Here is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on a Costco Gold Star Membership!! Sign up for a Costco membership with auto renewal and get a bonus $45 digital gift card!

The Gold Star membership is the basic level membership package, granting you access to Costco stores, Costco.com, and perks like Costco Gas and the Food Court.  You will receive a membership card for yourself and another member of your household.

This is the perfect deal to grab before holiday shopping! Check out the Black Friday Costco shopping guide here.

Here are the five Costco buys that most reliably pay for the membership. A Publix BOGO or a Kroger Mega Event can still beat Costco on a single item in a given week. These are the ones where Costco wins most often, though.

1. Gas. It usually runs about 20–30¢ a gallon below nearby stations. If you fill up weekly, that’s often $100–200 a year, which covers the $65 Gold Star fee by itself.
2. Rotisserie chicken, $4.99. Costco has kept this price on this 3lb chicken for years even when grocery stores charge $7–9 for a smaller bird. It’s a loss leader, so nobody undercuts it for long. This is actually a smart marketing strategy – bring people in for a $5 chicken located at the back of the store. Have them walk past so many enticing products so they’ll pick other items up to buy. Genius move! 
3. Hearing aids and eyeglasses. This is the biggest single savings. Kirkland hearing aids are roughly $1,500 a pair, against $4,000 or more at many audiologists, and Costco Optical is consistently among the cheapest places for glasses.
4. Kirkland diapers and wipes. The per-diaper and per-wipe cost is usually lower than name brands even when those are on sale, and the quality reviews are strong. For a family with a baby, this alone justifies the membership.
5. Kirkland pantry staples (olive oil, maple syrup, nuts, butter). Pure maple syrup and extra-virgin olive oil in particular cost much less per ounce than at regular grocery stores, and they keep long enough that buying in bulk doesn’t lead to waste. Costco does a great job with keeping organic pantry staples in house at good prices. 

Where Costco usually loses: produce you can’t use quickly, name-brand cereal and snacks (store sales plus coupons often win), and anything you’d stock up on during a BOGO.

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