Costco Membership Crackdown or All Things Costco 😀

[Skippy918]

Ours is a legit self check out. There is an employee there if you have issues and to direct people to the newest open spot, but we do all of our scanning ourselves. I guess it is whatever is best for that particular store.

Our Costco is always busy. It’s not uncommon for the self checkout line to go all the way to the dairy section on the opposite end of the store. It moves fast though.

 

[nw6675]

Our Costco is always busy. It’s not uncommon for the self checkout line to go all the way to the dairy section on the opposite end of the store. It moves fast though.

I'm seriously having anxiety and heart palpitations.

 

[kanne323]

I’m the minority here but I don’t think Costco orBJs or any of those are any cheaper than shopping at lidl/target/ wherever. I have a large family and have tried all those warehouse stores and didn’t find a significant savings. And having to pay for the privilege of shopping there rubs me the wrong way

It depends on what you're buying. There are certain things I buy at Sam's (we don't have Costco in my state yet) that are significantly cheaper than other stores. There are things I won't buy at Sam's because they are not cheaper. Allergy meds, bottled water, frozen fish- all significantly cheaper for me at Sam's. I don't find Target to be a great deal for many groceries, and we don't have Lidl here.

It is true that Costco doesn't always have the best deals, it depends on what it is and you have to do the breakdown per pound or per unit pricing. However, if you do use some of their services like travel, it is so worth the membership fees. Oh and don't forget GAS!! I don't know about y'all, but no one beats Costco gas pricing around here, zero.

I can't speak much for Costco, but I'll echo that for Sam's. The gas alone is worth the membership. This week, gas at Sam's was 40 cents a gallon cheaper than any of the nearby gas stations.

I don’t go to Costco, I do Sam’s Club, and when I needed to replace a card this year they didn’t take my picture. I was very surprised - the employee said they did away with that. I wonder if they’ll reinstate it now that Costco is going to be checking cards.

I've had my Sam's membership for almost a year and never got a card or had my picture taken. Everything I do is through the app. I show the app on my way in and then use scan & go, so I never even deal with checkout.

They're in the process of building my state's first ever Costco. It's going to be right down the street from Sam's, so this should be interesting. I'll watch the gas prices for a little while before deciding if I want to stay with Sam's or switch to Costco.

 

[MsChristy12]

I agree and when something goes wrong everyone just points fingers and says it was the other company who messed up. Then you are left playing ping-pong between the parties to try to get it resolved. While I might use Orbitz to easily search for flight options, I always go to the airline website to actually make a reservation. Most search websites simply accumulate the information and there is no discount. Never used Costco travel, but still feel like the few dollars you might save goes out the window as soon as there is a problem and you end up with some poorly trained 'customer service' person who can barely speak English and never has any idea how to help resolve your issue. If you aren't asking one of the 12 commonly asked questions they have in the script in front of them................good luck getting it resolved.

Are you referring to Costco Travel agents? Also, I can tell you by personal experience, it's definitely NOT a few dollars you save with Costco Travel...it can be thousands depending on what you book with them.

 

[Skippy918]

I just bought tires from Costco recently. I saved over $300 compared to Discount Tire.
We also get our glasses from Costco and we book our vacations through them as well. On our upcoming trip, we’ll get back 8% in gift cards and then another 2% for executive membership.

 

[MsChristy12]

For those who uses Costco Travel, anyone ever booked one of those Vacations of a Lifetime? If you have, I would love to hear about your experience!

 

[nw6675]

Discounted Landry's at Costco

Currently, Costco is selling $100 Landry’s gift cards (two at $50 each) for only $79.99! You can look for these gift cards at your local Costco warehouse, or buy them online at Costco.com. Using these cards at the Landry’s-owned restaurants in Disney World could save you $20 on your $100 meal!

 

[Smugpugmug]

Discounted Landry's at Costco

Currently, Costco is selling $100 Landry’s gift cards (two at $50 each) for only $79.99! You can look for these gift cards at your local Costco warehouse, or buy them online at Costco.com. Using these cards at the Landry’s-owned restaurants in Disney World could save you $20 on your $100 meal!

The Costco in Altamonte Springs FL doesn't have these I looked and they only had the AMC ones and some for steakhouses.

 

[nw6675]

The Costco in Altamonte Springs FL doesn't have these I looked and they only had the AMC ones and some for steakhouses.

The e cards are available online.

 

[gmi3804]

Are you referring to Costco Travel agents? Also, I can tell you by personal experience, it's definitely NOT a few dollars you save with Costco Travel...it can be thousands depending on what you book with them.

Our upcoming $15,000 Regent cruise booked through Costco Travel yielded us over $2,000 in rebates and Costco Cash, which was far and away better than any travel agent quote. TAs were only offering use-it-or-lose-it shipboard credit which, on Regent, is mostly useless, since their fares are all-inclusive: all tours, alcohol, tips, business-class air, transfers, taxes, etc. We'd be forced to use the credits on things we might not want to do (spa treatments, upgraded wines, certain tours) instead of using the money on reams of toilet paper and steroid-injected rotisserie chickens at Costco.

 

[unrequited23]

We've been Costco members for 7 years. When we joined they made a membership card for my oldest kid, in addition to mine and DH's. They linked the photo to DH's account...so now the only photo that shows in DH's online profile is DS at 3 yrs old. This change could prove interesting for our family.

 

[MsChristy12]

Our upcoming $15,000 Regent cruise booked through Costco Travel yielded us over $2,000 in rebates and Costco Cash, which was far and away better than any travel agent quote. TAs were only offering use-it-or-lose-it shipboard credit which, on Regent, is mostly useless, since their fares are all-inclusive: all tours, alcohol, tips, business-class air, transfers, taxes, etc. We'd be forced to use the credits on things we might not want to do (spa treatments, upgraded wines, certain tours) instead of using the money on reams of toilet paper and steroid-injected rotisserie chickens at Costco.

THAT!

I dream about going on a Regent cruise some day, I would love to hear about your trip in the future! Where are you cruising if you don't mind me asking?
We booked our Uniworld cruise with Costco too, and while the rates are on par same booking direct with Uniworld, getting that extra cash card is too big of a difference. It will be stupid to not book with Costco!

 

[gmi3804]

THAT!

I dream about going on a Regent cruise some day, I would love to hear about your trip in the future! Where are you cruising if you don't mind me asking?
We booked our Uniworld cruise with Costco too, and while the rates are on par same booking direct with Uniworld, getting that extra cash card is too big of a difference. It will be stupid to not book with Costco!

We wanted to do a Mediterranean, but no one sails there in late-January. We are also not sure if we're "cruise people," and thought Regent (with its luxe 750-passenger ships, no dress codes, no conga lines, etc.) would be a good match and cruising gateway drug for us. If we like this Western Caribbean (Yucatan, Belize, Cayman) 10-night, we'll be OK with trying for next fall in the Mediterranean.

Back to Costco, they're not a "third party" cruise agency. My calls to them have been answered immediately, and they've been able to change our cabin while I was on the phone. Their service is nonpareil, and I have no complaints.

 

[Skippy918]

We wanted to do a Mediterranean, but no one sails there in late-January. We are also not sure if we're "cruise people," and thought Regent (with its luxe 750-passenger ships, no dress codes, no conga lines, etc.) would be a good match and cruising gateway drug for us. If we like this Western Caribbean (Yucatan, Belize, Cayman) 10-night, we'll be OK with trying for next fall in the Mediterranean.

Back to Costco, they're not a "third party" cruise agency. My calls to them have been answered immediately, and they've been able to change our cabin while I was on the phone. Their service is nonpareil, and I have no complaints.

Costco helped us change our flight times because the airline changed them on us. We booked the hotel package with airfare and it was not a huge price difference either.

 

[robinb]

Discounted Landry's at Costco

Currently, Costco is selling $100 Landry’s gift cards (two at $50 each) for only $79.99! You can look for these gift cards at your local Costco warehouse, or buy them online at Costco.com. Using these cards at the Landry’s-owned restaurants in Disney World could save you $20 on your $100 meal!

I picked those up last week on sale for $74.99 . I had them sent to my email address so I'll have them with me next time we visit WDW. We use them at Yak n Yeti's.

 

[robinb]

We booked our Uniworld cruise with Costco too, and while the rates are on par same booking direct with Uniworld, getting that extra cash card is too big of a difference. It will be stupid to not book with Costco!

There are some reasons not to book cruises with Costco for other, less inclusive lines. For instance, NCL cruises through Costco are not eligible for their upgrade program. So, if you book a lower class cabin in the hopes of upgrading for a cheap price later, you're out of luck. I have also seen regular travel agents out perform Costco when it comes to OBC and other perks. I use a different TA who gives me more extras when sailing NCL and Princess.

 

[Lilsia]

There are some reasons not to book cruises with Costco for other, less inclusive lines. For instance, NCL cruises through Costco are not eligible for their upgrade program. So, if you book a lower class cabin in the hopes of upgrading for a cheap price later, you're out of luck. I have also seen regular travel agents out perform Costco when it comes to OBC and other perks. I use a different TA who gives me more extras when sailing NCL and Princess.

Definitely something that people should price out. I can see if they deal with Costco is better than the cost of any upgrade would be, I can see people taking the Costco deal.
I personally do not like to use any travel agents because I like to be in control of my reservation. Plus it is so easy to do your own research now that travel agents are not really needed anymore. Back in the day, only agents had access to travel information. They would get a giant book with all of the resorts and hotels around the world. The internet changed everything.

 

[FoxC63]

Discounted Landry's at Costco

Currently, Costco is selling $100 Landry’s gift cards (two at $50 each) for only $79.99! You can look for these gift cards at your local Costco warehouse, or buy them online at Costco.com. Using these cards at the Landry’s-owned restaurants in Disney World could save you $20 on your $100 meal!

That's the standard discount for those

 

[gmi3804]

There are some reasons not to book cruises with Costco for other, less inclusive lines. For instance, NCL cruises through Costco are not eligible for their upgrade program. So, if you book a lower class cabin in the hopes of upgrading for a cheap price later, you're out of luck. I have also seen regular travel agents out perform Costco when it comes to OBC and other perks. I use a different TA who gives me more extras when sailing NCL and Princess.

It's not a good idea to book guaranteed categories, or to even request an upgrade. You're then up the whim of the cruise company to put you anywhere, and there are definitely cabins which are subject to noice (over or under kitchens, pool decks, bars/nightclubs, etc.) that can make or break a cruse.

 

[robinb]

It's not a good idea to book guaranteed categories, or to even request an upgrade. You're then up the whim of the cruise company to put you anywhere, and there are definitely cabins which are subject to noice (over or under kitchens, pool decks, bars/nightclubs, etc.) that can make or break a cruse.

Yes, that's true, there is a danger to a GTY. But you can get a good upgrade from an inside cabin to a balcony for a fraction of what you would pay to book it from the start. Many people prefer to pay as little as possible and roll the dice with a GTY. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. For some, it's worth the gamble to pay for a cheap upgrade. I usually book exactly where I want to be but I like to have the option to upgrade.

Definitely something that people should price out. I can see if they deal with Costco is better than the cost of any upgrade would be, I can see people taking the Costco deal.
I personally do not like to use any travel agents because I like to be in control of my reservation. Plus it is so easy to do your own research now that travel agents are not really needed anymore. Back in the day, only agents had access to travel information. They would get a giant book with all of the resorts and hotels around the world. The internet changed everything.

On my last cruise 8-day cruise on NCL this year:
I (1) picked my cabin, (2) called the TA and told them exactly which cabin I wanted, (3) paid the same price as if I booked direct from NCL, (4) received free gratuities worth $320 from the TA plus (5) another $100 in OBC. So, I came out $420 ahead of if I had done it all myself with NCL. Costco could not touch that deal and I was given the opportunity to upgrade but chose not to.

On my previous 7-day cruise on Princess last year:
I (1) picked my own cabin, (2) called the TA and told them exactly which cabin I wanted, (3) paid the same price as if I booked direct from Princess, (4) received the same $600 airfare credit and was able to book my flights myself with Princess EZAir, (5) received free gratuities worth about $280, (6) and received an additional $350 of OBC. So, I came out $630 ahead of if I had done it myself with Princess. Again, Costco could not come close to that deal.

For me, I do all the same leg work upfront and then give up control of my reservation in exchange for cold, hard cash. I had pre-paid gratuities so that didn't come out of my pocket and I had some cash to use on ship excursions.