How to Shop at Costco and Sam's Club Without a Membership

Buying toilet paper a pallet at a time from Costco or Sam's Club can save you money in the long run, but what if you only shop there once every few months? You still want the savings, so what do you do? Turns out you can still take advantage of bulk pricing without paying membership fees.

First, Sam Club actually offers a free one-day pass that you can print out and bring in whenever you want. Sounds great! Unfortunately by using this pass, you're going to be charged an extra 10% on everything you buy, thereby negating a lot of the savings you'd get buying in bulk. Though, a lot doesn't mean all, so you still might come out ahead, depending on what you buy. One-time crazy sales and loss leaders (items advertised cheap in order to get you into their stores) come to mind as a good use of this one-day pass.

Costco, on the other hand, doesn't require you to pay an extra 10% (or their standard 5% non-member surcharge) as long as you have a Costco Cash card, which is just a gift card. If you know someone who has a Costco membership, Consumerist says you can ask them to buy a bunch of $10 pre-paid Costco Cash cards for you. All you have to do is show the card at the door to gain entry, then use it at the register when you check out, paying anything over $10 with cash or a debit card. Don't use your other $10 Costco Cash cards in the same purchase, since you're saving them for subsequent trips.

You can even have your Costco membership-having friends order these cash cards online, though the minimum purchase there is $25 instead of $10.

Of course you can still go into Costco without a membership, but you'll have to pay that extra 5% surcharge. It's not bad, and depending on what you buy, can still save you money.

Original photo by Flickr user /*dave*/
