You need a membership to shop at Costco warehouse. A Costco membership card is required to shop at their warehouse, and Costco does not offer guest passes. Non-members can shop for products from the Costco website at any time, though there is a 5% surcharge over the posted prices.
Typically, if you spend more than $600 a year at Costco, your membership is worth the cost. If you do not wish to pay for a Costco membership, here are 10 workarounds you can use to shop at Costco without a membership.
The membership costs $60/year for Gold and $120/year for Executive. However, there are other ways to shop at Costco without their membership.
How to Shop at Costco without Membership
Although Costco require a membership for you to enter inside their warehouse, there are several workaround to shop at Costco without a membership.
Use Costco Shop Card
Costco Shop Card is Costco’s gift card. Anyone, whether a member or not, can shop at Costco with a Shop Card. However, only members can buy a Shop Card from Costco.
To get a Costco Shop Card without a membership, you can either ask a friend who is a member to buy one for you, or you can buy one on a 3rd party website such as eBay, Amazon, or Gift Card Granny.
The only hassle is before you go in, you must go to the customer service line and show them your Costco shop card and get a pass.
Go With a Friend Who is a Member
Each member is allowed to bring 1 guest into the warehouse stores (it used to be 2 guests but Costco has changed it to 1 guest in response to the COVID 19 pandemic.).
Only members can pay for purchases at Costco. So your friend will have to foot your bill and you will have to pay them back afterward.
What is a Costco Household Card?
Costco Household card is a card that allows you to shop at Costco without a membership and also without going in with a Costco member. The only requirement to get this card is to be over 18 and have the same address as a Costco member, which you’ll have to provide proof of at the time when you pick up this card.
This is a similar concept with Amazon Household, where you can share Amazon Prime benefits.
How many people can you give Costco Household to?
- Goldstar Membership: You can add up to 1 person as a Costco Household Cardholder
- Business Membership: You can add more than 1 person with an additional fee
How to add someone to costco membership:
You can add someone to be your household cardholder by visiting Costco’s membership counter or log on to your Costco.com account, go My Account->Account Details and add them to your Costco Household.
Do You Have to be a Member to Shop at Costco Online?
You do not need a membership to shop on Costco’s website costco.com. But if you are not a member, you will have to pay a 5% surcharge on your purchase. Also, the prices on costco.com tend to be more expensive than those at the warehouse stores. And not everything available at the warehouse stores is available online.
Can you buy alcohol at costco without a membership?
Yes, you can buy alcohol at some Costco location. In some states, it is prohibited to sell alcohol through any club or membership. Check with your state laws to see if you are able to enter Costco to buy alcohol. If that is the case, just explain to the Costco employee at the entrance that you are there to buy alcohol per the state laws.
Costco flu shot without membership
Anyone can get a flu shot at Costco without a membership because health services can’t be denied to the public. Costco flu shot cost $19.99 and is the cheapest among their competitors. You can walk in from the customer service area, head straight to the pharmacy and get a flu shot without a Costco membership.
Can you use costco pharmacy without a membership
Yes, you can get your prescriptions filled at Costco Pharmacy without a membership card. Costco Pharmacy has some of the lowest drug prices on the market. You can also get flu shots and other vaccinations at the pharmacy as a non-member, but you cannot enter the normal shop areas.
Do I need a membership for Costco Optical and Hearing Center?
Anyone can purchase health services such as eye exams and hearing tests without a Costco membership. However, you do need to be a member to buy glasses, contacts, or hearing aids at Costco.
Please note that you can enter Costco’s Vision Center and Hearing Center without a membership card, but you cannot enter the normal shop areas.
See what other Costco’s main competitors such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, BJ’s and Target charge for an eye exam with or without insurance. We also have information on how much America’s Best and Lenscrafters charge for an eye exam. You can get an idea on market price before you decide where to get an exam done.
Related: 10 Best Places to Get an Eye Exam
Do I need a Costco membership for Instacart?
You do not need a Costco membership for instacart. The grocery delivery service Instacart will shop at Costco warehouse stores on your behalf even if you do not have a membership there.
Instacart has partnered up with Costco to deliver your Costco purchases on your behalf without a Costco membership. But of course, the price will be higher and you would have to pay the delivery fees of Instacart.
In other words, you do not need a Costco membership to order items from Instacart, and Instacart shoppers do not need a Costco membership to shop inside Costco on your behalf.
Can you go to Costco food court without a card? (Updated)
You need a membership card to buy food from Costco food court. It used to be the case that anyone can buy food at Costco’s famous cheap food court without a membership. However, this has been changed since Pandemic from April 6, 2020.
Their unbelievably cheap & huge hot dogs are $1.50, pizza slices are $1.99 and 18” whole pizza is $9.95 (cheese or pepperoni).
Costco’s fan-favorite chicken bake is only $2.99, and its 20 OZ drinks are only $0.59. The price is so amazing that it be a part of a membership perk.
