Costco already saves us thousands of dollars a year with its bulk purchases, but there are a couple of tricks that can save you a little more. Costco, Target, Walmart, and Sam’s Club are some of America’s favorite retailers, and the reasons are good: low prices, a wide variety of products and discounts for wholesale purchases or in special seasons (such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday).
But did you know that you can save even more money? In this article, we will focus on the absurdly low prices of Costco, which can be even lower to ease your economy at a time when every single dollar counts. There are a couple of Costco tricks that you can apply to get the most out of your membership, and we tell you about them below.
The tricks to save even more at Costco
As you already know, at Costco you need to pay for an annual membership in order to enjoy its prices and infinite variety: $60 for a Gold Star or Business membership and $120 for an Executive membership.
If you are a frequent buyer, it is better to opt for the Executive plan, which rewards you with a 2% annual cashback. At the end of the year you will receive a beautiful and useful check because, the more you buy, the more you save and the more cashback you will receive.
Another of the secrets that you can take advantage of at Costco is discounted gift cards. The company sells a wide variety of discounted gift cards that you can use at restaurants, movie theaters, video game systems and more, not just in their stores.
For example, you can get a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card for $449, or two $50 gift cards to use at the Macaroni Grill restaurant for $74.99. Those savings really add up.
Another amazing discounted gift card is to use at Jiffy Lube’s, to perform maintenance on your car: you pay $37.99 for a card with a value of $50. Or if you need to buy sporting goods, Costco has one card to spend on Fanatics; there is a 2-pack of e-cards of $50 each, for only $79.99.
If you stop by Costco next Sunday, stop by their food court, because you can find the cheapest grilled chicken on the market, or the historic hot dog combo with Coca-Cola for only $1.50, which has had that price since 1985.
Without a doubt, we cannot fail to mention the extensive product line of the Costco house brand, Kirkland Signature, which offers everything, seriously, everything you need to fill your pantry or kitchen.
Many Kirkland products are comparable to branded ones, which makes them great money-saving options if you’re not too worried about loyalty to a particular brand.
Finally, always save a little money for special sales, such as Veterans Day, Columbus Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday, dates on which Costco and other chains offer ultra-discounted prices on products that they have to get rid of before the end of the fiscal year. In specific cases, you will find discounts up to 80%, which is almost a steal.