The Little Secret You Should Know About Costco's Food Court Beverages

The Costco food court is a land of value-driven F&B magic. What started as a single hot dog cart turned into Costco's iconic court, delivering everything from hot dogs plus a 20-ounce soda for $1.50 to a slice of pizza for $1.99. We've ranked every Costco food court item, and many of them are great for refilling your tummy on the cheap. But one secret that some people might not be aware of is that there's another thing you can refill here for free: your soda. When you look up at the food court's menu, a 20-ounce soda cup comes "with refill" underneath. Worth noting that the "refill" is singular, so does that mean your soda's only good for two drinks total?

Well, no. Lots of Costco members and employees alike have chimed in on this on Reddit. The consensus is that so long as you don't go overboard and stay for hours to burn through a dozen cups of soda, or drain the fountain into 55-gallon drums, you should be good. Costco has huge markups on soda, so much so that you'll need to drink a truly egregious amount (like 10 refills) for them to begin to make a loss on the $0.69. So, don't be afraid to stand up for two or three refills as you make a pit stop at Costco's food court.

Now that you know multiple refills are fair game, let's talk about doing it the right way. If you've got a tumbler or travel mug with you, you can use that instead of the paper cup — just let the employee know first. Pro tip: Use the paper cup to fill your tumbler instead of putting your own container right under the fountain. It's cleaner that way. Another tip, because we're feeling generous: A coke float is the Costco food court mashup that's perfect for hot days, so pick up a scoop of ice cream for some variety on those refills.

What you shouldn't do (that some people, like this Reddit user, have done) is buy the empty cup but then give it to the person behind you, while anyway using your own refillable cup for yourself. While it might seem like a good thing and essentially paying it forward, you're basically allowing someone else to steal by not buying their own cup. Think of the $0.69 as basically buying a permit to use the soda fountain — you're not exactly buying the empty soda cup. Costco's quite relaxed when it comes to the soda (once again, it's very cheap) — worst comes to worst, just ask the employee manning the counter if it's okay. If you're polite, they'll give you the all clear to get your fill.