Originally Posted by
vanillabean
It would appear that Costco is increasingly discouraging non-members from using the cash card for in-store purchases. I was told that they prefer that the cash card is not used for access into a store. And when I tried to use the cash card at the register without a membership card, a so-called 99 was issued, and a supervisor came by to approve. All of this is perfectly fine with me; the annual membership is the very least I can do to show my support for this company that treats its employees very nicely, and I plan on using the cash card by a member only for gas only.
They might also be looking to curtail the gasoline workaround as well. I don't normally buy Costco gasoline due to the ethanol but when I do, half of the locations want me to insert my membership card before proceeding with my method of payment. Inserting a cash card was supposed to bypass the need for a membership card but, as I mentioned, half the time it doesn't matter. It could be similar to the food courts as some of them are/were cash only. My local Costco is the only one in the prior year where I have purchased something from it so I can't say definitively if all are like that. Food for thought, though.