The One Aisle You Should Never Skip at Costco

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I shop at Costco weekly, and I've probably been down every aisle of the store at least once. But there are certain Costco aisles I tend to visit more than others.

The produce aisle, for example, is a regular stop for me, as is the snack aisle (when you have school-aged kids, you can never have too much snack variety). And I often find myself in the vitamin and medication aisle stocking up on something, whether it's allergy treatments or supplements.

There's another Costco aisle I don't visit every time I go to the store, but I do make a point to check it out every few weeks. And I would highly recommend you do the same.

Costco's gift cards may be the store's best deal

Plenty of opportunities to save money exist at Costco. But one area where you're practically guaranteed to do so is Costco's gift card aisle.

The reason? Costco sells gift cards that are discounted below their face value, so you're automatically paying less. For example, right now, you can buy $100 worth of gift cards to Domino's for $74.99. So if you place a Domino's order once a week, this purchase makes sense and shaves a nice amount of money off of your cost.

Similarly, if you use Uber often, you can buy $100 worth of gift cards for $79.99. Here, you're saving $20 on $100 worth of rides or UberEats orders.

Consider your purchases carefully

Costco's gift cards are a great deal. But that only holds true if you actually use them, whether by redeeming them yourself or giving them as a gift to someone else. Before you buy discounted gift cards, ensure the deal makes sense. The above-mentioned Domino's savings won't do you much good if you never order from there.

Also, you should know that while Costco allows you to return most purchases at any time, no questions asked, gift cards cannot be returned. So once you buy one, you're committed.

However, the nice thing about Costco's gift cards is that they generally don't expire. Even if you buy one you don't manage to use immediately, you can probably use it eventually.

A good bet, though, is to keep all of your gift cards together in the same spot at home so you can keep track of them until you've depleted their balances. If you stick one or two in your wallet, another couple in your desk drawer, and another few in the corner of your kitchen counter, some are apt to get forgotten or misplaced.

I don't buy gift cards every time I go to Costco, but when I need a gift for someone, you can bet that it's the first aisle I check. Similarly, I make a point to pop by every few weeks to see what offers are available. Costco is constantly rotating its gift card inventory, so it pays to keep tabs on it.

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