5 Ways You're Leaving Money on the Table at Costco

There are a lot of ways you can stretch your budget by shopping at Costco. Even if you didn't shop there for everyday essentials, the deals on gift cards alone could cover a basic membership.

But not everyone is maximizing their Costco savings. I see a lot of folks leaving money on the proverbial table by simply not taking advantage of all the ways they could be saving. Here are a few you may be overlooking.

1. Not upgrading to an Executive membership

There are times when paying more for a higher-tier product can save you money (such as when a credit card annual fee unlocks bonus rewards or perks). For folks who spend a lot of money at Costco each year, an upgrade to an Executive membership could be one of them.

How? Executive members receive an annual reward equal to 2% of their eligible in-store Costco purchases from the previous year. This can really add up:

Since it costs $60 to upgrade from a regular Costco Gold membership to an Executive membership, the break-even point is spending $250 a month. If you spend more than that at Costco, then the upgrade would actually make you money.

2. Skipping out on Kirkland Signature items

If you're just looking at cost, it's easy to see the appeal of Costco's house brand, Kirkland Signature. Prices are extremely competitive compared to typical grocery store prices, and even much lower than most big-box prices.

However, I can also see why you might be hesitant to try them despite those prices. I've been burned by store brands before, too. But I can tell you, this isn't your typical store brand.

Costco takes great care to keep Kirkland Signature products to a high standard, and it shows. In fact, it's a well-known "secret" that some popular brands manufacture some Kirkland Signature products. (And there are some strong theories about which brands may manufacture others.)

3. Using the wrong rewards card to pay

Restrictive policies about which networks it will accept makes Costco tricky from a credit card perspective. Essentially, you can only use Visa credit cards when you shop in-store. You can only use Visa or Mastercard when you shop online.

These rules really limit which rewards credit cards you can use, which can make maximizing your rewards a challenge. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, however -- especially if you're spending hundreds of dollars a month at Costco.

If you can find a card with bonus rewards for warehouse clubs, that could work well. Another good option is a travel rewards card with a high flat rate (you can find some with 2x points per $1). And if all else fails, a 2% cash back rewards card is a simple and effective compromise.

4. Avoiding the store between hauls

If you're like me, you prefer to keep your Costco hauls sporadic, perhaps visiting monthly or even quarterly to stock up. (That parking is always a nightmare.) Unfortunately, this habit could be costing us money.

if you're not in the store very often, you could be missing out on a ton of great deals. Costco sales can vary from store to store, and most never make it online. This is especially true of seasonal items that aren't sold year-round, but also applies to items that end up selling better in some regions than others.

Moreover, discontinued and even regular sale items can sell out quickly if they're in demand. If you like to bargain hunt at Costco, try fitting in an extra trip every now and then to look for in-store deals.

5. Not returning bad buys

Costco has one of the best return policies around thanks to its broad satisfaction guarantee policy. With a few exceptions (major electronics and appliances, tires, etc.), you can return most items more or less indefinitely.

This even applies to your membership fee. If you're not happy with it, you can get it refunded.

Given the generosity of this policy, it makes zero financial sense to keep a product you're not happy with if you bought it from Sam's Club. That applies as much to that 2-year-old coffee machine that broke as it does to the cheese that went moldy a week before its expiration date.

Get every penny of savings

Given that we pay every year for the pleasure of shopping at Costco, it's important to make sure that investment is worthwhile. Hopefully these tips can help you find even more ways to save money at Costco and your membership fee pays big dividends.