Heads up, Costco Shoppers! Membership Cards will Now Be Scanned at Store Entrances
Members need to be aware of these Costco membership changes!
Costco fans we’ve got some bad news – Costco is cracking down on card sharing!
Costco is putting a stop to Membership Card sharing effective immediately and they are doing so in a few different ways! The warehouse club recently announced the plan to add scanning machines to the entrances of all stores.
Prior to entering members will need to scan their membership card by holding the barcode or QR code up to the scanner. Shoppers with inactive or expired cards will be directed to the membership counter. Also, members without a picture on their Costco card may be asked to show valid ID.
Employees will now also be verifying that your name matches your membership card when you enter the store and when you checkout.
Our very own HipSidekick, Paige visited her local Costco and stated that employees were checking that each shopper had a Costco card and were not allowing sharing of cards.
So, if you’ve been sharing a friend or family member’s card it’s now time to grab a Gold Star Membership for yourself!
How many people can be on my Costco membership?
A total of two people can be on a Costco Gold Star Membership. There can be one primary member and one free household member who is over 18 and lives at the same address. Note, if you have a business membership then you can add more than one person for an additional fee.
ours has been checking membership at the door for years, not sure if they will physically get the card and check. Also, they have self-checkout. Will they come check your card and id each time? That will defeat the purpose of a fast checkout. I’m pretty sure the $60 in card charing loss is made up by the thousands that the sharers are spending in the store. Stop being petty Costco! And for the record, it should really be enough cards per household. there are 4 adults living in our house (almost 5!) why do I need to by 3 different memberships for those 5 people when we all live under one roof?!?
We have to show that we have a card at the door but have never had it scanned at the door. Also, for a while now they have a person checking the photos on the IDs at the self checkout prior to allowing you up to a register to check out. I have never had someone else use my card before so it has never caused a problem for me. I did have an issue though trying to check out my flex spending items (allergy medications) separately from my other items. The self checkout person who kind of watches over the registers came over and told me that wasn’t allowed. At that point I already had my first transaction paid for and was going to pay for my second transaction. I told her I needed a separate receipt and she seemed baffled by that. She said well next time you can try checking out in the pharmacy. I’ve been doing it that way for years and didn’t have a problem until just recently.
Yep, I’ve been asked for ID or reprimanded by a Costco employee more than once for using my husband’s card when my debit card name didn’t match the account (I’m not on the account).
I have Costco cash cards and no membership currently. What will they do about that?
Great question, Swati! I chatted with Costco customer service and they informed me that you’ll still be able to enter the store to use your Costco cash card. We’ll keep watch for any other updates as they become available. 🤗❤️