To purchase a Costco Gift Card, you must have a membership. Costco members can purchase gift cards in warehouses or on the Costco website. Also referred to as Costco Shop Cards, gift cards cannot be purchased anywhere else. In addition, Costco gift cards never expire and can be used by non-members to shop at Costco.

Many retailers issue store gift cards, and Costco is no exception. If you have a Shop Card (the store's version of a gift card), you can get in without a membership card. However, the catch is that you can't buy a Shop Card if you're not a Costco member. So you'll need to ask someone to get you one.

The catch is that Costco Shop Cards can only be purchased by members, so for this trick, you’ll still need to rely on a family member or a friend with a membership to buy a gift card for you. You’ll likely have to pay your friend back because the company’s policies require the name on your debit or credit card to match the account name.

Only members can buy Costco Cash Card from the store’s website, but that’s OK. Use this trick to save even more money: Buy your Cash Card on eBay or from a discounted gift card site like Raise. It doesn’t matter how much is on the card; even a card with $2 left will get you in the door and pay for part of your purchase.