Update: Last day to take advantage of this offer (ends 12/31).
Groupon offers
New Costco Members:
1-Year Costco Gold Star Membership +
$40 Digital Costco Shop Card for
$60. Must purchase this promotion by December 31, 2023 to qualify for the Costco Shop Card.
Thanks to community member
tunabreath for finding this deal.
- Note: Offer only valid for New Costco Members. Limit 1 membership and Costco Shop Card per household.
You Will Receive:
- A membership card for the Primary Cardholder and one additional Household Card for anyone living at the same address, over the age of 16
- A $40 Digital Costco Shop Card (valid for use to purchase eligible product at Costco locations and Costco.com. Shop Cards are not accepted at Costco Gas Stations, Car Washes, or Food Court Kiosks.
Offer Details:- Valid only for new members and those whose previous memberships (Primary and Household) have been expired for at least 18 months or more.
- Promotional $40 Digital Costco Shop Card will be emailed within 2 weeks after sign-up to qualifying members. The Digital Costco Shop Card will be emailed to the email address provided by the Primary Member at time of sign-up.
- The 1-year membership period will begin immediately upon purchase
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I have been surviving on Costco Shop/gift cards and shopping at Costco as a non-member. I've got it down to a science now:
When it's just about your turn to check out, you just directly request the cashier to get a manager with the following reason: "I want to use a Costco gift/shop card as a non-member". This direct request shortens the amount of time they feign about not being able to check you out as a non-member.
I have a printout of this page [costco.com]. Click the second FAQ item, print it & take a highlighter to the 2nd to last sentence if they play dumb.
Here's why I won't, and why this annoys me. First, it's a high-pressure blitz when I just want to go home. Leave me alone. Second, and most importantly, Costco uses gift certificates like it's 2003. They do this on purpose though. They make make killer money on membership upgrades because they're counting on people forgetting their gift certificate (not allowed to use it online), people losing their gift certificate and not realizing they can ask for a new one, or people just not caring until it's expired. Load it onto my membership card where it can be applied to my next purchase, and I'd do it. They won't do that though because it would hurt their profits. I am too stubborn to participate in that hustle even if it might benefit me because I'm only out ~$5-$15/yr at most.
I continue to patronize them because I'll occasionally drive the 30 minutes to the brick and mortar store (in-person shopping there is still fun until I get to the checkout), but I mostly get in on bundles of discounted clothes for work each year. The convenience and savings on that alone is what pays for my membership.
tl;dr if you're buying this and not upgrading, expect to be harassed and have someone condescend to your math skills at the checkout lane more times than not
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So technically, you could have a $25 gift card and use it over 5 visits by paying $5 with the gift card and the rest with a visa card or cash. I didn't try if charging even smaller amounts like only $1 to the gift card would work 😄
To make this sweeter, you could order gift cards online with an expired membership. You may get an email saying your membership is expired, but the order goes through, unlike non-gift card orders which typically get canceled. Again, last I did this was a couple of years ago. Not sure if this changed.
So, if you don't spend enough at Costco, gift cards are a no-brainer and beat Gold membership unless you get the membership for free. If you spend enough for the 2% to accumulate (like big family, reselling their gold bars, etc.), get their Executive membership and cashback credit cards.
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In general, the membership is a rip-off for everyone regardless if you are a gold star or an executive member. This is the world we live in. With the executive membership at least I get some money back.
In general, the membership is a rip-off for everyone regardless if you are a gold star or an executive member. This is the world we live in. With the executive membership at least I get some money back.
In general, the membership is a rip-off for everyone regardless if you are a gold star or an executive member. This is the world we live in. With the executive membership at least I get some money back.
Besides other obvious spends where a membership saves such as travel and tires, you can also hit on some huge deals depending on your family structure - e.g. their clothing discounts online. I just got some decent men's pullovers and thin jackets for ~$4/ea (bought 10 of each) - these are good for the family OR (what I use them most for) gifts. I also have a few small children (including a set of twins) so when those deals come up I can buy a few years' worth of sizes just to save money in the long run.
I am pretty sure that last year I got over $1000 back in combined CB between Executive and CC; larger contributions were from 2 sets of tires (around $100 in CB) and about $125 from a trip we took (cruise).
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I believe they will refund the difference between executive and your actual CB amount if you don't hit payback. In other words, executive costs an additional $60 - if you don't hit $60 in CB they will comp you the difference. That's only the first year though I think.
https://www.costco.com/member-pri...tions.htm
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They did just stop taking Discover cards on the website this month, so that particular deal can't be replicated
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