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A COSTCO member has gotten an entire grocery trip free of cost, thanks to a unique perk.
They packed their cart full of around $340 worth of merchandise and walked out without a single dent in their wallet.
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In fact, the shopper actually made money on the trip, according to their post in a Reddit thread last month.
“My crowning Costco achievement: a free trip,” they wrote, along with a snapshot of their receipt.
It listed a plethora of food and drink items, each of which added up to a $341.72 total after $6.33 in tax.
Under the total was an added “Executive Rebate” credit for a whopping $375.14.
That meant not only were the groceries paid for in full, but the Costco member got back $33.42 in change.
So, how was this possible?
It wasn’t just given, and the member wasn’t a lucky customer in some sort of sweepstakes.
The free groceries came as part of a perk available to Costco shoppers with an Executive Membership.
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT
All Costco customers must have a valid membership, aside from a few exceptions for certain products due to some state laws.
Membership options notably include Gold Star and Executive.
Gold Star is $65 per year, giving customers access to shop online and in-store with two cards per household.
The Executive is another level up at $130 per year and includes added benefits like discounts on Costco Services and an annual 2% reward.
It was the annual 2% reward that allowed for the Costco shopper’s free trip.
The perk is quite simply cashback to be “redeemed toward purchases of merchandise through the front-end registers (excluding self-checkout) at Costco warehouses in the U.S.,” per Costco’s website.
Costco membership sharing guidelines
Costco has strict rules for membership use that shoppers must follow and they’ve been cracking down on offenders in recent years.
- Primary Member Use: Only the primary cardholder can use this Costco membership card. Sharing it for purchases is not allowed as the photo on the card must match the person using it.
- Household Card: Each primary member can add one free household cardholder who lives at the same address. This person will receive their own membership card and can shop at Costco independently.
- Guest Policy: Members can bring up to two guests per visit to Costco. However, only the member can make purchases. Guests must be accompanied by the member.
- Authorized Cardholder: For an additional fee, you can add an authorized cardholder, such as a family member or friend, who doesn’t reside at your address. They will receive their own card and can shop independently.
Credit: Costco
SPEND TO SAVE
Essentially, those with an Executive Membership get 2% of the cash they spent on groceries during the year back at the end.
That 2% for the shopper who got the free groceries happened to be $375.14.
So, technically, it wasn’t free — the shopper had to spend around $18,757 on groceries at Costco over the past year to qualify.
They told fellow shoppers in the thread that they’d bought a “new bedroom set and dining room set,” which helped bump up the spending considerably.
“It was a big spending year for us,” they wrote.
For perspective, the average American spent around $6,053 for food at home in 2023, per a study conducted by The Motley Fool.
So, while the 2% annual reward is still a great perk for shoppers, they may not get $375 or more in cash back unless some big-ticket items are bought throughout the year.
