Costco cuts – Costco is offering a limited-time deal for new members: a Gold Star membership for $65 paired with a $20 gift card, effectively dropping the first-year price to about $45. Executive membership can be bundled with a $40 gift card for $130. The catch: it applies
A Costco run can feel like a certainty—until the membership price lands. Right now, the wholesale club is leaning into summer savings with a deal that can make the first year of membership far cheaper than most shoppers expect.
Costco is offering a Gold Star membership for $65 and throwing in a $20 gift card to the retailer. In practical terms, that brings the effective cost of the membership down to about $45 for the year.
The same promotion offers an Executive membership for $130, with a $40 gift card included.
The fine print is where the deal either clicks—or falls apart. Costco’s offer is valid only for new members. It also requires shoppers to have not been a Costco member—whether Primary, Household, or Affiliate—in the past 18 months.
There’s another step to unlock the gift card: shoppers must set up auto-renewal of the membership using a Visa credit or debit card or a Mastercard debit card at the time of signup. Even so. shoppers can cancel the membership before the year is up if they don’t want to be charged the full price the next year.
The math is part of what makes this attractive in an economy where every recurring expense feels heavier. The appeal for many members is the promise of getting value quickly—through bulk pricing and the kind of in-store deals that make memberships feel less like a bill and more like a savings tool.
Still, the promotion comes with a deadline that isn’t clearly printed. Costco does not list an end date for the promotion, and deals are subject to sell out or expire any time.
ZDNET says its team regularly checks to confirm whether the deal is still live and obtainable, and notes the offer may be missed if it expires or sells out.
In terms of value, the promotion works out to about 30% off the first year of an annual Costco membership. ZDNET says it isn’t the highest gift card offer it has seen, but calls it a solid discount.
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