I have my card through my office, but I hardly ever go there. I know poeple who always fill up their cars at Costco, but wait in a line. It seems to me that making a special trip for gas (there's nothing else near it I want to go to), and then using it up idling, or on/off-ing, is counter productive. So that out of the way, on the rare occasion I need something from Costco, I find it on their website, and they deliver. I'm pretty sure they don't ask for my card, so I think it's open to everyone. You might check into that. Perhaps, you can get that one big thing that way. Or maybe go with a friend with a card.

It's just the two of us, so what we buy at Costco is rather limited. Half-size steam table pans, navel oranges, organic orange juice, lamb, salmon (the smallest piece available,) nuts, organic butter, and pork - ribs and Boston butts.

My husband and I go to Sams about once a month. we buy 2 rotisserie chickens, one that I debone and freeze for soup or casseroles. We buy toilet paper, paper towels, 2 large containers of feta cheese, gouda cheese, spring lettuce, cauliflower, coleslaw mix, chocolate chips, cat food, pork chops, pork butt, chicken thighs and anything else that I would consider a good deal. I also buy collagen powder there because it’s cheaper there than anywhere else.

I "was" doing whole house remodels, as a retirement business I started. I needed whole NEW kitchens and bathrooms...ALL the appliances and flooring. DH & I did a Costco walk through. I could beat their prices and find better brands for less! My husband was eating a mango a day in his lunch. Costco ONLY sold them by the case! They would be over ripe if I purchased that many at a time. Bacon was ONLY sold in 3 lb pkgs. I could buy Black Label brands on sale for 1/3 the price per pound. So.................I don't see the value.

My GF gave me a bag of dry Costco catfood...said it was fabulous! Her cats loved it. $1 a lb. Gave my cat a terrible case of diarrhea! :0)

The core purchases are paper towels, cleaners, dish and laundry soap, sponges. cling wrap and foil, vitamins and other similar household items. The core food purchases include wine, cheese, eggs, nuts, bananas, almond flour, olive oil, some condiments and seasonal or specialty items/treats. Meat and produce and rarely used perishables at the supermarket and specialty items at the grocery store.

I used to live somewhere that had warehouse clubs near and had memberships. Where I live now and have for many years does not. So no Cosco or Sams for us. Not really a biggie since the price break for bulk buying there didn't always offset the membership cost for the few things I bought there. And sometimes good sales and actual discount stores are the better deal than paying the membership on the bulk buy option.

I do have a discount food store close by that I often get various foods from by the case. Mostly shelf stable stuff, but sometimes frozen things or cheese in big blocks. Ollies is a bigger chain discount store that has good prices and I sometimes pick up things by the case. And a GFS for if I need a bulk purchase of something in a commercial size.

We used to belong to both Costco and Sam’s. DH had the Costco membership through work but it wasn’t that close. Then a Sam’s Club went in a couple miles from home…more convenient. Soon after a new Costco went in also a couple miles from us and just down the block from Sam’s. I did quite a bit of comparison shopping and we found Sam’s to be equal and just less chaotic. Purchases for us are gas, pharmacy, paper products (TP/PT), liquor, charcoal, eyeglasses, meat/poultry, coffee, some clothing/shoes, pet supplies (like beds) and various pantry items.

Agree the cash rewards are nice, especially here in SoCal with our gas prices.

Gyr, I'm asked because I'm wondering if it worth it to continue when we don't use it much. SORRY, I only have 3 in a 20 mile radius!

Since you do not use their products and services much, then it might not be worth it financially to keep the membership. Since you do have several that are nearby, maybe you could have a neighbor or friend with a membership pick up the few only-from-CostCo items you need. If it was a great distance, and people would be stocking up for the month and packing their vehicle during one trip, that would be a bigger ask.

I know I wish I had a "buddy" just to give the excess items to sometimes. When the price for packs works out to be less $ for what I will use than buying the number of individual cans or bottles elsewhere, it would be great to have a way to not let it go to waste. Unfortunately, I cannot even donate them during the USPS Mother's Day food drives, because the postal workers here refuse to collect the bag(s) of donation items. I asked why they won't take them, and they said they just don't want to bother. :(

Nancy, what I did was cancel the membership. Then if we wanted something big, I bought a membership and bought my item, then did not renew it until we wanted some thing else big. It has been several years that I have even done that.

We are also now just the 2 of us so many things with huge quanitties don't work for us, but we sure do use it a lot. To begin with, I look atthe membership as "entertainment". We have one which is about 6 or 7 miles away, and very nearby other stores we frequent.

The gas is always a better price and we have 2 cars so.... We have gotten tires there, for which they then offer free lifetime rotation .. I do get clothing there which is always a great buy. With paper goods ( toilet paper, tissues etc I find that their price is very good- might not be the absolute best but I appreicate the fact that we are set for several months with that stuff.

There are some random things we buy there that we don't really buy elsewhere- such as kalamata olives, marinated artichokes,all great quality and good prices.

We also have membership at BJ's, which is not as convenient location wise- which also has certain items we can't get elsewhere. Again, I can't say that it can be justified financially, but looking at it as entertainment and it works for us.

I'm not much of a Costco consumer since I no longer live near one. If I happen to need gas when I'm passing a location and there is no line, I will buy gas there. I used to buy all the household cleaning supplies there for my parents, but I don't need to do that any longer. I plan to make a Costco run soon because I need a few small electrics for my new house and Memorial Day sale prices are active, plus I have a coupon from last year's purchases.

I hope your new house is warm and full of light, and wish you many years of good health and good company there.

Why does Houzz make it so damn difficult for some of us to post here? ARGHHH

Just two of us here. We only have one CC. Costco Visa. All of our bills are on auto pay to the card. Paid off every month.

We have ample storage space. Once a year Costco trip includes TP, paper towels, trash bags, cleaning supplies, adult diapers, aluminum foil and cling wrap (lasts many years!), canned goods, spices, flour, sugar, rice, beans, pasta, parmesan cheese, butter, frozen fish/seafood....

But, look into some of their other member benefits as well! Their return policy is unprecedented! I bought a Vizio TV from them years ago. I started getting this weird fading into the screen from the upper left corner. I called and asked about returning it. They told me to keep it and sent me a check for the full purchase price, including tax (over $800.00!). That TV lasted another 12 years.

We had to make an emergency trip to Florida in 2023. A six day drive for us, 12 days getting my mother settled into an assisted living facility, and another six day drive home. We got a discount on the rental car ($500.00) and cash rewards for the rental, fuel, hotels and food for the month.

They have other benefits we haven't even needed yet. I will be looking into the home and auto insurance this year, though.

My cash back rewards every February (from three hundred to twelve hundred) more than pays for our fifty five dollar membership fee.