Costco is one of my favorite places to shop. The double seats in the shopping carts make it so much easier to shop with both my kids. Plus we love so many of Costco’s products and the samples are a definite perk.
Shopping at Costco is simple once you have a membership card it’s just like shopping at most stores with a few more benefits and options. There are several things you can get at Costco and things you can do with your Costco card you might not be taking advantage of.
Costco Hacks
We love to use these Costco membership hacks to save even more money and enjoy Costco’s awesome products.
#1 The Food Court
Costco’s Food Court is awesome with several different food options and amazing prices it’s one of our favorite places to grab a quick lunch or dinner.
Some of our favorite Costco Food Court foods are:
- Hotdog and drink
- Chicken bake
- Frozen yogurt
- Pizza
#2 Ordering Pizza by Phone
Did you know that you can order a whole pizza from the deli by phone and have it ready for pick up? You can schedule pizza pick ups for a later date and time or same day pick up. Our Costco can usually have a pizza ready in about 20 minutes.
Not only can you order by phone you can also customize the pizza. We love doing half and half. The kids get cheese and we get combo and we only need to buy 1 pizza.
Costco pizzas obviously don’t have all the flavor choices you can get at Pizza Hut but for cheese, pepperoni and combo pizzas you won’t find a better deal. For only $10 for that large of a pizza, it’s a cheap family dinner and it’s a great way to save on food costs for get-togethers and parties.
#2 Sheet Cakes
Costco sheet cakes are not only delicious, but they are also an awesome price. You can easily add names and a customs message to one of the designs.
Justine at Little Dove Blog has an awesome Costco cake hack and instructions on how to order a Costco cake you can customize to any theme you want!
#3 Executive Membership
If you shop at Costco often you probably want the executive membership so you can get cash back on your purchases.
With an executive membership, you get 2% reward on qualifying purchases at Costco. Each year we have had our membership we have gotten more than the cost of our membership in our cash back check, even before we had kids!
#4 Citi Card
As you probably already know Costco switch to accepting Visa cards a couple of years ago and they now offer a citi visa credit card. With this card you can get even more cash back with each purchase. Our favorite way to use this card is to get 4% cash back on gas!
#5 Costco Travel
Using your Costco membership to shop Costco travel deals is a great way to save. You can often find deals for vacation packages and resort stays. Our favorite way to save with Costco travel is on rental cars.
95% off the time the best Car rental prices we find are through Costco. We have even gotten rental cars cheaper with Costco and gotten a cash card bonus too!
#6 Kirkland Brand
Kirkland Signature is Costco’s brand, known for high-quality and low-cost products. Typically Kirkland brand products are as good if not better than name brand products. Plus they are usually a better price. Many of the Kirkland products are produced by the same manufacturers that make name brands.
#7 Optical Department
Costco optical departments are a great way to get quality vision car and save money. A Costco eye exam costs about $70 if you wear contacts an exam typically costs slightly more. Costco does except several different insurance companies but if you don’t have vision insurance no problem.
Costco eye doctors are independent doctors of Optometry so some locations require appointments but many allow walk-ins. Check the optical department at your local Costco to see how they have it set up.
Costco is also a grate place to purchase glasses and contacts. They have a variety of styles and brands with varying prices.
See my comparison of Costco vs 1-800 contacts before purchasing contacts.
#8 Photo Greeting Cards
One of my favorite places to purchase our Christmas cards to send to family and friends is at Costco. A pack of 50 greeting cards with envelopes costs only $13.99 with next day pick up at depending on your location.
Costco has a variety of different designs for all occasions that you simply add a photo too. Or you can design your own card in Canva or another program and upload it.
These holiday cards are a way to save on holiday expenses.
#9 Pharmacy
I have heard from multiple people that they save hundreds of dollars a month getting prescriptions filled at Costco. Consumer Reports also found Costco prescriptions to be the best price.
Be sure to price check your prescription at Costco and see if it can help you save money.
#10 Gas
In our area gas is almost always 5 to 10 cents cheaper at Costco than other gas stations. Plus when we use our Costco Citi card we get 4% cash back!
#11 Gift Cards
Each Costco location has a different card selection and the selection changes throughout the year. Keep your eyes open for awesome deals. We have found awesome deals on movie tickets and to different restaurants in our area.
What Costco membership perk do you love having?
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I love Costco so much! Thanks for this list. There were a few perks I’d never taken advantage of.