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How to get a FREE 1 Year Costco membership every year

by The Review CrewNovember 5, 2012

Free 1 Year Costco Membership

free-costco-membership[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]ou go over to the customer service counter and give them your 1 year membership card (the primary member has to do this, so the person that got your second card can’t do this, but they can come along to get the second card again).

Slide your 1 year Costco membership card over to the clerk and ask for a refund.  They will ask you why and you tell them I don’t like the fact that it expires.  They will give you the money, likely apologize and that will be that.

Turning your card in to get your Free 1 Year Costco Membership

Depending on how bold you are feeling you can do one of two things (there is nothing wrong with either way and I’ve done it both ways). Once you get your money you can go home or go to a different Costco and get a membership OR you can decide which membership you want and then fill out the membership application.  Slide the money (and whatever amount the new rate is (so if 2012 was 55 bucks 2013 might be 58 so you will need to give them 3 more dollars)).  I would like a 1 year Costo membership please.  If you decided to just do it right then and there, the clerk might give you a hard time, (They aren’t supposed to) and they might need to contact the manager (sometimes people make this more complicated then it is).  The manager will come down and approve the transaction.  The whole process takes about 10 minutes and you save between 50 and 150 bucks.  If you didn’t do it right then and there, you will have no issue at all and you can continue getting your Free 1 Year Costco Membership for the rest of your life.

The Costco Guarantee that gets you the Free 1 Year Costco Membership

costcoRemember, look over at the sign about the guarantee.  It says “We will happily issue a full refund for your membership at anytime for any reason.”  There is no fine print.  This is their rule, and a large reason to purchase a membership.  It is put there for 2 reasons.  1) To assure you that you will not be sucked into a membership that has no value without the ability to get your money back.  2) To make sure the thrifty customers who wouldn’t normally purchase a membership have an outlet to address their issue with paying money for the privilege of shopping.  Now take the money you just saved and go get a Free SAMS club membership it works slightly differently, but SAMS club is definitely worth going to if you have one near you.

If you are interested in reading Costco’s membership return policy yourself, simply click this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

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The Review Crew
  • Laurie

    You interchange free Sam’s Club and free Costco in the article. Which are you talking about? Either way, you are a low life if you do it.

    • Reviewboard

      A low life for taking them up on their offer to refund? That’s absurd, the company says it’s OK, who are you to say it isn’t?

      • Jason Dunn

        Hey “Reviewboard”, it’s call “ethics”. Take a class in it since your parents obviously didn’t raise you to have them.

  • Laurie


    • Reviewboard


    • Guest

      Your just pissed because your to stupid and keep shelling out to a company that doesn’t need membership costs because they make billions a year profit and they keep making morons like you pay because there to fucking greedy.

  • ksj

    That is stealing…unless you truly are unhappy with the company, If so, why would you continue to shop there? People that scam on membership fees cause rate increases for everyone else.

    • faust

      This is not stealing, this gaming the system by exploiting a loophole. I *guarantee* you that Costco’s accountants do the exact same thing to legally evade payment of taxes that would otherwise reasonably be due, and Costco definitely lines many shelves with stuff manufactured in second- and third-world countries thus avoiding the cost of fair wages, employee rights and environmental accountability to its manufacturers.

      • GuidoPescatore

        So because Costco doesn’t do business in a way that you think is ethical, it entitles you to be unethical as well? I’m afraid I don’t follow your logic…

  • ksj


  • Pingback: How to get a free 1 Year SAMS Club membership | Reviewboard Magazine()

  • Reviewboard

    Have you called SAMS or Costco’s customer service line? They tell you to do it if you don’t like paying for the membership. This isn’t stealing, it’s not wrong, and it’s not unethical. When the company says you can do it, you can do it.

  • sammie

    People like you are a blight on society. you think you are so clever, but if you spent half the effort being a decent person that you do finding ways to exploit others, you might have a good life. think about it. then please start trying to be a better person. you can do it if you try!

  • joefriday14

    Thanks for looking out for us stupids.

  • Time Johnson

    Costco is one of Americas greatest retailers, they are known for offering almost all of their employees, even part time health care. There average wage is over $20 dollars and hour and starts at over $12 dollars. They are extremely environmentally aware and have many products that use much less energy in production compared to non Costco items. Costco was gracious enough to extend this guarantee to put its customers first and never make them pay for something they don’t want. You people are just milking the system and ruining it for everyone else. People complain about stores having stricter return policies but they have to because too many bottom feeders like this abuse the system. Please start being honest and stop ruining the system for everyone, because personally I love knowing if I signup for Costco and truly do not use it I can cancel. Costco can provide the amazing prices, products and attention to employees and customers because of the membership fees. Without the money from membership there would be no Costco. That would be a shame.

    • Reviewboard Magazine

      Cool, they are so great their Public Relations Spokeswoman said they had no problem with our refund practice. So the only remaining question is why do you? This is a lot like when two people get married in a traditional church setting and the minister says “is there anyone that has any reason why these two people shouldn’t be joined in marriage?” and you… someone neither party knows stands up and says “YES”. #oddity

  • Reviewboard

    You are only lying if you are happy with it “Trewth”. Believe it or not there are loads of people are upset with the idea of paying money for the privilege of buying something. Those people aren’t lying, and because they aren’t lying it is completely ethical for them to avail themselves of the return policy. So what you might want to say is “It would be unethical for ME “Trewth Teller” to do this because I’m satisfied with paying for something with no value and I sleep well at night”. To that I bid you a good day and wish you luck. I also have a membership I’d like to sell you for a small piece of swamp land… It has an excellent value… there are gators and bugs… free of charge…

    • johnlo

      There is a value to what you are paying for. That you don’t see it speaks more to your mindset than anything else. Here is the value — Costco has a very low turnover rate for its employees. It pays them well, provides insurance, and focuses its operations costs around its memberships, not profit off of goods. The cost to the company is about 4% less profit than Wal-Mart. Their stock owners sometimes harass them, wanting that extra 4% profit, wanting them to lower pay scales, etc, but they stick to their mindset, which is “happy employees means less turnover, and fewer hiring costs, and less stress on everyone involved.” This is what you are paying for. A better way of doing business. An ethical way, that bypasses the dog eat dog mindset of places such as Wal-Mart. Costco, and the way it does business, is the value of the membership.

      • Reviewboard Magazine

        Or… the fact that you do see a “value” could speak for the fact that you have been brainwashed by advertising and traditional media. Never in history have we paid for the right to pay for something. Then… all of a sudden… television, advertising and global news media technologies exist and you become a lap dog. Think about it. It’s like being charged $5.95 to pay your Electric Bill over the phone. When will it stop? Wake up America.

  • Jason Dunn

    I found this article when I was looking for a discount on a Costco membership. I wish the author had the guts to put his/her name on it instead of hiding behind anonymity, because I’d like to publicly name and shame the unethical, dishonest, morally bereft person who thinks this approach is OK. I believe you reap what you sow, and people like this will always get what they deserve in the end.

    Some of the comments in this thread – including by the “Reviewboard” moderator – illustrate the moral compass of a two year old. “If you can get away with it, that must mean it’s OK” is how young children think. Grown adults who have a proper sense of right and wrong do not think this way.

    • Fiyre43__MargoE

      I agree with you Jason Dunn. I read this article and was appalled at the moral compass displayed….or I should say the lack of moral compass. Is this what the world has come to??? smh

  • DexterRexter

    The lack of distinction between the values on which Sam’s and Costco’s business models are built is a good in indication the authors’ corporate moral compass is absent. the article vindicated the suspicion.

  • sdfsdf

    While I like the idea of saving money how is this article not teach theft and deception? I guarantee this person just like many of you do minor things like this thinking its ok and dont like at the moral issue behind it. Yes, I agree screw corporate America but the bigger picture is that if you do this what else are you capable of?

  • Greg Weaver

    That’s actually a pretty crappy thing to do. People who do stuff like this are the ones who give companies the excuse to create customer-screwing policies. Thanks for screwing the rest of us over, I guess?

    There’s no debate that companies are greedy, but “customers” like this give them the justification to act the way they do. And Costco is one of the few companies who AREN’T utter shitheels to their employees and customers. So if you pull this stunt, be aware that you’re a shitty person.

    • Reviewboard

      “Customers” like this operate because of the way they do. You have the cart before the horse Greg. But siding for big business as they fleece people out of money for the privilege of shopping at their stores, and training people like you to be their lap dogs makes you a very shitty person.

  • Ryan

    I work at the membership desk at a wholesale club (i won’t say which), and they offer the same “100% guarantee membership” although it is really annoying.. people do take advantage and scam the system. They will come up to the desk and ask for a refund the week before it expires and say they were not happy with the membership and/ or did not use it enough, but our computers tell you exactly how much money was spent throughout the year. (so we know these people are lying) They will take their money and turn right around and ask to open a new account. We actually do have the right to refuse you to reopen right after you cancel. (JSYK). I can’t stand people who do this, but really, the store isn’t losing much money because they still make money off your shopping. If you can’t afford a membership at a wholesale club, you shouldn’t shop there. It truly is unethical, and it really just makes you look like a cheap, horrible person.

    • Reviewboard Magazine

      It always amazes me that people feel this way. For thousands of years buyers have been purchasing or trading from merchants. Along comes P.T. Barnum and his slick willy way of doing things “a sucker is born every minute”… taking that school of thought many organizations have developed “pay for play” shopping and at first it was scoffed at, and then through advertising and a few “good deals” it caught on a bit. Now a very foolish part of the population actually feels it is justified to the degree that they would call someone not willing to pay for the privilege of buying goods or services from a merchant “cheap” and “a horrible person” among other things. I truly pity you from the bottom of my heart. I feel sorry for your children if you ever birth any, because they will be brought up with this odd ethical anomaly that favors the slick willies and the P.T. Barnums of the world. They may even grow up and helm a corporation that engages in these activities and takes advantage of the consumer. The thing about evil is… it actually thinks it’s on the right side… #goodluckwiththat

    • Reviewboard

      I’m always amazed at the people who bring up ethics in the same sentence as a policy that P.T. Barnum invented. “A sucker is born every minute” is true, but you take the cake. This pay for play thing is absurd, and that’s why they allow people to return their membership and get a new one because they know it. I’m not sure why you are even weighing in here. You work at BJ’s Wholesale club and they don’t offer a return membership (well they do, but it is pro-rated so you don’t get all your money back). So you are lying while you are calling us unethical. #coolstory.