Using a loophole to shop at Costco without a membership

Mike Dang  |  07:05 PM, Tuesday, October 25, 2011

When I lived in Southern California and owned a car and lived in an apartment with plenty of storage options, I looked forward to shopping at Costco and buying enough food to last me a month in one shopping trip. The savings were tremendous and the $50 annual membership fee was worth it.

Now that I live in New York City, buying 24 rolls of toilet paper at warehouse prices makes no sense since I have no room for stockpiling anything in a studio apartment. But about once or twice every year I get an intense longing to stock up before the snow arrives rather than face the frozen tundra of a New York winter (did I mention I'm from Southern California?). Paying $50 for a membership I may use once or twice a year doesn't make any sense.

Here comes the loophole: According to this genius post by Consumerist, shoppers who have a Costco gift card — otherwise known as the Costco Cash card — can shop at Costco without a member card.

This means my Costco card-carrying parents in California can send me a bunch of $10 Costco Cash cards I can use anytime I want to make a trip to the warehouse. I can just pay the difference in cash or on my debit card. Who's in the mood for a trip to Costco?