Do You Need a Membership to Shop at Costco? … Maybe Not!

Costco is the major player in the wholesale membership warehouse club shopping wars.

Most people do not know this, but Walmart actually created Sam’s Clubs just to keep track of what Costco was doing and to provide them with some real competition.

The problem with all of these wholesale clubs is that they charge you a membership fee to shop there.  While these fees are not large, $55 annual fee for Costco business or Gold Star membership and $110 annual fee for Executive membership, they do eat into any money that you would otherwise save by shopping at these stores.

What most people do not know is that there are ways to shop at Costco without a membership and none of them require you to sneak around the person checking memberships.

How to Shop at Costco Without a Membership

In this section we are talking about major parts of the store that require a membership card.  There are some ways around this for specific items that I cover below, but these methods open up all or a large part of the store for your shopping pleasure.

Shop at Costco with a Gift Card

The most convenient way to get into Costco without a membership is to have a gift card.  If you have a card in hand you can shop to your hearts content.

I think the policy is there to get people into the store, enjoy the experience, and then get a membership.

The problem is that we must figure out is where to buy a Costco gift card.  If you have a friend who is a Costco member you can have them load a card for you, but that will become a pain for them over time and they may eventually tell you to just buy a membership.

My main option for getting any gift card is to buy them online through a third-party network.  Cardpool is my go to website but others include:

• GiftCards.com
• GiftCardmall.com
• CardCash.com

I will tell you that there are not a ton of these gift cards available online.  So you may be checking several sites before you get one that you want.

Shop with a Friend

Another easy way to get into Costco without a membership is to shop with a friend.  You will not be able to make the purchase, but if bring cash, you can have your friend make the purchase for you.

Since there isn’t a Costco near my house, I have done this one before and it worked like a charm.  The problem comes in that your friend may grow weary of you always tagging along on their Costco shopping trip.

Use a Business Account

If you are an employee of a business that has a Costco account, you can pull whatever strings you have to to get yourself added as one of the two business representatives on the account.  The downside is that you are probably going to have to make the run for office supplies, but you can use the card to go to Costco for you own needs whenever you want.

Costco Online Shopping

This one can be a little self-defeating.  The reason is that non-members get an extra 5% surcharge on certain items you buy off the Costco website.  Not all items fall into this category, but enough of them do to make this a potential deterrent.

The good news is, if you have one of the Costco cash cards mentioned above, you can shop online without the 5% penalty.

Instacart

If you live in a major city and want to use Costco as a grocery store then you can have the Instacart service do the pickup for you and deliver it to your home.  Since Costco is included in the service you do not have to have a membership to make the purchase.  They do have other grocery stores available in major cities across the country.

There are extra fees involved in using Instacart, but you are saving on time and gas when you use this service.  If you live in anything less than a metropolitan area, then this is not an option for you.

Special Sections of Costco that Do Not Require Membership

There are certain parts of the Costco stores where you can shop every day without purchasing a membership.  These are all great ways to cut your costs if you have a Costco near you

Pharmacy

The pharmacy is required to serve both members and non-members.  When you reach the greater, let them know  you are there to visit the pharmacy and they will let you right in.  The pharmacy is known for being very competitive on prices.

Health Services

This can be anything from immunizations to hearing and eye exams.  These services fall under the same laws that allow anyone to use the pharmacy.  On top of that an independent optometrist does the eye exams, so they are pretty keen on making sure anyone can come to them.

If you need to purchase glasses or a hearing aid then you will have to have a membership or one of the gift cards to make the purchase.

Food Court

Any Costco store that has an outside food court allows you to walk right up and purchase your food.  This includes the $1.50 drink and a hot dog deal and the yummy pizzas.

If your store has one of the indoor food courts you can tell the greater you are there to check out the store.  They will send you to the membership desk where you can get an application and they will let you walk around, including the food court area, to check things out.

Make sure you bring cash with you.  The food courts are notorious for being cash only.

Purchasing Alcohol at Costco

If you are a person who enjoys an alcoholic beverage from time to time then you are probably aware that Costco has some of the best prices, especially on off brands.  There are twelve states that have statutes on the books requiring Costco to sell alcohol without a membership or a Costco card.  These states are:

• Arizona
• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New York
• Texas
• Vermont

Many stores do not know that these laws even exist, so make sure to check with your local store before just popping in to get a nice wine.  If they tell you that you cannot buy alcohol at that Costco location without a membership, you can inform the manager of the law and see if you can get them to change their mind.

Does Costco have a One Day Guest Pass?

I have tried to find the magic Costco one day pass, but sadly, they do not exist.  For some reason Costco really protects their membership fees.  While another warehouse store, lie Sam’s club and BJ’s wholesale, will offer one day pass events, Costco has been very resistant to the practice.

The only thing I have seen that comes close to a discount on the Costco membership fee is they will run a deal on Groupon every once in a blue moon.  These deals usually make you pay the full membership price, but give you a gift card for $10 to $20 back with the membership.  Some will also give you coupons that are for items that equal the same amount as the membership.  Unfortunately, these deals are VERY rare and are usually regional or zip code based (you have to sign up in a designated store).

It’s never a great deal (like free) on the membership, but the discount may make it more enticing for you purchase.

Bottom Line

Costco is a great store that has low prices, is a pretty good location for one-stop shopping, treats its employees very well, and has an amazing return policy.  While you may balk at the $55 membership cost, if you do shop there frequently it can pay off.

If you are looking at making a one-time large purchase, then I would go the gift card route and avoid the extra fees.

Either way you go, you do have the option to start shopping at Costco without a membership, but you will have to jump through some hoops to do so.