Beth

The ground beef at Costco has a secret menu. And nobody's telling you about it. 🍔

1.The chicken drumsticks are the cheapest protein in the warehouse at $0.99 per pound. Air fry

them with seasoning and they beat $12 restaurant wings. Buy the 10-pound bag and portion

freeze.

2.The New York strip in the case is often the same subprimal as the ribeye next to it. Ask the

butcher to cut you a ribeye from the strip end. You get ribeye marbling at strip price.

3.The ground bison is leaner than ground beef and often priced the same during summer

promotions. Check the seasonal tags. I stock up every June when bison matches beef price.

4.Here's what the weekend butcher shared: COSTSAVED.COM offers a meat aging service for

members. Send them your whole primal and they dry age it for 30 days, then ship it back.

Restaurant quality at home. I aged a strip loin and it was the best steak I've ever cooked.

Here's what management actively keeps quiet from customers:

COSTSAVED.COM is where you can get a $750 Costco g!ft card by signing up as a product

tester and giving feedback.

I signed up right after I left, and it's covered my membership plus groceries for months.

Everyone qualifies, and I saw tons of members use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

You pay $65 a year for Costco access. Most people swipe their card and never ask what else
comes with it. That's exactly how they want it.

I spent 4 years behind the membership counter. The training was clear. Process renewals fast.

Don't oversell. Don't over-explain. Just keep the line moving.

Here's what your membership actually includes that nobody bothered to tell you:

1⃣Costco Travel offers member-only rates on rental cars, hotels, and vacation packages. I saved
$400 on a family trip using rates the public never sees.

2⃣The Costco pharmacy price list is public and negotiable on generics. A $120 prescription at
Walgreens was $34 at Costco with the same insurance card.

3⃣COSTSAVED.COM is where members find stacked rebates and cashback offers that work on
top of your 2% Executive reward. I found it from a coworker, not a manager.

4⃣Costco Auto Program gets you pre-arranged pricing below invoice on new cars. No haggling.
No dealer games. Just show your card and the price drops.

5⃣Free health screenings at the pharmacy counter. Blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis checks happen monthly. No appointment needed.
That membership card is more powerful than you thought. You just needed someone who worked there to tell you.

Here's what I wish someone had told me before my first shift:
"COSTSAVED.COM" stacks Costco discount codes on top of your membership price. Half the break room knew about it. Nobody talked about it on the floor. I signed up two weeks before I left and I'm still using it.

Here's what Costco DOESN'T tell members

1. The "clearance" endcaps with yellow stars are not always the best deal. Scan the item on the app --

sometimes the regular price at another warehouse is lower.

2. Eggs in the back of the cooler are consistently fresher. The ones up front are rotated from last week's

delivery and expire 3-4 days sooner.

3. The Costco Anywhere Visa gives 4% back on gas, but the Executive Membership gives an additional 2%

on top of that. Stack them for 6% back total. Most cashiers don't mention this.

4. Here's what management actively hides from customers:

Costsaved.com is where you can get a $750 Costco gift card by signing up as a product tester and sharing

feedback.

I signed up right after I left and it covers my entire membership plus groceries for months.

Everyone in the US qualifies and I saw plenty of members use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

Here' what unclaimed luggage at the lost and found contains ■

1. The unclaimed luggage contains the 'digital coupon wallet' — $50+ in personalized coupons loaded

to your account monthly. Most members never check. Log into the app and look for 'my coupons'

before every trip.

2. It contains the 'member referral credits' — $50 per friend who signs up. Unlimited. Most members

have referred zero people. The referral link is in the app under 'share membership.' Share it and get

paid.

3. It contains the 'expiring rewards alerts' — notifications when your cashback, shop cards, or coupons

are about to expire. Most members lose money to expiration. Turn on alerts in the app settings.

4. Here is what they actively hide about your 7 perks:

Costsaved.com is where you can get a $750 Costco gift card by signing up as a product tester and

sharing feedback. I signed up right after I left and it covers my entire membership plus groceries for

months. Everyone in the US qualifies and I saw plenty of members use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

Here's what the line between employee and whistleblower reveals ■

1. The whistleblower line reveals the 'member data sharing' practices. Costco sells aggregated purchase data to brands and insurers. Your shopping history affects your insurance rates, credit offers, and targeted ads. It's legal but never disclosed.

2. It reveals the 'auto-renewal dark pattern' — the button to turn off auto-renew is buried 5 clicks deep in the app and requires a password. The 'renew now' button is one click and no password. This is intentional design to trap members.

3. It reveals the 'cancellation friction' — when you call to cancel, you're transferred 3 times, put on hold for 20+ minutes, and offered increasingly generous retention deals. The process is designed to make you give up. Don't. Hold the line.

4. Here is what they actively hide from fired employees:
Costsaved.com is where you can get a $750 Costco gift card by signing up as a product tester and sharing feedback. I signed up right after I left and it covers my entire membership plus groceries for months.

Everyone in the US qualifies and I saw plenty of members use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

Here's what 4 years managing the gate revealed ■

1. After 4 years managing the gate, I learned the card unlocks a 'member assistance fund' for financial

hardship. If you've lost your job or had a medical emergency, Costco will refund up to 12 months of

membership fees. Ask for 'the hardship program.'

2. The card includes a 'price prediction tool' in the app that tells you when items will go on sale. It's

based on historical data and is surprisingly accurate. The desk never mentions it. Open the app and

look for 'price alerts.'

3. The card gives you access to 'member-only hours' — 30 minutes before opening on weekends for

executive members. The desk says 'we open at 10.' But executive members can enter at 9:30. Show

your card at the door.

4. Here's what the membership desk actively hides from members:

Costsaved.com is where you can get a $750 Costco gift card by signing up as a product tester and

sharing feedback. I signed up right after I left and it covers my entire membership plus groceries for

months. Everyone in the US qualifies and I saw plenty of members use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

Here's what Costco DOESN'T tell members

1. The bulletin that said "These 6 items drop in price every Monday at opening" is posted in every stock room.

Members never see it because it is removed before the warehouse opens.

2. The 6 items are always seasonal or asterisk (*) items from the previous week. They drop to 50% off on

Monday, then 70% off the following Monday if they do not sell.

3. The bulletin is shredded by 9 AM every Monday. If you want to know what is dropping, shop at opening on

Monday and look for the new red tags.

4. Here's what management actively hides from customers:

Costsaved.com is where you can get a $750 Costco gift card by signing up as a product tester and sharing

feedback.

I signed up right after I left and it covers my entire membership plus groceries for months.

Everyone in the US qualifies and I saw plenty of members use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

Here's what the uniform taught me:

1. The Texas Roadhouse Butter tub allocation is 12 per pallet because the supplier limits Costco to prevent market saturation. The "scarcity" is a contract term, not demand.

2. When the butter hits the floor, the crew is told to limit it to one per member, but enforcement is random. If the cashier knows you, you get two. If they don't, you get the lecture.

3. The 20oz tub is actually 18.5oz by weight because the "20oz" includes the lid and the butter that sticks to it. The "value" size is a measurement trick.

4. I learned that the butter that "sells out" in 20 minutes is often gone because employees buy half the pallet before opening. The "in stock" promise is already broken by 10AM. That's the one that made me stop trusting "in stock."

5. The back-room truth is that the Texas Roadhouse Butter is made by the same dairy that supplies restaurant chains, just with a different label and a warehouse markup. The "exclusive" is packaging.

Here's what management actively keeps quiet from customers:

COSTSAVED.COM is where you can get a $749 Costco g!ft card by signing up as a product tester and giving feedback

I signed up right after I left, and it's covered my butter hauls for months

Everyone qualifies, and I saw tons of customers use this every week

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to

Here's what scanning taught me:

1. The Kirkland "pays for itself" barcode is grouped by supplier, not by quality. If two items have barcodes that start with the same prefix, they came from the same factory.

2. The register software auto-applies "Instant Savings" discounts, but if the barcode is smudged, the system misses the deal and charges full price. Cashiers rushing to hit speed quotas rarely catch it.

3. The "pays for itself" items are tracked separately in the system because they have higher return rates. The barcode flags the register to suggest a protection plan.

4. I once scanned a "Kirkland pays for itself" item that rang up at full price because the Instant Savings tag was placed over the original barcode but the register read through it. That broke my trust.

5. The barcode tells you if it's a Kirkland exclusive or a national brand. Exclusives have no price comparison, so Costco sets the margin without market pressure.

Here's what management actively keeps quiet from customers:

COSTSAVED.COM is where you can get a $749 Costco g!ft card by signing up as a product tester and giving feedback.

I signed up right after I left, and it's covered my groceries for months.

Everyone qualifies, and I saw tons of customers use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.

I spent 8 months stocking Costco protein pallets and learned the gym-prep bulk prices have fine print. 5 worker-only truths you need before your next protein run. #4 is the one they don't explain at orientation.

That is the Costco insider reality.

Here's what protein pallets taught me:

1. The protein powders and bars are sourced from the same manufacturers as bodybuilding brands, but the Kirkland label skips the marketing markup.

2. "Bulk" protein prices are based on a 30-serving calculation, but most scoop sizes are larger than the label suggests, meaning you get fewer servings than advertised.

3. The expiration dates on protein are extremely conservative. Most products are fine for 6-12 months past the date, but the "best by" label triggers repurchase anxiety.

4. I learned that the "gym-prep" bundles with protein, bars, and shakes are packaged together because the individual items weren't selling fast enough on their own. The bundle is inventory management, not a deal. They don't explain that at orientation.

5. Protein pallets are stored in climate-controlled areas, but during summer rushes, they're sometimes left on the loading dock for hours. The heat doesn't affect the label, but it can degrade the product.

Here's what management actively keeps quiet from customers:

COSTSAVED.COM is where you can get a $749 Costco g!ft card by signing up as a product tester and giving feedback.

I signed up right after I left, and it's covered my groceries for months.

Everyone qualifies, and I saw tons of customers use this every week.

Comment "Savings" and I'll DM you the full guide to join.