Deals on Costco Membership?

[a2mom]

Anyone know of a way to save $ on Costco memberships? $50 seems pretty steep...

[♥ms.pacman♥]

don't know if they still do it, but i think i ended up getting free Costco membership by getting an AmEx card. years later it's pretty much my main credit card (i only have one other CC) so it wasn't like i felt i was applying for a cc just to get the membership. also, one year we earned like $700 cash back on that card, so it was well worth it! another thing i like about Costco is the photo center...cheap yet really good quality. i'm always getting coupons for free prints too.

[new_mom_mry]

My husband used his AirCanada miles to get one for us. Amazingly, those miles are quite versatile.

[FedBaby]

I've never heard of a discount and I've been with Costco for probably 10 years now...

[wifecat]

Anyone know of a way to save $ on Costco memberships? $50 seems pretty steep...

We got a membership through a deal at our gym (Lifetime Fitness). It was still $50, but the welcome packet contained a $10 Costco gift card and coupons for free batteries, a free chicken, and several other coupons. I know other people have gotten discounts through their places of employment or large associations they belong to.

But, even without the deal we got, the membership has been worth it. With just the cost of half n half we save enough to cover the membership, and we get a lot more there than that! We really price comparison though, because some of the stuff is a great deal, and other stuff is cheaper at Trader Joe's, the grocery store, amazon, or a drugstore.

[peanut520]

never heard of any, but $50 is so worth it!

[AnnieW625]

My parents have been members since it was Price Club in the mid 80s and they got to be members only because their friend had a business and they were the second addition to the account. I think they paid $20 or $25 per year, then so now 25+ yrs. later the $50 isn't that far out of the ball park. I joined in early 2000 and was allowed to join because I was a member of the SDSU Alumni Association. I think it was $40 then. If you want an American Express card most of them come with a $50 yearly fee and so if you know you'll use warehouse and like Amex I think it is the way to go.

[emily]

I think we got a deal thru DH work. We have the executive membership which is 100. However, we earn 2% back on our purchases. We buy lots at Costco (electronics, tires, food, etc) so the 2% we get back more than pays for the executive membership. We also have the Costco Amex card which earns 1-3% rewards.

SIL splits her executive membership with MIL. SHe pays for the membership, gives a card to MIL and gets the rewards on MILs purchases. Both are happy.

50 is not a bad deal I think.

[schrocat]

We have the $100 executive membership at Costco too. We usually get back enough to make membership more than worth it and having Costco membership has certainly simplified grocery shopping for us. We even get our gas there.

[ang79]

I wish we had a Costco closer to us :( We have a BJ's and Sam's in out town but only Costco in neighboring towns, and I don't think I would go there enough to justify it. When I had Sam's and BJ's memberships, I was always get my gas cheaper there, even if I didn't do much actual shopping. And ordering my contacts there was cheaper too.

[maybeebaby08]

We have the Executive Membership and it pays for itself. I think once a year they run a promotion if a friend refers you, you both get $10 Costco cash.

[supercalifragilous]

The Executive Membership is $100 but I overheard the membership desk person telling a customer that the average rebate is $75, making the membership essentially $25. And if at any time you're unhappy, they will refund your membership (don't know if that's prorated, but I can't imagine Costco nickel & diming like that).

We've had the Executive Membership for years and usually get back anywhere between $90-150 a year. This last year I didn't shop @ Costco so much b/c of the divorce and lack of $ but I still got back $79. I keep it because it's ~4 miles from my house and the Costco gas is the cheapest around.

If you can think of it as an "investment" until you get your first rebate check, you may actually only end up paying half that amount in the end.

[DebbieJ]

don't know if they still do it, but i think i ended up getting free Costco membership by getting an AmEx card. years later it's pretty much my main credit card (i only have one other CC) so it wasn't like i felt i was applying for a cc just to get the membership. also, one year we earned like $700 cash back on that card, so it was well worth it! another thing i like about Costco is the photo center...cheap yet really good quality. i'm always getting coupons for free prints too.

Where are you getting these from? I have never seen free prints from them.

re: Exec Membership--if you don't make back at least $50 (the diff btwn the regular and exec membership costs), they will refund you the difference.

[4birds]

Here's the information on the $10 referral promotion. FYI - I tried to refer my sister who lives in another state but they told her I had to be at customer svc. with her in order for us to both get the $10 cash card. Fortunately she recognized someone walking out and grabbed that person to be her referral so they both were able to get the $10 card. Hope this helps!

http://www.costco.com/images/content/misc/pdf/10NM1109_NMP_RAF.pdf

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Where are you getting these from? I have never seen free prints from them.

re: Exec Membership--if you don't make back at least $50 (the diff btwn the regular and exec membership costs), they will refund you the difference.

when we buy a set of picture frames at Costco sometimes a coupon (for 50 free 4x6 prints) is in it.

[peanut520]

they have free print coupons in the print/camera related item ususally. i've gotten them from albums, photo storage boxes, camera, and once from a memory card. the last pack of sd cards did not have it :(

[vball4all]

If you know of someone with a Membership already, you can ask them to load a "Cash Card" for you. You can gain entrance with only the cash card. You can also make purchases with just a Cash Card. Only a member can reload the card. At the register, they have to enter "99" because you do not have a membership card.

I did run in to one snag with the card - I tried to buy contact lenses - they acted like it was a big deal, but they sold them to me anyways, but then said they would NOT sell me eyeglasses with just a cash card. Their website does not state any exclusions, however, when I called the 800 number, they basically said to ask the manager of the store if there are exclusions.

Anyway - I thought I would just throw that out there in case that would work for you. The bad thing is that your money is tied up in this "cash card" - you could potentially lose it - but you save the $50. I'm not sure if its good on gas and photos or not.

[Gracemom]

We get a coupon every few months in the mail as an incentive to join Costco. Most of the time, they offer a free $10 Costco gift card if you join, making the cost of the membership $40. There are usually several other coupons in the packet too. We are definitely going to take advantage of it next time we get one!

[jerigirl]

re: Exec Membership--if you don't make back at least $50 (the diff btwn the regular and exec membership costs), they will refund you the difference.

:yeahthat: We just signed up last week and debated on the Exec or Gold(reg) membership. With the executive membership you get a rebate of 2% of your total purchases through out the year. That would mean we would have to spend at least $2500 a year to make $50 back to make the Exec. membership worth it. If we don't do that, Coscto will refund us the difference to get us $50 back but will also down grade our membership to the Gold. For our family, we wouldn't spend $2500 to make the Exec worth it.