ISSAQUAH, Wash — The price of a Costco membership will increase in September, the first price hike since 2017.
On Sept. 1, the cost for a Gold Star membership, the basic tier, will increase from $60 to $65. Executive memberships, a higher-tier plan, will increase from $120 to $130, Costco announced in an earnings call Wednesday. The maximum annual 2% cash back reward for Executive members will increase from $1,000 to $1,250 when prices go up.
The last membership price increase was in June 2017. Costco said the latest price hike will affect 52 million memberships, about half of which are the higher-tier Executive option.
On a call with investors last September, Costco's chief financial officer was clear that a membership price hike would come eventually and said it was "a question of when, not if."
Competitor Sam's Club also raised membership prices in 2022, but charges less than Costco at $50 for a base membership and $110 for its Plus membership.
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Costco, the third-largest retailer in the U.S. by sales volume, sells items in bulk and relies on a membership structure to keep costs down for shoppers. Last year, stores began to crack down on unauthorized card-sharing, getting stricter about asking to see shoppers' membership cards with their photo at self-checkout.
Costco currently operates more than 600 warehouses in the U.S.