Why, yes, yes, you can. Aside from being Costco's main demographic (Asian, late 30s, female), I do believe it is just smart shopping sometimes.
A Costco membership enables you to toilet paper and cheap rotisserie chicken all around the world. In some places, that might mean mini cochinita bakes and paella.
In fact, it didn't even occur to me that Costco might be elsewhere until I saw Kirkland-branded leche (milk) sitting in my Mexican landlord's fridge.
The Costco website is pretty clear that it works internationally: "Your membership card is valid at any Costco warehouse worldwide and is not transferable."
The first time someone ever proposed going to Costco while traveling-ok, it was my father-I was taken aback. Why would you want to go to Costco when you're supposed to be exploring the local sights?
In my case, I finally found a reason: A package of paella weighing 1.5kg.
The Costcos in Mexico City offer paella. (Erica Ho / Map Happy)
But as others have found out, entering a Costco may be the easiest part of the process.
Here are all the places where Costco is around the world
Costco may not be in every country in the world, but it is pretty much life-changing everywhere it exists. Okay, that statement is dramatic but you get my drift.
Costco is located in 14 countries around the world, with three in North America, and eleven in the rest of the world.
Listed alphabetically, Costco is available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Beyond cheap chicken, it turns out there are other reasons to go to Costco abroad. How about a cheaper annual membership?
For instance, it is possible to get a Mexico membership for 600-1200 MXN ($33.04 to $66.07 USD) per year, compared to the cost of a Costco membership that ranges from $65 to $130 in the U.S.
All in all, a Mexico membership is about 48% cheaper than a comparable U.S. membership.
(One Reddit user notes he splits a Mexican membership with a friend in Tijuana. The friend in Tijuana is responsible for renewing it. P.S. The cashback only works in local Costcos.)
For what it's worth, the Icelandic Costco is notoriously popular for road trippers stopping up to fill up on gas before going on their grand road trip adventure.
There can be payment issues shopping in person at an international Costco
Bring cash?
Though getting the Costco membership number to be validated seems less of an issue, quite a few folks have found that buying things in person can be full of issues.
For instance, for making in-person purchases, a lot of folks have found out that the hardest part may be getting the payment methods through.
Reddit user RBAloysius reported this issue in Canada:
Three years ago I stopped at a Costco in Canada & when I got to the checkout, I found I could only use cash (Canadian of course), a Canadian Mastercard, or a debit card issued by a Canadian bank. My American membership card was accepted with no issues at that time.
I have a Costco Visa, but couldn't use it. Luckily I had enough cash to cover my small purchase, so all was good. I didn't even think about form of payment as being an issue.
It seems like cash, or a debit or credit card issued in that particular country are the safest bets, and a Costco-branded card doesn't guarantee anything.
Buying through Costco online may also be a hassle
Do you know what is awesome? Same day delivery. Do you know what would make my life even better? Same day delivery to my Airbnb.
ALL THE FEELS.
I'm pretty much a devotee of Costco same-day delivery, but a lot of folks have reported issues trying to get things shipped when in a location abroad. (Fraud detection is apparently a thing.)
It didn't seem like I was going to have much luck ordering from Costco directly, so I checked the other third-party apps Costco is typically on, including Instacart and UberEats.
Instacart yielded no luck, since it doesn't work outside the United States and Canada. However, I did end up hitting the jackpot with UberEats.
It also turns out I didn't need a Costco membership to order through UberEats, but having one enabled me to get the member rate. I was able to verify this seamlessly.
I was also able to schedule my delivery for a three-hour window for a $20 MXN ($1.10 USD) discount, something I was typically able to do through Instacart back home.
The full cost for the paella and blackberries order was $597.81 MXN ($32.92 USD). This included an UberEats markup of $60.84 MXN ($3.35 USD), a delivery fee of $49 MXN ($2.70 USD), and a delivery tip of $59.89 MXN ($3.30 USD), for a total of $169.73 MXN ($9.35 USD) above the actual order.
In my opinion, the best option may be to make an online delivery through an app like UberEats when it comes to Costco to avoid all the payment and shipping hassle, though it did seem to come at a significant premium at almost $10 more.
For the paella, and this article, though? Worth it.
