“I’m not taking full advantage of my Costco membership.”
The Costco card offers an incredible amount of benefits. In addition to warehouse facilities, customers can get better prices on vehicles, prescriptions, vacations and (as one woman pointed out) phones.
Georgia-based content creator Ak Roulette (@akroulette) shares tips for using a Costco card to buy an iPhone 15 for $300. According to her, Costco members can purchase a new iPhone from T-Mobile at a 50% discount.
As of this writing, her posts discussing hacking and its quirks have received over 5 million views.
How to buy an iPhone with 50% off at Costco
Costco has a provider relationship with T-Mobile, which means Costco members can enjoy exclusive rates and offers with the cell phone service provider. Online, the wholesale store says members can “get $450 worth of… [they] Switch to T-Mobile and launch your new phone on Experience Beyond. $150 and $50 Costco Digital Store Card + $250 Prepaid Visa Card. “
Costco does have the iPhone 15 available for customers to purchase through T-Mobile, the company notes on its website.
Ak Roulette said all she had to do was get a Costco membership, go into the warehouse and buy the phone, then pick it up at T-Mobile. She said she received the phone at a “50 percent discount,” or $300. The iPhone 15 sells for $629.99 on T-Mobile’s website, so she got a little more than half the $300 she paid.
In addition to the deals Ak Roulette mentioned, Costco also offers other cell phone products. For example, the warehouse retailer has deals with AT&T and T-Mobile, the warehouse chain’s two carriers, allowing customers to purchase an iPhone 17, Galaxy S25, gift cards or different plans.
What problems did this Costco customer encounter while using T-Mobile?
Ak Roulette had some trouble getting to T-Mobile, which she points out in the video. According to her, the employees she works with are unfamiliar with Costco and T-Mobile’s supplier relationships. She said when she arrived at T-Mobile, employees tried to tell her she couldn’t pick up the phone she had just purchased.
“She told me over and over again, ‘I can’t do that. I can’t do that.’ Well, I think I can. I think I can,” Ak Roulette said.
After a lot of back and forth, she finally gets her brand new device and unboxes it in the video.
“It feels much better than 13,” Ak Roulette said.
However, viewers say there are other complications with buying Ak Roulette. For one, some viewers claimed that customers must buy phones from Costco instead of T-Mobile.
“The T-Mobile rep in the store is right, though. Costco and Sam’s have to ship the phone to you, and they do get in trouble when they send customers to another store, so I’m sure the Costco reps got chewed out by their managers after the Tmobile reps told them,” one viewer said. “Also, it’s a monthly credit that applies to your bill, you don’t get the $315 all at once, it’s spread over 24 months, so if you leave, you lose the credit and have to pay the full balance of the phone.”
Others have mentioned that this deal may be available with T-Mobile plans. They recommended other cell phone carriers such as Mint Mobile. However, Ak Roulette seems happy with her purchase.
How to get Costco member discounts
Some viewers took to the comments section to share additional tips on how to get better deals with Costco membership.
“Step one – go to Groupon and become a member at 50% off. I paid $35 the first year,” said one viewer. Ak Roulette replied: “I’m asking you all before I do anything because now I’m pissed that I didn’t save more money.”
Groupon has a promotion offering a discount to potential customers who purchase a Costco membership. When a person purchases something from the platform, they can receive either a discount off the base membership fee or bonus points to use within the store.
As of this writing, Groupon offers $50 or $100 in bonus points in addition to a Costco membership. The company doesn’t always offer discounts, but it does offer deals that customers can often take advantage of.
“Within two weeks of your successful membership purchase, Costco will email you a $50 or $100 Costco.com online promotional code. Eligible customers will receive the code automatically and no action is required,” the platform said.
AllHipHop reached out to Ak Roulette and T-Mobile via email and Costco via press form for more information. We will update this story if either party responds.
@akroulette Costco
