10 Little-Known Hacks For Costco Members

You're already paying for the membership, so you may as well use all of it. Costco has quietly stacked a bunch of benefits behind that card, and most members never touch them.

• Skip the crowd. Costco reworked its hours so Executive members get in an hour before everyone else on select days: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. An empty warehouse and a full sample table. Hard to beat.
• Cheaper movie nights. Select warehouses and Costco.com sell movie tickets at a member-only price, so a night out costs less than the theater's own box office.
• Your next trip, for less. Costco Travel bundles vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, and hotel stays at member rates. Stack that with the gift cards Costco sells for theme parks, attractions, and city passes and you can shave a real chunk off the total.
• Tires that keep paying you back. Buy and install tires at Costco and the package includes lifetime maintenance: pressure checks, balancing, rotations, and flat repairs. They also inflate with nitrogen instead of compressed air, which holds pressure better over time.
• Partner discounts. Your card also unlocks deals with Costco's partners, like 25% off a Budget Truck rental, which is a nice find the next time you're moving.
• Costco Next. This one flies under the radar: members buy straight from third-party suppliers while still getting Costco-level pricing.

Before your next run, check whether Executive early access applies to your warehouse, pull up Costco Travel before you book anything, and give Costco Next a browse. These perks are already paid for.

Those price tags are basically telling you what to do, once you know how to read them. This is the stuff seasoned members use to time their buys.

• The asterisk means now or never. An asterisk in the corner of the tag means Costco isn't reordering that item. When it's gone, it's gone, so if you love it, grab it.
• Decode the cents. Regular prices usually end in .99. A price ending in .79 signals a markdown. Odd endings like .49 or .89 often point to a manufacturer deal. And .88 or a clean .00? That's typically a manager knocking down inventory to clear it out.
• Coupons you don't have to clip. The discounts in the Costco Savings booklet apply automatically at checkout. No printing, no scanning, no forgetting it on the kitchen counter.
• The short list is the point. A warehouse carries roughly 4,000 items instead of tens of thousands, which is exactly how Costco buys in volume and pushes prices down. Costco.com stocks plenty of online-only products the warehouse never carries, so check there before assuming they don't sell it.

Learn those four and you'll stop buying things a week before they get marked down.

You're about to renew your policy without a second thought. Don't. Take five minutes first and see what else is out there. Most drivers stick with the same provider year after year and never check if they could pay less. That's not loyalty. That's money left on the table.

This free tool compares options in just a few clicks, and the results can be surprising. Drivers who switch can save up to $610 a year. That's not a rounding error. That's real money back in your pocket, every single year.

Want to know if you're overpaying too? Here's the move:

1. Click the link below and enter your zip code, date of birth, and phone number.
2. Answer a few quick questions about your car's make and model to get matched with top offers.
3. Pick the option that works best for you, and if you find a better rate, switch your policy and start saving.

Compare your options now and see if you could pay less for the same coverage

One thing: cancel the old policy once the new one's active. Paying for two at once defeats the whole point. Most drivers who try this wish they'd done it sooner. Getting matched with providers takes about two minutes. That's it.

If the last few years taught us anything, it's that prices go up and markets don't move in a straight line. Paper investments can swing hard, while physical gold and silver have historically held their value through downturns, recessions, and stretches of high inflation.

Goldco helps people diversify a slice of retirement savings into precious metals. Rolling part of an existing IRA or 401(k) into a Gold IRA doesn't trigger tax penalties, and they walk you through every step, with no pressure and no obligation. Their free Gold IRA guide costs nothing to read, and sitting on your hands while markets swing can cost plenty.

You'll drive across town for a deal on paper towels, but the homeowners policy that auto-renews every year? Untouched since you bought the place. That's where the real money is hiding. Insurers count on you never checking, and rates creep up quietly year after year.

Shopping your rate is one of the fastest wins in your whole budget. Spend a few minutes to compare current top-rated providers side-by-side and you can often get the exact same coverage for noticeably less. Check current rates in your area today and see what you've been leaving on the table.

The lifetime tire care that comes with a Costco tire install is great. It also won't do a thing for you when the transmission goes or the A/C compressor dies, and either one of those can vaporize a few thousand dollars in a single afternoon.

Endurance Car Warranties covers the major repairs and mechanical breakdowns that regular auto insurance won't go near: engine, transmission, drive axle, electrical. For one predictable monthly rate, a check engine light becomes their problem instead of yours.

Endurance is the direct provider, not a middleman reselling somebody else's contract, so there's no third party to argue with when a claim goes in. You pick the shop too: repairs can go to any ASE-certified mechanic or dealership, and plans include 24/7 roadside assistance and towing.

Tell them your vehicle to see what coverage costs. Quotes are free, and every plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.

Buying in bulk doesn't help much when a 27% APR is quietly undoing the savings every month. If high-interest credit card debt is where your money keeps disappearing, you've got company, and you've got options. Freedom Debt Relief has helped thousands of Americans settle what they owe for less than the original balance, and you don't need perfect credit to start.

The program is built for people carrying $20,000 or more who are tired of watching interest charges swallow everything they manage to save. They hold a 4.7/5 rating on Trustpilot, and there are zero fees until your debt is actually resolved. It takes about a minute to see where you stand, and every month you wait is another month of interest.

Stop bogging yourself down with those high-interest credit card payments. It seriously limits your spending power. If your monthly interest payments are starting to creep out of control, you might need to take a look at changing things up with your current credit card by finding a card with a 0% intro APR.

Editors at FinanceBuzz have done their research, and they've identified some of the best options to help you take back control. These cards offer a generous 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers into nearly 2028, which means you could get the breathing room you need to tackle your debt or make a new purchase without being hamstrung by high interest for over the whole year.

On top of that, you can earn up to 5% cash back on everyday purchases with these cards and enjoy a $0 annual fee. It's really a no-brainer when you consider you could save on interest and earn rewards on everyday purchases.

Get rid of your high-interest payments. Learn more about these cards today.

Bulk buying works right up until you need one thing, tonight. Costco's pharmacy hours are limited, there's no warehouse on every corner, and nobody wants to burn a Saturday morning on a single prescription. Walgreens is what fills that gap.

Here's the part worth paying attention to: Walgreens routinely runs offers tied to buying online and picking up in store, and that's where the savings stack. Costco for the once-a-month haul, Walgreens for the Tuesday-night run, ideally ordered ahead for pickup. Between the two you're rarely paying full price for anything. Check this week's offers before your next drugstore run. The rewards program is free to join.