Does Costco Sell Diesel Fuel?

While Costco may be famous for its grocery, household essentials, and general merchandise, the membership-based warehouse club also offers a bunch of other products for cars and trucks. If you need new tires for your ride, Costco sells a decent selection of tires and tire products with competitive pricing, a five-year road hazard warranty, and free repairs. Need a car wash? Costco also offers the service for $7.99. If you need to refuel your vehicle, Costco also has gas stations to take care of that. However, if you are driving a diesel-powered automobile, we have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that Costco does sell diesel fuel. The bad news: It’s only available in select locations.

Costco’s website has the list of locations offering its Kirkland Signature Diesel, and from the looks of things, only California and Washington offer the fuel in more than 10 locations. Texas and Utah have four each, while Ohio and Oregon have three. Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Wisconsin have them in at least two Costco gasoline stations, while the rest have only one store offering the heavy oil, save for Nebraska, which appears to no longer have Costco gas stations equipped with diesel fuel pumps. The company has not disclosed the reason for this, but there are speculations online that Costco pulled out diesel from store locations where the fuel option wasn’t as profitable. There are also assumptions linking this to local implementations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

Since Costco is a membership-based store, not everyone can drive up and refuel at a Costco gas station. You need to have a paid membership to buy diesel fuel at a nearby Costco gas station. A standard Gold Star or Business membership costs $65 per year, and this already comes with one primary member card and a free household card for anyone living at the same address as the primary member. If you want the same set of membership cards plus exclusive rewards and offers, Costco sells the Executive membership for $130 per year. Once you have a membership card, you need to insert or scan it at the pumping machine, so the system can determine if you are an active member eligible for the refueling service.

Interestingly, there’s a way to buy diesel at Costco without paying for a membership. Non-member customers can access Costco’s fuel station if they have a Costco Shop Card, which is available in $25, $50 $100, $250, and $500 redeemable values. This card is only available to paying members, so you need to ask someone with a Gold Star or Executive membership to obtain one either at a physical store or Costco’s online platform. Do note that the digital version of this card is not honored at Costco gas stations. You need to have it exchanged for a physical version in-store if you intend to use it to purchase diesel without a membership.

Similar to the high-quality gasoline fuel that Costco sells at its pumping stations, the warehouse club’s diesel is of excellent quality in terms of performance. In fact, Costco’s in-house brand of diesel fuel has been certified “Top Tier” since August 2017. This means it meets particular standards in terms of formulation and performance, with Costco saying on its website that its Kirkland Signature Diesel has deposit control additives that prevent harmful wear, improve combustion, deep-clean the engine, and help protect critical components. The company even claims that its diesel fuel can help restore a car’s lost fuel economy and reduce its emissions by eliminating engine deposits and preventing their buildup, as seen in lab tests conducted to evaluate the fuel’s optimal performance and efficiency.

More than the quality of the product, Costco’s fuel offerings are favored by many because of their cheaper price tag. Diesel fuel is typically more expensive than regular gas. But when you buy it from Costco, you can save a lot since the store’s Kirkland-branded fuel is usually 20 cents cheaper per gallon than what’s available at rival gas stations. You can also earn 4% cash back if you are paying for the fuel using a Costco Anywhere Visa card by Citi. Aside from these, there’s also the advantage of pulling up to a gas station that is well-maintained and organized, thanks to trained attendants who keep the facility tidy and provide assistance when needed, as well as the one-way traffic flow system Costco implements.