If you have a large family, own a small business or like to buy in bulk, chances are you have a membership at Costco. The warehouse store is known for it’s $5 rotisserie chickens, free samples of food and low prices on groceries, clothing, furniture and more.

In order to shop at Costco, you have to join the club, and while the food samples are free, the membership is not. The last time Costco raised their membership prices was back in 2017, but Costco has announced that on September 1, 2024, the annual membership fee is going up again.

Currently, a Gold membership or business membership at Costco is $65. Starting in September, that annual fee will increase $5 and become $70.

The executive level membership at Costco is also increasing. Currently, that annual fee is $120, but starting in September the fee with increase $10 to become $130.

The big takeaway here is that if you’ve been thinking about becoming a member at Costco but haven’t done it yet, you might want to join the club before September!

If you’re a current member at Costco, this fee increase isn’t all bad news especially if you’re an executive member who is eligible for a 2% reward on purchases. Currently, the maximum annual 2% reward executive members can earn is $1000, but that reward will be increasing to $1250 starting September 1st.

While Costco has kept it’s prices down as they’ve increased at other stores, it makes sense that they would have to increase the membership fee eventually. This somewhat minor increase will really add up for the warehouse store which currently has about 55 million members, approximately half of which are executive members.

Watch the video below to learn more about this membership price increase at Costco.

Are you a Costco member? Are you surprised that Costco is raising its membership fee? Do you think this membership fee increase will deter customers from renewing their membership, or do you think it was a smart move for Costco?