This collaborative space allows users to contribute additional information, tips, and insights to enhance the original deal post. Feel free to share your knowledge and help fellow shoppers make informed decisions.
Deal History includes data from multiple reputable stores, such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. The lowest price among stores for a given day is selected as the "Sale Price".
Sale Price does not include sale prices at Amazon unless a deal was posted by a community member.
This Instacart gift card deal is mainly useful for paying for Costco or Instacart grocery delivery, but the real value depends heavily on region and checkout path. In some areas, Costco Same Day and Instacart prices are nearly identical, while California and Los Angeles examples show much higher Instacart markups and extra service or regulatory fees. The biggest caveat is that Costco Same Day redemption has been inconsistent, with reports that new cards cannot always be added even though existing credits still work. A workable option is to start from Instacart, select Costco, and use the credits there.
Costco members who want to pay with existing Instacart credits, because previously added balances can still be applied at checkout.
Costco SameDay shoppers who need to add a new gift card at checkout, because the add-gift-card flow can reject new codes and only allow existing credits.
Often they are close, but the difference depends on region and account setup. Some shoppers see the same item prices with Costco SameDay and Instacart, while others report Instacart running higher, especially in California where Costco SameDay is around 10% markup and Instacart can be much higher.
A limit of 1 has been reported in some checkout attempts, but other shoppers were able to buy multiple cards by splitting them into separate orders or transactions with a short pause between purchases.
Yes, but only in some cases and the behavior appears to have changed recently. Existing credits can still apply at Costco SameDay checkout, while adding new Instacart gift cards has been reported as blocked for some accounts and regions.
Yes. Reports mention an additional service fee on Instacart orders, plus a $5.99 regulatory response fee and a minimum $3.50 service fee for Instacart+ pricing, while Costco SameDay often avoids those fees.
Yes. The cards are still usable on Instacart itself, but they may no longer work for Costco SameDay checkout depending on the account or recent platform changes.
At checkout, use the payment section and select "Use Instacart credits" after adding the card code. Some users also report that starting from the Instacart site, selecting Costco, and then entering the gift card code works when the Costco flow does not.
Is it true that this can't be load into Costco any longer?
They secretly remove the option without any public announcement. Now I'm stuck with $1000 worth Instacart gc, and the only way to spend them is on Instacart app with insanely high mark up.
They secretly remove the option without any public announcement. Now I'm stuck with $1000 worth Instacart gc, and the only way to spend them is on Instacart app with insanely high mark up.
$1000? You are lucky! I have about $5500 that I stashed for the entire year. I have no idea what to do with that.
1
1
Like
Helpful
Funny
Not helpful
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
$1000? You are lucky! I have about $5500 that I stashed for the entire year. I have no idea what to do with that.
Did you buy them from Costco or Amazon? Because both those merchant offers money back guarantee in the event the giftcards are not able to redeem as advertised. I think Instacart doesn't want people make bank runs like what happened to synergy giftcards that were sold at Costco.... but this move is seriously shady.
Did you buy them from Costco or Amazon? Because both those merchant offers money back guarantee in the event the giftcards are not able to redeem as advertised. I think Instacart doesn't want people make bank runs like what happened to synergy giftcards that were sold at Costco.... but this move is seriously shady.
I bought all from Amazon. That might be my way out of this
Did you buy them from Costco or Amazon? Because both those merchant offers money back guarantee in the event the giftcards are not able to redeem as advertised. I think Instacart doesn't want people make bank runs like what happened to synergy giftcards that were sold at Costco.... but this move is seriously shady.
Do you know what is the return policy of Amazon for such cases? Is it still 30 days?
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank
Quote
from FrugalAndRich
:
I bought all from Amazon. That might be my way out of this
https://imgur.com/a/9LZt3f5 for $1000 a normal costumer service rep will be able to refund you and invalidate the codes , but for $5500 you may have to escalate to a higher up. But luckily amazon has A-Z guarantee and just explain at the time you bough them they were advertised redeemable at Costcosameday.
Do you know what is the return policy of Amazon for such cases? Is it still 30 days?
https://ibb.co/LXNgVzZJ I don't think this falls into normal return procedures. anyway best luck with you. I know it's not sustainable since we were buying Costco product for less than in store price - in no way Instacart can handle that loss while still having to pay the shoppers.
They secretly remove the option without any public announcement. Now I'm stuck with $1000 worth Instacart gc, and the only way to spend them is on Instacart app with insanely high mark up.
Use at a store that doesn't have markup. Walmart for example.
Top Comments
Community Reviews
This Instacart gift card deal is mainly useful for paying for Costco or Instacart grocery delivery, but the real value depends heavily on region and checkout path. In some areas, Costco Same Day and Instacart prices are nearly identical, while California and Los Angeles examples show much higher Instacart markups and extra service or regulatory fees. The biggest caveat is that Costco Same Day redemption has been inconsistent, with reports that new cards cannot always be added even though existing credits still work. A workable option is to start from Instacart, select Costco, and use the credits there.
Common Questions (6)
Often they are close, but the difference depends on region and account setup. Some shoppers see the same item prices with Costco SameDay and Instacart, while others report Instacart running higher, especially in California where Costco SameDay is around 10% markup and Instacart can be much higher.
A limit of 1 has been reported in some checkout attempts, but other shoppers were able to buy multiple cards by splitting them into separate orders or transactions with a short pause between purchases.
Yes, but only in some cases and the behavior appears to have changed recently. Existing credits can still apply at Costco SameDay checkout, while adding new Instacart gift cards has been reported as blocked for some accounts and regions.
Yes. Reports mention an additional service fee on Instacart orders, plus a $5.99 regulatory response fee and a minimum $3.50 service fee for Instacart+ pricing, while Costco SameDay often avoids those fees.
Yes. The cards are still usable on Instacart itself, but they may no longer work for Costco SameDay checkout depending on the account or recent platform changes.
At checkout, use the payment section and select "Use Instacart credits" after adding the card code. Some users also report that starting from the Instacart site, selecting Costco, and then entering the gift card code works when the Costco flow does not.
AI-generated summary based on comments from the community. Updated ago
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!
92 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!