Costco coupon codes

Costco coupon codes: the $40 and $65 Shop Cards, the 2% Reward, and the full list of what earns nothing

Read on Costco’s own pages on September 24, 2026. Costco does not publish promo codes the way a department store does. What it publishes instead are membership-linked offers with very specific conditions — and a long, named list of purchases that earn no reward at all. That list is the part most coupon pages never print. Anything we could not read is under “What we could not verify”, marked Unconfirmed.

Verified September 24, 2026 Sources: 5 pages on costco.com Terms quoted from Costco

Answer first: Costco’s current online-only new-member promotion gives a $40 Costco Shop Card to Executive members and $20 to Gold Star members — but only to new members, or to people who have not been a Costco member in any capacity (Primary, Household, or Affiliate) in the last 18 months, and only if you set up auto renewal on a Visa credit/debit or Mastercard debit card at sign-up. Separately, Executive members earn an annual 2% Reward capped at $1,250, and Costco’s own terms list what that 2% is not calculated on — including gasoline, Costco Shop Cards, food courts, membership fees, and shipping and sales tax.

The new-member Shop Card offers, word for word

Costco labels the first one “Promotion Available Online Only”. Both are quoted from Costco’s Join Costco page, read September 24, 2026.

New membership

$40 Shop Card for Executive, $20 for Gold Star

Online onlyNew members

Costco: “Receive $40 Costco Shop Card for Executive Members and a $20 Shop Card for Gold Star Members. Valid only for new members and those who have not been a Costco member (in any capacity, Primary, Household, or Affiliate) in the last 18 months. To receive a Digital Costco Shop Card, set up auto renewal of your Costco membership on a Visa® credit/debit card or Mastercard debit card at the time of sign-up. Terms Apply.”

Source: costco.com — Join Costco · read September 24, 2026

With the Citi card

A further $65 Shop Card

ExecutiveCard approval

Costco: “Receive a $65 Digital Costco Shop Card when you apply and are approved for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi with your new Executive membership.” The footnote markers on Costco’s own page indicate terms apply.

Source: costco.com — Join Costco · read September 24, 2026

The catch worth reading twice

Auto renewal is part of the condition

Condition

The Shop Card is a Digital Shop Card and Costco ties it to setting up “auto renewal of your Costco membership on a Visa® credit/debit card or Mastercard debit card at the time of sign-up.” Costco also excludes anyone who held a membership in any capacity within the previous 18 months — including a Household or Affiliate card.

Source: costco.com — Join Costco · read September 24, 2026

The Executive 2% Reward, and its ceiling

Quoted from Costco’s Executive Rewards page, read September 24, 2026.

2% back, capped at $1,250Costco: “Executive Members earn an annual 2% Reward, up to $1,250*, on qualified Costco, Costco.com and Costco Travel purchases.” Costco adds: “Reward is capped at and will not exceed $1,250 for any 12-month period.”
The upgrade costs $65 a year moreCostco: “The Executive Membership upgrade fee is an additional $65 a year for Business or Gold Star Members (plus sales tax where applicable). We will prorate the upgrade amount based on the months remaining in your current membership.” At renewal, Costco says “you will be billed a total of $130 for your Executive Membership.”
Upgrading late does not backdateCostco: “Purchases made prior to upgrading are not eligible for the 2% Reward” — stated twice on the same page.
Only two cards on the account countCostco: “Only purchases made by the Primary and active Primary Household Cardholder on the account will apply toward the Reward.”
It is not guaranteed to beat the feeCostco: “The Reward is not guaranteed to be equal to or greater than the Executive upgrade fee paid.”
When you actually get itCostco: “The 2% Reward is issued approximately three months prior to the member’s renewal date, in the Renewal Statement”, and “A member must be a current, paid Executive Member at the end of the membership year to be entitled to the Reward.”
Downgrading claws it backCostco: to refund the current Executive upgrade fee “the membership must be canceled or downgraded to a Gold Star or Business Membership. Any 2% Reward issued or accrued will be subtracted from the refund and forfeited to the extent it exceeds the amount of any refund.”

Source: costco.com — Executive Rewards · read September 24, 2026

What the 2% is not calculated on

This is the list Costco prints and coupon pages usually skip. Costco: the Reward is “approximately 2% of pre-tax purchases (less refunds) of most merchandise” bought through front-end registers, most ancillary business registers at Costco warehouses, and Costco websites in the U.S. and Canada by U.S. and Canadian residents, plus qualifying Costco Travel purchases “once travel is completed.”

Group	What Costco excludes from the 2%
Products	Cigarettes and tobacco-related products; gasoline; Costco Shop Cards; postage stamps; alcoholic beverages in certain states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont); prescription purchases in certain states (Arkansas, New Jersey and New York); cellphones, cellphone accessories and cellphone service plans; and food courts
Fees and taxes	Membership fees; miscellaneous fees, deposits and taxes, “including sales tax and shipping”
Where you bought it	Purchases “not recorded through Costco’s front-end registers” and transactions “done on or through websites not hosted by Costco even if accessed through Costco.com” — Costco names all business, consumer and insurance services, the Online Photo Center, and the My Publisher website
Who paid	Purchases made by anyone other than the account’s Primary or Primary Household Cardholder
Travel	Surcharges, gratuities, trip protection, travel purchased through a third party, upgrades, rental car equipment, resort charges and port charges
Open-ended	“Certain other categories as determined at Costco’s discretion, which may change without notice.”

Source: costco.com — Executive Rewards · read September 24, 2026

Membership rules that decide whether you can use any of this

Quoted from Costco’s Member Privileges and Conditions page, read September 24, 2026.

Who can join

16 or over, with government photo ID

Eligibility

Costco: “Membership is available to all qualifying individuals 16 years of age and over.” Members must present “a valid photo identification issued by the Federal, State, or Provincial governments of the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada or any valid passport or consular card.” U.S. members need “a valid U.S. address or U.S. P.O. Box.”

Source: costco.com — Member Privileges and Conditions · read September 24, 2026

The card itself

Non-transferable, and scanned at the door

In warehouse

Costco: the card “is valid at any Costco warehouse worldwide and is not transferable.” You must “scan your membership card at the front door scanner when entering any Costco warehouse and show your membership card when checking out.” Costco adds that “bar codes, photos or other copies are not acceptable” and the card “must have a card number and recognizable, unobstructed full-face photo to be valid.”

Source: costco.com — Member Privileges and Conditions · read September 24, 2026

Household card

One extra card, same address, 16 or over

Household

Costco: Primary and Affiliate Members “receive one additional card for one designated member of their household, who is 16 years of age or older and living at the same address”, and that person “must have their photo taken and added to their card.” Costco also states: “Limit one Gold Star and one Business Membership, if applicable, per person.”

Source: costco.com — Member Privileges and Conditions · read September 24, 2026

The exception for non-members

Some goods are legally open to non-members

By law

Costco: “Certain merchandise, including prescription drugs and alcoholic beverages in some states, may be purchased by nonmembers where required by law.”

Source: costco.com — Member Privileges and Conditions · read September 24, 2026

What was running on Costco’s own site that day

Banner text read on costco.com on September 24, 2026. Quoted as found, no value added.

Furniture

“Save $100-$700 on select Henredon Living Room Furniture While Supplies Last”

While supplies last

Shown as a sitewide banner on the pages we read. No end date is stated in the banner text.

Source: costco.com · read September 24, 2026

Treasure hunt

“Online-Only Treasure Hunt”

Online only

Shown alongside “While Supplies Last”, “What’s New” and “Member Favorites” in Costco’s own site navigation.

Source: costco.com · read September 24, 2026

Email offers

“Get Email Offers”

Sign-up

Costco runs a “Get Email Offers” sign-up in the header and footer of its pages. Costco does not describe the contents of those emails on the pages we read, so we make no claim about what they contain.

Source: costco.com — Membership Benefits · read September 24, 2026

Questions about Costco coupon codes and member savings

Answered from Costco’s own pages, read September 24, 2026.

Does Costco have promo codes?

We read no promo code on Costco’s own pages. What Costco publishes instead is a membership-linked Shop Card promotion: “Receive $40 Costco Shop Card for Executive Members and a $20 Shop Card for Gold Star Members.” We did not find an official code list, so none is quoted here.

Who qualifies for the new-member Shop Card?

Costco: “Valid only for new members and those who have not been a Costco member (in any capacity, Primary, Household, or Affiliate) in the last 18 months.” The card is digital and Costco ties it to setting up auto renewal on a Visa credit/debit card or Mastercard debit card at sign-up.

How much is the 2% Reward worth at most?

Costco caps it: “Reward is capped at and will not exceed $1,250 for any 12-month period.” The Executive upgrade fee is “an additional $65 a year for Business or Gold Star Members”, and Costco says it is “not guaranteed to be equal to or greater than the Executive upgrade fee paid.”

Do I earn 2% on gas?

No. Costco lists gasoline among the things the Reward is not calculated on, along with cigarettes and tobacco, Costco Shop Cards, postage stamps, cellphones and cellphone service plans, and food courts.

Do I earn 2% on shipping and tax?

No. Costco excludes “miscellaneous fees, deposits and taxes, including sales tax and shipping.” The Reward is calculated on pre-tax purchases.

When do I receive the Reward?

Costco: “issued approximately three months prior to the member’s renewal date, in the Renewal Statement.” You must still be “a current, paid Executive Member at the end of the membership year to be entitled to the Reward.”

Can a non-member buy anything at Costco?

Costco: “Certain merchandise, including prescription drugs and alcoholic beverages in some states, may be purchased by nonmembers where required by law.”

How often is this page checked?

On each verification. The date at the top is the date Costco’s pages at the bottom were read, not a date copied from anyone else.

What we could not verify

Kept out of the sections above on purpose. Nothing here is presented as a live offer.

Unconfirmed on September 24, 2026

UNCONFIRMEDThe Gold Star annual membership fee as a standalone figure — we read the $65 upgrade amount and the $130 Executive renewal total, but not a page stating the Gold Star fee by itself, so we do not quote one.
UNCONFIRMEDAny promo code with a value — Costco published none on the pages we read.
UNCONFIRMEDAn end date for the new-member Shop Card promotion — the banner says “Promotion Available Online Only” and “Terms Apply” but states no expiry.
UNCONFIRMEDThe current warehouse “Instant Savings” book — Costco’s monthly coupon book is distributed as a separate document and was not among the pages we read.
UNCONFIRMEDWhether the 2% Reward applies to Costco Travel bookings before travel completes — Costco says qualifying travel purchases count “once travel is completed”, which we quote, but we read no line on cancellations.
UNCONFIRMEDCostco’s shipping and return terms — we did not read those pages, so no shipping threshold or return window is stated here.

Sources

Official Costco pages read on September 24, 2026. No competitor coupon page was used as a source.