Costco Membership Fee Going UP
Effective June 1, 2017, Costco’s two membership levels are going up by $5 and $10 respectively. The new fees are as follows:
- Gold Star Membership increases from $55 to $60
- Executive Membership increases from $110 to $120
This applies to Canada and the U.S., as they have the same fee in their respective currencies.
Breaking Even
I previously written a post about whether the annual fee is worth it, so I won’t go over all the details of the program. However, as a result of the new increase, I will update the break even calculations. Note that Executive Members get 2% cash back on all purchases (up to $750 cash back or $37,500 in annual spending).
Therefore, if you spend $3,000 per year, you would $60 in cash back, which makes up the difference between the two membership levels ($120 – $60). So if you spend more than $3,000 per year at Costco, then it is worthwhile to get the Executive Membership instead.
Conclusion
Normally, I would find it normal for a company to increase their membership fees to keep up with inflation, but for Costco, I would have hoped that they would decrease the fee, seeing as they are suppose to be a discount retailer.
Anyway, it has been reported that Costco has 85 million members worldwide. Even if we only calculate $5 increase per member, that’s an additional $425 million in revenue for them. How crazy is that?
Good to know, Matt. We were actually thinking about whether it’s worth keeping our membership. I’ll check out your other post. Thanks!
Glad to help!
Mine just renewed so I suppose I’m good for another year, but considering that I have a Sam’s Club membership as well….Costco might be canceled next year.
Nice. Yes. You mine as well buy it sooner so you can lock in the current price for a year.
What a lot of people don’t know is that if you get the Executive membership and your check is not at least the amount of the regular membership, Costco will make up the difference. For example, if you renew the Executive at $120, but your check is only for $30, Costco will ACTUALLY give you $60. To take advantage of this, you just have to ask at the membership counter when you get your check and renew your membership. There are also a lot of benefits like the Costco Travel site, which I use for almost all car rentals, since it gives you an extra driver for free and what are almost always the best prices.
So it’s a no lose situation for Executive Club!