Costco membership fees increasing for first time in 7 years

Starting Sept. 1, the cost of a Costco membership will increase by $5 to $10, marking the first time membership fees have jumped in seven years.

Costco’s Gold Star membership is set to go from $60 to $65, while the Executive membership will swell from $120 to $130.

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“The fee increases will impact around 52 million memberships, a little over half of which are Executive,” Costco stated in a press release announcing the policy change.

Of the 882 warehouses Costco currently operates, this pricing model will impact the 717 warehouses located in the U.S. and Canada. There is no confirmation the membership pricing has changed for Costco locations in other countries it’s housed in, including Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain and France.

The increased membership fees also means the maximum annual 2% reward that comes with the Executive Membership will go from $1,000 to $1,250.

The days of Costco’s leniency with non-members visiting its stores have waned over the last few years. Earlier this year, the retail giant announced it was restricting food court access to just card-carrying members. While the food court was never intended to be used by the outside public, it used to be a place where customers wouldn’t have their memberships regularly checked.

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Revenues from membership fees were up 7.6% in the third quarter of fiscal 2023, according to Fox Business, with membership fees making up 1.9% of the company’s total revenue for the fiscal year.

In its published June sales report, Costco reported $24.5 billion in net sales in June 2024 — up 7.4% from 2023.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.