy as mine. They have no time to check ID on the weekend, not sure on the weekday though.

Best thing is to bring the REAL member and just pay him/her cash to pay the stuffs.

Quote from jawshoeaw : Depends on where you live. Where I live, (secret base) Costco is more expensive for groceries with a few odd exceptions like maple syrup and organic olive oil. Random stuff like that. Not worth a membership for me - I cancelled several years ago and have saved hundreds of dollars in membership fees. I have relatives who pick me up the occasional odd thing like the maple syrup. The real unslick thing about "CostMo" as we call it, if you watch how almost everyone there shops - is the impulse buys. I "cart watch" and people watch at CostMo sometimes - it's an interesting place to visit. Also, many of their products come in higher quantities than you might normally buy. For the average human brain, this means you eat more of it. At my local grocery store, the smaller boxes of many common groceries are actually cheaper per ounce/pound/whatever than larger ones so you can't even assume the price is better on Costco's giant packs. And you lose out on sales if you buy in bulk. But that maple syrup, man, it's like half price.

Quote from cantalup : it is not, but... if you share the buying with your roomates/friends and split the cost.. you save $$ We joined costco after our first born child . It save some $$ for bulky packs from Costco. you can name it from milks and others... if you are a single, you are wasting $$ since have to buy a bulky packs....

Thank you for helping me make up my mind and saving my money!! I think you're right, they sell everything in bulk, and I live in a small apartment so even storage would be an issue.

Many others responded to my Q too - thanks to everyone involved (I was just too lazy to multiquote across several pages)

Quote from Roundabout : Just tell them: A. My mom (friend, uncle, whatever) went inside already, I am with them B. I'm going to buy alcohol (assuming you're at least 21, or look it). They have to let non-members buy alcohol. C. I'm going to get a prescription filled. They have to let non-members use the pharmacy. D. I have to use the bathroom! E. Go in the return entrance by the exit door. No one checks for a card. Then, just wander off into the main store. This is the easiest way to get in, if you're worried about getting hassled at the entrance. F. Go to a Costco that has an outside cafe, half of the ones near me are outdoors. G. Have your mom go to customer svc and tell them she "lost" her card. They'll issue a new one, and you can use the old one to gain entrance. Just don't try to use it to buy anything except going to the food court, and to buy gas (no one checks whose card it is at the gas pumps). Any one of these things could work, and will. I don't even bother taking my card out most of the time. Just wait and follow behind anyone going in, the door person will assume you are with them.

Couldn't you just say you are applying for a new membership and get in every time you go?

Quote from candies : Couldn't you just say you are applying for a new membership and get in every time you go?

Sure, that's one more possibility to use. The person at the door will direct you to the Cust Svc counter though, so you more or less have to walk over there if they're watching you. You could do that, then just ask someone at the desk some generic question (Where's the bathroom?) and then just walk toward the bathrooms and go to the main part of the store. Honestly, I don't think they really care a lot about who goes in. Since you can't buy anything without a card anyway, they aren't too concerned about it.

Easy enough to do, go in, eat samples, if still hungry, get hot dog or pizza, free drink refills. Buy booze if you want, membership not required. Note that weekends are the best time for samples, after 11 and before 5. Before or after that time, there's usually no samples.

Quote from SAN_MARINO : Agreed with some jerk/bitch cashiers. I guess your Costco is not busy as mine. They have no time to check ID on the weekend, not sure on the weekday though. Best thing is to bring the REAL member and just pay him/her cash to pay the stuffs.

You're probably right about being busy might keep them from asking for ID. But do you really want to take the chance? Not worth it, if they "bust" you. All it takes is one cashier who decides to check you out, and look at the photo. If it doesn't look like you, they might demand I.D.

Paying cash to a friend with membership works, of course, without issues.

Or, as noted before, have friend with membership buy you gift cards. It's a loophole for now, you can buy pretty much whatever you want without membership.

Quote from Roundabout : That won't work, either, if the cashier is strict (any many are). They'll ask to see I.D. and if you can't produce it, they won't proceed with the transaction. I've run into some cashiers like that in the past, when I was using someone else's card. Then they'll try to take the card away on top of it. So what you suggest might or might not work, depending on the cashier's mood that day. And some are real jerks about it.

I've never loaned out my card, but the person I split my card with loans her's out to her sisters all the time. She says it works because she is older and her sisters are also older and both somewhat resemble the low quality black and white photo on the card. I assume there's some truth to that since the only times I've ever been ID'd (I look relatively young) is when I wasn't wearing my glasses (that I have on in the photo).

Of course I wouldn't bank on that.

Quote from 7lotus : cancel your mom's membership and get a full refund. (black card=exec membership + amex card = costco/amex true-earnings credit card, google it) you can sign up for a new membership. if necessary, you or your brother may put your mom as a secondary cardholder at no additional charge. -- someone asked about free exec membership with costco/amex credit card. last year, costco had this promotion where you sign up for exec membership($110) and apply for amex true-earnings credit card (no annual fee), you would get $55 of statement credit. (don't know if it's an on-going promotion though, I checked the brochure and it says "expires Dec.31.2012") on top of this, as an exec member, you're entitled to $55 cash back every year. if you(or someone as a costco member) refer a non-member friend/relative/random person, each of you can get $10 costco cash card. (check with membership desk)

The Amex Promo has been extended until January 31st 2013.

Quote from Ananke : Wow, I forgot to add that. As an executive member, if you don't spend enough to justify the difference between $55 and $110, Costco will payback to offset anyway, guarantee. So, yes, your total executive fee plus rebate should always be $55 or less.

Yes you are right, but dont forget we will downgrade your membership back to gold star and give you a refund for whatever you paid for the executive portion, usually its $55

Quote from ctown209 : The Amex Promo has been extended until January 31st 2013.

AMEX TrueEarnings gives $20 or $25 back if you open the executive membership now.