5 Ways to Get Costco Membership Discounts
January 3, 2011
Costco Membership Discounts 2012
Costco membership certainly has rewards, such as discounts & deals on your purchases and cashback with the TrueEarnings Card; but access to these benefits does require an annual fee.
Fortunately there are Costo membership discounts and promotions where you can save money on the fee, with the right offer or coupon code you could even get a free Costco membership. If you’re trying to decide if Costco is worth it to your family, the lower the fee the more likely it is your membership will pay for itself.
There are five different ways you can find Costco membership deals to lower your fee for Gold Star or Executive members. Costco has three different types of memberships: Gold Star memberships, Business memberships, and Executive memberships. We’ve only been Gold Star and Executive members so so I don’t know if any of these Costo membership discounts will apply for the Business card.
Costco Employer Discounts
The company I work for has a relationship with Costco Wholesale; once or twice a year Costco reps setup shop at a table in our lunch room and offer discounted Costco memberships for a few hours.
You actually pay the full membership fee and then they give you a Costco gift card for $10 or $20 depending on your plan and the company discount.
Be aware you’ll need to pay for the membership with cash or check unless you have an American Express card. There were a few people who wanted to sign up but couldn’t because all they had with them were Visa or Mastercard. Of course, I had our Blue Cash card with me so I didn’t have to leave empty handed.
In some cases they’ll raffle off free stuff, everyone who becomes a member is entered into the raffle. When I signed up I won something; nothing major, just a $10–15 free gift but still a nice little perk.
Costco Association Discounts
When my wife was a full time teacher she was a member of the National Eductation Association. Because it’s such a large organization, many companies will offer a special discount in order to be promoted to the millions of members. The NEA offers a Costco discount, if you’re part of any large associations check to see if they have any special Costco coupon codes that will save you money on membership.
Costco Direct Membership Deals
Periodically you’ll find Costco membership promotions where you can get more membership for your money. For example, a recent one on their website offered two months of free Costo membership for new members when you signed up online using any American Express card and entered a specific coupon code.
In this case, although the fee you pay isn’t reduced, you’re getting 14 months for the price of 12 so your cost per month is lower.
Discount & Deal Websites
Rewards sites like MyPoints have been known to offer discounts. The most recent promotion allowed you to purchase a Costco membership certificate through MyPoints and get a $50 coupon in return; basically the same as a year of free Costco membership. Also, keep an eye on deal sites like FatWallet, new Costco promotions are likely to turn up there.
Costco Amex TrueEarnings Card
It used to be that When you signed up for the TrueEarnings card and made your first purchase you earned a $25 credit on your statement. That Costco promotion has ended but keep your eyes open for any new promotions they run. You have to be a Costco member to qualify for a TrueEarnings card so you’ll need to sign up for Costco membership first.
Once you open the TrueEarnings card it’s both a credit card and your Costco membership card. TrueEarnings is one of the best gas credit cards, earning you 3% cashback on gas plus 2% for restaurants, 2% for travel, 1% everywhere else – More Info.
Costco Memberships
As I mentioned earlier Costco has three different types of memberships:
- Gold Star Member
- Business Member
- Executive Member
We started off with a Costco Gold Star membership but then later upgraded to an Executive membership because we made some big purchases from Costco and Executive members earn cash back on purchases.
The Executive membership has a higher annual fee, which is why I avoided it when we first signed up for Costco. However, once I saw how we used the card and the money we were saving I ran the numbers for our family and figured out that we would save enough with an Executive Membership to cover the cost of the higher annual fee.
Costco Cashback
One of the main benefits of the Executive membership is that you can earn 2% cash back on your Costco purchases. If you combine that with the money you earn using the True Earnings card the cash back can add up over the course of a year.
The only type of credit card that Costco accepts are AmEx cards. You don’t have to open a new credit card to shop at Costco if you already own an American Express card. For example, we have a Blue Cash card that we can use as well.
Hopefully some of the tips will save you some money on membership if you decide you want to give Costco a try.
All posts by Ben
This is like the funniest thread I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Charlie, it is because of people like you who are constantly looking for ways to steal legally that we ALL end up paying more for our purchases!! These companies have to recoup those costs in some way and that is by passing the cost on to their PAYING, HONEST customers. Shame on you!!!!
get over yourself
The best way to get a 100% discount on a Costco membership (i.e. – absolutely free) year after year is simply to cancel your membership at the mbrsp counter just before your year is about to run out. Tell Costco you were not satisfied with the membership and you want a full refund of your money (either $50 or $100, i.e., depending on your mbrsp level.) Trust me, they will happily do it with no questions asked…and if they don’t just ask for the manager and complain. Then…next time you need to shop there, just re-sign up for a new membership, pay your $50 or whatever… shop for a year, and repeat the same cancellation / 100% refund process next year to get every penny of your money back. Believe me, this works, and Costco policy explicitly allows members to do this yr after yr without any repercussions. It is the company’s policy! It is a huge loophole in their “100% member satisfaction” policy, and as long as this company’s management is stupid enough to allow members to do it, everyone should!
That’s sleezy and dishonest. It’s not stupid to offer 100% member satisfaction, it’s slimy to lie, cheat, and steal just because it’s legal.
I totally agree. That is sleezy and dishonest. The company is trying to be fair and you are taking advantage of it. You probably are one of those customers that buy an item and when done, take it back for a refund, just because you can.
It may be sleezy, but it is not dishonest. Obviously Charlie is not satisfied with the membership fee and is willing to chip away at the veneer of his soul.
It is dishonest, because he knows he will sign back up at the time of cancelling his membership, so ‘honestly’, he must not have been unhappy enough if he is planning on doing the same thing.
Of COURSE it’s dishonest: he LIED to them.
“The greatest truth is honesty, and the greatest falsehood is dishonesty.”
– Abu Bakr
WOW you are just like all the other member’s I deal with who have no moral values and take advantage of Costco’s generosity! What is the world coming to!
Charlie, that’s just wrong; taking advantage of the system. Is that what we’re teaching the next generation? What happen to morals and ethics!?!
Costco used to allow people to return electronic item within a year of their purchase (regardless if it’s opened or used). However, I’ve noticed people returned TVs, camera, printer, etc. after it’s used (and abused) for almost a year. That’s how they scamed the system and able to always have the latest technologies in their home. If you don’t like something, you should be able to tell within the 1st couple of weeks of using it, not months. I am glad Costco finally changed their policy on electronic returns.
Just remember: Do unto other as you would have them do unto you.
You are a theif Charlie! Because of people like you policy’s change. How do you sleep at night.
The real loophole, Charlie, is in your ethics. Costo management created a hugely successful business with ethical business practices. You prefer lying & cheating. You demean yourself each year, waiting in line to lie to someone to take other people’s money. That’s a confidence game, but without the intelligence, skill, planning, and personality needed by a con artist who has to convince his “mark.” Why do you brag about taking candy from a baby? Perhaps in the vain hope of convincing yourself that you’re not stupid?
As for the intelligence of the company’s management, let’s just say that from under your intellectual rock you can’t see high enough to assess it.
I just joined Costco, too! I have yet to be wowed, but I’m sure I’ll recoup the cost of joining very soon. … I went to a party recently where the house had amazing chandeliers, and they got them at Costco! I’m on the hunt for them.