While Costco no longer offers free membership trials, there are a few ways to receive a discount on one. I’ll go over all the currently available deals below, so if you’re looking to save on a Costco membership, this post is for you!
Interested in deals like this? Check out the free membership trials for BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam’s Club.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission at no cost to you if you decide to make a purchase through my links. Visit this page for more information. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.
Costco Membership Offers
Costco has two membership options, Gold Star Membership and Executive Membership, with annual fees of $60 and $120, respectively:
Gold Star Membership ($60):
- Includes a free Household Card
- Valid at all Costco locations worldwide
Executive Membership ($120):
- All benefits of Gold Star Membership, plus
- 2% Reward on Costco purchases (terms and conditions apply)
- Additional benefits and savings on Costco Services
- Extra benefits on select Costco Travel products
While Costco no longer offers membership deals directly, here are two offers that will save you money:
Groupon Deal – One-Year Gold Star Membership with $40 Costco Gift Card
Buy a one-year Costco Gold Star Membership and you’ll receive a $40 digital Costco Shop Card (valid at Costco locations and Costco.com). That makes the $60 membership fee effectively just $20.
This is valid for new members and previous members whose previous membership have been expired for at least 18 months or more. The gift card will be sent within 2 weeks after sign-up to qualifying members.
Groupon Offer Terms & Conditions:
- Valid for NEW MEMBERS ONLY or for members whose memberships have been expired for more than 18 months
- Only available to U.S. & Puerto Rico customers
- Quantity Limit: 2
- Person Limit: one per household
- Max quantity that can be purchased per customer: 2. One must be for personal use and the other must be gifted
- Qualified members will receive their $40 Digital Costco Shop Card by email within 2 weeks of redeeming their purchase
- Nontransferable and may not be combined with any other promotion
- $40 Digital Costco Shop Card does not expire, is not redeemable for cash, except as required by law, and can be redeemed in warehouse and online
- Digital Costco Shop Card is not one-time use (don’t have to spend all $40 at once)
- A Costco membership is $60 a year. An Executive Membership is an additional $60 upgrade fee a year
- Membership can be used at over 500 locations within the United States & over 800 locations worldwide — see a list of all US Costco locations here
StackSocial Offer – Buy 1-Year Membership and Get $30 Gift Card Bonus
Purchase a 1-Year Costco Gold Star Membership and get a $30 Digital Costco Shop Card.
This deal has similar terms and conditions as the Groupon one. It’s valid for new members and previous members whose previous membership have been expired for at least 18 months or more.
The Bottom Line
Costco is one of the big three warehouse clubs in the United States, the other two being BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam’s Club. All of them provide significant savings, especially when you buy items in bulk.
So which one should you choose? While Costco is the largest, operating over 800 warehouses, I don’t think geographic footprint matters as much when it comes to savings. I’d recommend picking one closest to you home. Otherwise, you may spend more money on gas than the difference in savings on one warehouse club vs another.
Membership pricing is very similar across all three clubs too so that shouldn’t be a big factor in your decision making.
