The greeter at the front of your local Costco is no longer giving your card a polite glance. Every warehouse now has members scan their card at the front door, and the card carries its owner’s photo, so the one you borrowed from your sister will not get you far. Many food courts now ask for a card too, which has made the walk-up $1.50 hot dog a lot harder to get without one. The casual stroll through the aisles is over. What is left is a short list of legal ways in, and the best one is a gift card that somebody else has to buy for you.
A Gold Star membership costs $65 a year, up from $60 before September 2024, and an Executive membership runs $130. Those fees are what pay for the thin prices on the shelves, which is why Costco polices its entrance harder than almost any other store in America. The rules still have holes in them, and none of them require lying to an employee. They come from state laws and Costco’s own gift card policy.
The Shop Card Is The Closest Thing To A Membership
A Costco Shop Card, sometimes called a Costco Cash Card, lets a non-member walk in and buy groceries, a TV, a mattress, whatever. Only a member can purchase one or reload it, but once it is in your wallet, you can shop without that person standing next to you. That single detail is what separates the Shop Card from every other workaround on this list.
The cards do not expire, so one sitting in a drawer since last Christmas is still good. They work at any Costco warehouse in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and at Costco.com. If your cart rings up higher than the balance on the card, you cover the difference at the register. A physical card also works at the gas pumps, which is the only way a non-member gets Costco gas prices at all.
Two catches worth knowing before you try it. The digital version of the Shop Card is not accepted at the food court in the U.S. or Canada, only the physical one. And while people do resell these cards on online marketplaces, reloadable gift cards are a favorite target for fraud, so get yours from a member you actually know.
In Some States, Anyone 21 And Up Can Walk In And Buy Wine
Some states bar a store from making you join a club before it sells you alcohol, and Costco’s own rules let non-members buy alcohol where the law requires it. Costco publishes no list, so call your warehouse first. The states most often named are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Vermont.
The rules are not identical from state to state. Texas and Vermont sell only beer and wine to the public, not liquor. In Colorado and Connecticut, not every warehouse carries alcohol in the first place, so call before you drive over. New York, along with some Connecticut and Delaware locations, puts the alcohol department behind its own entrance or in a separate building, which makes the whole thing easier.
How it works in practice: tell the door staff you are there for the liquor department, and the membership desk hands you a temporary pass good for that trip only. Bring ID. You go to the alcohol section and nowhere else, no browsing the warehouse floor and no food court on the way out. Expect your cashier to call a supervisor, because plenty of employees have never had to apply this rule.
The Pharmacy Counter Cannot Turn You Away
Costco’s membership rules let non-members buy prescription drugs where the law requires it, and in practice no card is needed to fill a prescription at its counter. This is the one non-member route that does not depend on the company’s goodwill, which is why it is the most reliable door in the building.
Tell the greeter you are going to the pharmacy and walk straight back. Payment can be cash, debit, Visa or a Shop Card. Your access covers the counter and not the rest of the store, so do not try to grab a rotisserie chicken on the way out. Non-members can also get immunizations such as a flu shot, though pricing on some of those can differ from what members pay, so ask for the number first.
Worth the trip on price alone. A 2018 Consumer Reports survey of more than 150 pharmacies found Costco cheaper than every store it checked, beaten only by the online pharmacy HealthWarehouse.com, and those were non-member prices. Ask the pharmacist to compare your insurance copay against the straight cash price, because the cash price occasionally wins.
Two Guests Per Member, One Wallet At Checkout
Every Costco member can bring up to two guests into the warehouse per visit. The member scans in at the door and the guests walk in alongside. Only the member can pay, so the arrangement most people land on is simple: your friend rings up your stuff, you hand them cash or send the money afterward. Cashiers see this constantly and will often ring items separately within the same transaction.
Guests are expected to stay with the member, since Costco holds the cardholder responsible for whoever they bring in. The food court is where this gets awkward now, because it is members-only at many U.S. warehouses. A member can still order and hand the food to a guest, which is the easy way around it.
If you live with a member, skip the guest routine entirely. Every membership account covers two people: the primary member and one household member age 16 or older at the same address, who gets their own card at no extra cost. Roommates, partners and adult kids living at home all fit that definition.
The Eye Exam Is Open To Everyone, The Glasses Are Not
Anyone can book an eye exam at Costco Optical, membership or not. The optometrist works independently of Costco, so there is no card required to sit in the chair. Not every warehouse has an optical department, so check your location first.
Buying is where the line sits. Glasses and contacts are sold at the Costco Optical counter inside the warehouse, and that purchase takes a membership. Take the prescription you just paid for and fill it anywhere you like, or have a member friend handle the purchase for you. Either way, you keep the exam.
Costco.com Will Sell To Anyone For 5% More
No membership is needed to order from Costco’s website. Non-members pay 5% more than members on the items they are allowed to buy. On a $200 order, that surcharge costs you $10 extra, which is a bargain compared to a $65 annual fee if you are buying once or twice a year.
Order every month and the math flips fast. A few in-store items are not sold online and certain services stay behind the member wall, and some listings are marked member only, but plenty of the catalog is available to you at that small markup.
Instacart.com will also shop a Costco warehouse for you with no membership attached, and you never walk through the door. Costco’s own Same-Day site does require a membership. That convenience costs real money: item prices are raised above shelf price, then delivery fees, service fees and a tip stack on top, which adds up fast. Fine for a one-off. Expensive as a habit.
The Day Pass Everyone Swears Exists Never Has
Costco does not offer a free day pass or a trial visit for non-members. The temporary passes some warehouses hand out for the pharmacy or the liquor department cover that one errand and nothing else. The closest equivalent is that the membership fee is covered by a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so joining in March and quitting in May costs you nothing.
A couple of other things that will not work. Using your neighbor’s card is finished now that every card is scanned at the front door and carries its owner’s photo. And no, the dog cannot come with you, because only trained service animals are allowed inside.
When The Workarounds Stop Being Worth The Hassle
Every route here swaps a flat $65 for friction, a surcharge, or a favor from a friend. Pulling that off three or four times a year is smart. Doing it monthly means you are paying more than a member while enjoying it less.
That $65 Gold Star covers warehouse access, Costco.com with no surcharge, the gas station and a free second card for someone in your household, which puts it at $32.50 per person for a couple. Watch for sign-up offers that bundle a Shop Card. In October 2026 new members online got a $20 card with Gold Star and $40 with Executive.
Executive at $130 is a different question. The 2% annual reward on qualifying purchases is capped at $1,250 a year, and the upgrade only pays for its extra $65 if you spend somewhere around $270 a month at Costco. Below that, you are buying a nicer-looking card. My honest take: use the pharmacy and the alcohol rule if your state allows it, keep a Shop Card around for big one-time buys, and if you catch yourself doing the workaround dance every few weeks, just pay the $65 and walk through the front door like everyone else.
