A new friend shared a little known fact about shopping at Costco. Members can purchase Costco cash cards and give them to non-members. Recipients can get a free one-day membership to use the cash card on gas or warehouse items. The cards are also good online.
Cash cards make great gifts and they are useful for employees, students living away from home, and friends who are dying to buy 20 pounds of strawberries.
Costco’s page on cash cards lacks details but it may be possible for the recipient to re-load a card as long as they leave some money on it. It also looks like recipients can buy goods for more than the card is worth as long as they can pay for the remainder in cash.
It is unclear if a non-member who receives a Costco cash card is limited to a certain number of uses per year. I suppose if they start recognizing you, you’ll need to pony up $50 and get a membership. Otherwise, the usage guidelines are somewhat open to interpretation.
Thanks, Kim!
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
Non-Members can also shop at Costco everyday/any day for use of their Pharmacy, Alcohol and Photo department’s. A membership is not required to shop in those departments. Cool huh – I recently learn this from their membership counter.
I thought this exception was only for the pharmacy in California. Good to know to I can also buy booze and pictures!
Right you can load up on booze from Costco, take pictures of the event and have Costco develop the pictures. It’s a true win-win. Tee-hee. 🙂
don’t forget though that non-members must pay an additional 5% on everything they buy except prescriptions.
Ah, therein lies the rub.
I’m pretty sure that you can shop on Costco.com without being a member as well. I got a great deal on an 1080p TV on Costco.com a few years back with free shipping and am not a member.
I have a shared membership so cut that $50 cost in half. My friend has a different last names, address, etc and it’s no problem.
i ask for the one day pass about a month ago and they told me they don’t give out passes
@margarita That is such a bummer. I guess the policy has changed. Thanks for sharing this important update.
Actually, the shop-with-a-cashcard thing started as a scam (people selling $5 cashcards online as “one day memberships”) the shops individually started going along with it so people would stop shouting at them over it. Even then, you’re only supposed to be able to spend as much as is left on the card- which the cashier is supposed to dispose of. It’s basically molotoved their entire business model. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted…