No membership fee loophole closed at Costco (ON)

[sampler]

Hi Lynn49, if you spend $55 for the membership you get to shop at Costco
plus discounts on gas
plus car discounts
plus travel discounts at costco.ca
plus rental car discounts at costco.ca
plus movie package discounts
plus lower prices on selected items (some are able to use coupons to get deals better than Costco).

We shop for friends and family all the time and they pay us back.
The gas is the best deal for us when other stations raise prices in peak summer travel or

When I was a member I never used any of the discounts... BUT I think I get what they are trying to do...hear me out (no judging)

Costco thinks that the cheapos (cheapos isn't a negative word for me ) who will do the gift card loop hole thingy, will be the type to be ballsy enough to request a refund of their $55 membership....so, now after this NEW CHANGE, they think that Mrs./Mr. Ballsy will just buy the $55 membership, and shop for the stuff they want for a year and then ask for a refund of the $55 membership, instead of constantly buying $50 costco cashcards/costco gift cards (wutever u wanna call em).

How is this going to make Costco money?? Well, just like how they promote their current membership with the guarantee of refund if you don't like it... They hope that Mrs./Mr. Ballsy will enjoy the membership and the perks, or forget to ask for a refund, or find that it is better to just get the membership than constantly getting these cashcards ....

Why didn't the above work on the $25 gift cards you ask?, well because they noticed it didn't from their reports and now they hope that this will do the trick. Also, one might think that a person who only needs to spend $25 to get what they want might not be such a big spender, so costco doesn't care for these super cheapos and want to make them go away


That's my assumption and I am sticking with it! Otherwise, I have no clue ...

[sampler]

Maybe it is because I am a Costco member and yes this is my choice and will continue to pay my membership fee as it is worth it to my family but in all honesty I would be happy to see Costco completely close the No Membership loophole especially since obviously people are abusing it.

I can admit we had a friend who used to tag along when we went to Costco would put things on our bill and pay us cash for it, here and there I don't mind but when it became a weekly are you going to Costco we cut them off, if you need to go to Costco weekly it is time to pay for membership just like we do. .

That's when you get the Executive membership with the % cash back, and then call this "friend" and ask her, Do you need to go to costco?

[SavvyLady]

Just in case you didn't know..The pharmacies inside Costco do not require a Costco membership! Canadian law requires that pharmacists dispense to anyone, so they can't limit their customers to Costco members.

[vw_girl]

my 2 cents is I cannot bring myself to pay a store ( membership ) to shop there. I think it is because we simply cannot benefit from the many rewards the membership offers. ( we don't rent cars or travel, and right now saving 12 cents off a litre every time we buy gas at Petro Can works just fine ) A friend of mine complained she can never leave there without her cart overflowing and a large bill, so I guess Costco is for people who have amazing self control while strolling the aisles.

I agree. The only thing I have really benefited from buying from Costco is dog food. I don't really need anything else in large quantities and now that I am down to one dog, the dog food isn't really needed either. I have had a membership twice in 15-20 years and let it expire both times because its not difficult to find a friend ot tag along with when I want to buy something I can only get at Costco.

Champion sport socks and their larger spices come to mind - there are a few other Kirkland brand products that I do like to pick up from time ot time as a treat but never have I felt I made my membership back in savings. In fact, things I use to think were worth it were tp, laundry soap etc because of how long they would last. But I have smartened up and now stock pile that sort of thing when I shop at SDM and stack coupons, personal offers, get points.

I can still use my expired membership# to get discounts and upgrades on my car rentals, to get a cheap hot dog and pop for lunch, to browse or price check etc. But from now on if I want to purchase something, I will get my hands on the gift card instead of bugging a friend!

Oh yeah, and by law - they cannot charge a membership to dispense drugs - so anyone can go to their pharmacy and get the same reduced rate. Just learned this from my health plan admin a couple months ago. Ooops - just noticed that @SavvyLady already mentioned this.

[tjthemanto]

my 2 cents is I cannot bring myself to pay a store ( membership ) to shop there. I think it is because we simply cannot benefit from the many rewards the membership offers. ( we don't rent cars or travel, and right now saving 12 cents off a litre every time we buy gas at Petro Can works just fine ) A friend of mine complained she can never leave there without her cart overflowing and a large bill, so I guess Costco is for people who have amazing self control while strolling the aisles.

yup..I would never pay to shop somewhere. Costco doesn't take cpns ..with cpns and sale prices you can pretty much get the same price elsewhere, even if you don't buy huge bulk sizes.

honestly I don't really want to buy a 20 Litre bottle of ketchup..I am not a hot dog vendor..he he.

[tjthemanto]

I was once turned down at their door by a rude arrogant door Nazi , even though I was accessing their pharamacy .

By law they can't prevent access to the pharamcy , irrespective of whether you are a member or not. I was in a hurry , so didn't argue much and didn't bother speaking to the manager..but did tell a couple of employees They can't prevent me from accessing their pharmacy, but they wouldn't budge.

couple of times I emailed their head office and tried to escalate things ..Zero response from them..not even an acknowledgement ..just completely ignored me.

That's when I decided , I am never ever going to get their membership..previously I was on the fence..I might have got their membership, was kind of thinking about it ..but after this never again.

[seylz_gurl]

^understand it must be frustrating if they didn't let you use the pharmacy but folks at the door are just doing their job. Sorry I don't like the use of the term Nazi out of context as it can be really hurtful but have a good day and nothing personal.

[Shwa Girl]

When I was a member I never used any of the discounts... BUT I think I get what they are trying to do...hear me out (no judging)

Costco thinks that the cheapos (cheapos isn't a negative word for me ) who will do the gift card loop hole thingy, will be the type to be ballsy enough to request a refund of their $55 membership....so, now after this NEW CHANGE, they think that Mrs./Mr. Ballsy will just buy the $55 membership, and shop for the stuff they want for a year and then ask for a refund of the $55 membership, instead of constantly buying $50 costco cashcards/costco gift cards (wutever u wanna call em).

How is this going to make Costco money?? Well, just like how they promote their current membership with the guarantee of refund if you don't like it... They hope that Mrs./Mr. Ballsy will enjoy the membership and the perks, or forget to ask for a refund, or find that it is better to just get the membership than constantly getting these cashcards ....

Why didn't the above work on the $25 gift cards you ask?, well because they noticed it didn't from their reports and now they hope that this will do the trick. Also, one might think that a person who only needs to spend $25 to get what they want might not be such a big spender, so costco doesn't care for these super cheapos and want to make them go away


That's my assumption and I am sticking with it! Otherwise, I have no clue ...

[barbis9]

I was once turned down at their door by a rude arrogant door Nazi , even though I was accessing their pharamacy .

By law they can't prevent access to the pharamcy , irrespective of whether you are a member or not. I was in a hurry , so didn't argue much and didn't bother speaking to the manager..but did tell a couple of employees They can't prevent me from accessing their pharmacy, but they wouldn't budge.

couple of times I emailed their head office and tried to escalate things ..Zero response from them..not even an acknowledgement ..just completely ignored me.

That's when I decided , I am never ever going to get their membership..previously I was on the fence..I might have got their membership, was kind of thinking about it ..but after this never again.

Contact the pharmacist as that location by telephone. They know the law. I never go in through the front door - try going in the exit door where customer service is. I have lied in the past saying that I need to go to customer service and then access the pharmacy. If you have a pharmacy file there, speak to the pharmacist.

As above members have stated - it's against Ontario law to entice, charge a fee, offer rewards (ie points), to use a pharmacy. I would also complain to the Ontario government. These rude front door people should be charged. Imagine if they were in the USA and someone pulled a gun on them? Personally no job is worth stopping people at the door for.

Costco earns a percentage on what they sell on top of the membership fee. For someone like me it does not pay off to get a membership as I go maybe 4 times a year. I will continue to go with my friend. Costco used to allow you to share your membership with someone at a different address but got rid of that and now I refuse to renew.

[barbis9]

^understand it must be frustrating if they didn't let you use the pharmacy but folks at the door are just doing their job. Sorry I don't like the use of the term Nazi out of context as it can be really hurtful but have a good day and nothing personal.

I agree the term "Nazi" should not be used as it is offensive. But I understand the frustration of this member. The staff is breaking the law. Pharmacies in Ontario are FREE to access. Costco needs to address this by providing separate access, just like they do with eye doctors that are practising on their sites.

[sampler]

I read that they will accept Visa in 2016 ... http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/201...rds-next-year/
I hope this is for Canadian locations too...

I would love to get the Executive membership and double dip in cashback rewards (my visa has a 1% cashback).

[RonBC]

yup..I would never pay to shop somewhere. Costco doesn't take cpns ..with cpns and sale prices you can pretty much get the same price elsewhere, even if you don't buy huge bulk sizes.

honestly I don't really want to buy a 20 Litre bottle of ketchup..I am not a hot dog vendor..he he.

Hmm.. I've never seen a 20 litre bottle of ketchup at Costco.

Ron.

[RonBC]

I read that they will accept Visa in 2016 ... http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/201...rds-next-year/
I hope this is for Canadian locations too...

I would love to get the Executive membership and double dip in cashback rewards (my visa has a 1% cashback).

No... Costco Canada recently signed a long term deal with Capital One to accept Mastercard. This replaced the Amex here.

You can buy Costco Cash (gift) Cards online, and pay with any card... and get your points/rebate that way.

Ron.

[barbis9]

My understanding is you can now use any mastercard to pay but need to be a member.

[sampler]

No... Costco Canada recently signed a long term deal with Capital One to accept Mastercard. This replaced the Amex here.

You can buy Costco Cash (gift) Cards online, and pay with any card... and get your points/rebate that way.

Ron.

Do you have any sources that say Costco Canada will not have Visa ?