Costco Membership - GREAT deal for new (possibly existing?) members! (annual membership for $24 + freebies!)

This deal has been around for a week or so, but I just bought it myself. Read on for more details ...

I'm not sure how much longer this deal will be around. It's been around for a week or so, and LivingSocial says there is a "limited quantity" (no specified end date). So I'd suggest doing this soon if you're interested. Unfortunately, the 20% off at LivingSocial coupon code (LOVE) does not work on this particular deal.

Here's the basics of the deal (also covered by my friend Shawn over at Miles to Memories):

Pay $55 for a NEW** Costco annual "household" membership (see ** below for how you might use this deal, even if you are already a member via your spouse being a member).

With that membership you get the following goodies:

• $20 Costco Cash Card [note: as the name suggests, this works just like cash at Costco]
• Exclusive coupons good for 3 free Kirkland Signature™ products:
• AA Batteries 72-pack ($18.99 value)
• Food Court Pizza ($9.95 value)
• Organic Tortilla Chips ($4.99 value)
• Plus, $25 off an order of $250 or more at Costco.com (included in coupon mailer)

That's a great deal as-is ($55 - the $20 cash card = $35 effectively), but don't forget to purchase this deal through a shopping portal (see options below) to make it even better (save potentially up to $11 more)!

** According to someone who left a comment at Miles to Memories, if you're married, you should be able to have your spouse sign up as a "new member" (if they aren't an existing member). Then you can cancel your existing membership or just let it expire (and you can wait until the end of May to activate this new one-year membership, in case your existing membership doesn't expire for a while). Once the existing membership is closed and the new one is open, you can add the previous member (and anyone else in your household age 18+) as an additional household member (even if they are the person who just recently had their membership cancelled/expired).

WORST CASE, if you find that you cannot use this LivingSocial deal with the "spouse trick" (described above), the "fine print" of the deal says: "PROMOTIONAL VALUE EXPIRES MAY 31, 2016. If purchaser does not use voucher by May 31, 2016, purchaser may call LivingSocial to receive a refund for the paid value. Any unused vouchers that have not been refunded will be refunded on July 1, 2016."


PORTAL OPTIONS:

(Note: Whichever portal you use, one you go from that portal to LivingSocial, just search for "Costco" and it should pull up this deal - assuming it's still available.)

The best portal option, if you're a Discover cardholder (if not, use that link to apply and you'll get $50 for signing up - and so will I; won't help you today, but it will give you access to Discover's shopping portal in the future), is the Discover Deals shopping portal. It is currently paying 10% cash, and if you became a Discover cardholder during the second half of 2015, you are probably eligible for the "double cash back" promo (good for 12 months after you signed up) that will effectively make that 20%. If so, that saves you another $11 off this deal.

If you're not a Discover cardholder (or not signed up for their "double cash back" promo), then the next best option is the MrRebates shopping portal, paying 10% cash back. If you don't already have a MrRebates portal account, use my link (previous sentence) to sign up and you'll get $5 (plus the 10% for this purchase - so $10.50 total!). (Note: I get a referral bonus from MrRebates, which you can read about on their website, but it does NOT reduce the amount of the portal bonus/rebate you get.)