Costco Black Friday sale is here: How to score $45 to shop at the big-box store

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — This weekend, wholesaler extraordinaire Costco kickstarted its Black Friday sales to begin the month of November.

While the first week of deals are now live both in stores and online, Costco is limiting the pre-holiday discounts to members only.

However, the wholesale warehouse chain is, luckily enough, offering a steal of a deal online right now for new members.

Costco is offering a $45 gift card with the purchase of an all-new Gold Star or Executive Gold Star annual membership through its website.

The gift card can be used for all purchases online or in stores.

With the new membership, customers will have access to Costco’s holiday sales, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

The membership deals are only available online to new members, or those who have not had an active membership for more than 18 months.

The offer is only available to customers from the United States and Puerto Rico, and is limited to one per household.

Memberships must be redeemed by Jan. 31 to qualify for the offer.

The $45 Costco gift card will be sent out via email within two weeks of redeeming a membership.

After the one-year promotion period ends, memberships will be automatically renewed at the regular yearly rate, unless canceled beforehand.

In September, the warehouse retailer raised its membership fee for the first time in several years. Now, individual and business members can expect to pay an additional $5 each year, compared to years prior.