Costco doesn't want members (and non-members) to know this

A lot of people have no problem paying for a Costco membership. They’re happy to hand over the $65 a year for a Gold Star membership or the $130 for an Executive membership for the many perks involved.

For one thing, there’s the savings on groceries and everyday essentials. Toilet paper isn’t exactly a fun thing to buy, but it’s a necessity. At Costco, you can buy it for less.

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Costco also happens to offer great customer service, which makes buying things there less of a risk.

If you purchase something from Costco and end up dissatisfied, or if you find that you no longer need the item, you can, for the most part, bring it back at any time for a complete refund. That takes a lot of the stress out of shopping.

Plus, if you’re someone who tends to get hungry while you shop, Costco’s got you covered. Not only can you fill up on free samples while walking around the store, but you can head over to Costco’s food court for an ultra-cheap meal.

It’s a good way to take a load off in the middle of a long shopping trip or reward yourself for pushing that overloaded shopping cart all over a giant store.

Costco hack gets you food court access without membership

Image source: Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Costco food courts are off-limits to non-members

For a long time, it was possible to grab a meal at a Costco food court without being a member.

In fact, welcoming in non-members for a meal worked to Costco’s benefit, since it introduced opportunities for those folks to check out the store’s inventory, get excited, and sign up to join.

Last year, however, Costco made the decision to limit food court access to members only as part of its broader plan to crack down on membership sharing.

Costco also made that decision in response to customer complaints about crowded stores and parking lots.

It’s not a secret that shopping at Costco on weekends and other peak times can be nothing short of a nightmare. And while non-members perhaps weren’t clogging the checkout lanes so much, they were just more people to have to fight over a parking spot with.

Also, Costco wants to make sure its members feel like they’re getting great value for their fees. Making the food court more of an exclusive thing lends to that sentiment.

Costco hack offers food court access without a membership

There are lots of things to love about Costco’s food court – the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, the cheap pizza, and the gooey, melty chicken bake. If you want the option to indulge in those delights without having to fork over an annual membership fee, there’s a sneaky trick you can use.

Non-members are allowed to enter Costco as guests of paying members. But it’s not always convenient to visit the store with someone else.

Another option is to have a paying member buy you a Costco Shop Card, which is the store’s version of a gift card. Even if you’re not a member, if you have a Costco Shop Card, you’ll be allowed access to the store.

Now when you go to check out purchases using a Costco Shop Card, you’re forced to surrender that card at the time. And you can’t just hang onto your Shop Card and pay for your purchases fully in cash – the people who work the checkout lanes won’t let you get away with that.

However, the food court is a bit different.

At the food court, you can pay for your purchases in cash, and your purchases aren’t tied to a membership number.

So what you could conceivably do is have a Costco member buy you a Shop Card, use it to gain entrance into the store, and indulge in the food court whenever you start to feel hungry.

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Of course, just because you can use this hack to get access to Costco’s food court doesn’t mean you should. If too many people abuse it, Costco may change the rules so that Shop Cards don’t get non-members into the store, period.

But for now, if you really can’t justify the cost of a membership, you have options for getting your hands on the tasty treats Costco’s food courts have to offer.

Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.