A self-professed “personal finance content creator” is letting people know about a hidden corner of the Costco website that could help people save money.
Creator Ravi Wadan (@raviwadan) pointed TikTok viewers to the gift cards section of the Costco website, offering cards with greater values than what Costco was selling them for—representing savings to customers.
For instance, a number of restaurants had $100 gift cards retailing on the site for just $80, and for Southwest travelers, a $500 gift card could be had for $450.
“It surprises me how many people don’t know this, but costco.com actually sells gift cards to some of your favorite places at a discount,” Wadan begins in a TikTok video that’s received more than 490,000 views since going up on the platform Saturday.
@raviwadan Start buying gift cards at @Costco Wholesale to save money! #moneysavingtips #costcogiftcards #giftcarddeals #costcotiktok #costcofinds #giftcards ♬ original sound – Ravi Wadan (Finance Education)
He continues to report on many of the discounted cards, including two from pizza giants Domino’s and Papa Johns, each offering $100 worth of cards in $25 denominations for just $80 through the site.
Toward the end, he remarks, “So, if you’re not checking for gift cards on costco.com, you’re not taking full advantage of your Costco membership.”
Some commenters asked about gift cards that the service didn’t have.
“I wish they sold Costco gift cards at a discount,” one said.
“That would be awesome but I don’t think it will happen,” Wadan responded.
“Did they have Starbucks gift cards?” one inquired. Wadan responded that he did not see any on the website.
Another noted, “Some local restaurants have discounted gift cards at my Costco,” adding to the potential savings.
“What about Disney cards?” someone else wanted to know.
Wadan reported not seeing any Disney cards among the offerings.
Someone else thought there might be a catch, inquiring, “Is there any additional fee added on to purchase or activate it??”
Indeed, there is not, according to Wadan.
The deal raised suspicions for one commenter, who wondered, “How do they make money off these?”
Wadan responded, “That’s a great question and I don’t really know the optics behind that. But I know that a lot of people forget about gift cards.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Costco via online form.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/costco-gift-card-hack-2/