ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / PERSONAL FINANCE

Costco shopper reveals the secret to turn your rewards points into cash — not many know about it

Some in the comments claimed that it's ok to redeem reward points for cash but Costco's website says otherwise.
PUBLISHED NOV 5, 2024
Representational image of a Costco member showing her membership card to an employee | (Cover image source: Getty Images | VIEW Press)
Representational image of a Costco member showing her membership card to an employee | (Cover image source: Getty Images | VIEW Press)

Costco memberships remain attractive for shoppers because of several perks including a generous return policy and deals that boost savings on grocery bills. While a basic paid membership is enough to get the benefits, Costco offers cash-back rewards for premium members. Reward points are typically redeemed to get products in exchange, but a TikTok creator named Kriss (@krissmemore) has shared a hack to convert them into cash.  

Customers walk by the membership counter at a Costco store (Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Customers walk by the membership counter at a Costco store (Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Cashing in on Coupons

Executive Members of Costco earn an annual 2% reward which goes up to $1,250 in total value. The reward points are collected with every qualified purchase on Costco, Costco.com, and Costco Travel. For executive memberships, customers need to shell out $130, as compared to $65 for Gold Star and Business memberships. 



 

The Reward certificate is mailed to the 'Primary Member' every year, and Costco's website says that the reward points can only be redeemed toward purchases of most merchandise through the front-end registers and can't be exchanged for cash. To find a way around this, Kriss shared a clip showing a hack that she learned from a Costco worker, and has tested herself since.

Screenshots showing Kriss talking about the hack (Image source: TikTok/@krissmemore)
Screenshots showing Kriss talking about the hack (Image source: TikTok/@krissmemore)

Kriss says that the Executive Members of Costo can go into the store and use their annual 2% reward points to buy merchandise. However, if they use them to buy a single item, "let's say a pack of bananas," the change is returned in cash. In her case, the creator says she used two of her coupons to buy just four items, and a worker at the register returned the change in cash. "So yeah, that's how you cheat the system," Kriss said at the end of her video.

Screenshots of Kriss with the cash (Image source: TikTok/@krissmemore)
Screenshots of Kriss with the cash (Image source: TikTok/@krissmemore)

Several viewers in the comment section thanked the creator for sharing the tip. Some even shared other tricks to use the reward points differently. "I use it towards my membership fee so sometimes it pays itself off," @hmontoya19 wrote.

Screenshot of a comment sharing more Costco hacks (Image source: TikTok/@officialdarlingdanika)
Screenshot of a comment sharing more Costco hacks (Image source: TikTok/@officialdarlingdanika)

Meanwhile, several viewers claimed that the rewards can absolutely be cashed in, even thought the Costco website claims otherwise. "I've been cashing my Costco reward check at the customer service for how many years now. They always give me cash, and I live in Washington State," @vanessaclemente9699 said

In any case, this adds another reason to the list of perks of getting a Costco membership. In the past couple of years, the Washington-based wholesale chain has been cracking down on membership sharing to prevent people from using paid accounts of their friends and family. Earlier this year, Costco announced that it's installing special devices at all store entrances to scan each membership card and make sure that the user is the original owner. The official statement added that all members must scan their physical or digital membership cards through a scanner machine.



 

As part of the crackdown, members who do not have their photo on their membership card will need to show a valid photo ID to a worker to enter the store and shop, CBS News reported.

For more such hacks and entertaining content, follow Kriss (@krissmemore) on TikTok.

RELATED TOPICS COSTCO
MORE ON MARKET REALIST
While there could be millions of such pairs out there, only nine sets have been found so far.
6 hours ago
The creator theorizes that the local wealth of the households influences how the stores look.
3 days ago
The tiny home was so easy to set up that the three friends didn't even have to read the instructions.
3 days ago
Apart from the rent, there are other factors to consider before deciding how livable a city is.
3 days ago
The winner had to pay federal, state and city taxes before taking home whatever was left of her winnings.
4 days ago
The agent was lauded for noticing and following the instructions left by the user in a creative way.
Nov 12, 2024
The TikToker pulled up a bill from two years ago using the reorder option on the app.
Nov 12, 2024
Apart from Club memberships, Plus memberships with added perks are also available at discounted prices.
Nov 11, 2024
When she initially reached out to Costco, they did not help her recover the amount.
Nov 10, 2024
Users have argued that there's more to EV owning costs than what a motorist pays for electricity.
Nov 10, 2024
Ageism also involves older colleagues being prejudiced against young professionals at the workplace.
Nov 9, 2024
The fluctuating value of cryptocurrencies is also becoming an issue for splitting the assets.
Nov 9, 2024
Several users pointed out the high costs of installing the infrastructure needed to charge Teslas.
Nov 7, 2024
The housing units made from high-quality materials with stainless steel framing can easily last up to 20 years.
Nov 6, 2024
The banker decided to raise awareness after coming across a fake dollar bill at her workplace.
Nov 5, 2024
Some in the comments claimed that it's ok to redeem reward points for cash but Costco's website says otherwise.
Nov 5, 2024
Each of the “T206 Ty Cobb” cards was worth at least $150,000, putting the total full value of the find somewhere above $1 million.
Nov 4, 2024
At the same time, California has lost its charm despite good weather and spectacular landscapes.
Nov 3, 2024
Robert Reich, an admitted Baby Boomer, and former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration took to the Internet to explain this discrepancy.
Nov 3, 2024
The idea was appreciated by a lot of viewers while some even warned French about adverse effects.
Nov 2, 2024