Costco Last Raised Membership Fees 6 Years Ago. Will Fees Increase in 2023?

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Is a Costco membership fee hike in the cards for this year? Read on to find out and learn why it likely wouldn’t be a big increase. 

There’s a reason Costco charges members a fee to get in the door. The warehouse club giant uses those fees to help offset its costs and generate revenue. And it’s because of those fees that Costco is able to offer such low prices on the various goods it stocks. In fact, you may find that when you shop at Costco, you end up with a much lower credit card tab compared to the other stores you might frequent for things like groceries and household essentials.

Right now, a basic Costco membership costs $60 a year, while an upgraded executive membership costs $120. If you buy the executive membership, you get to enjoy 2% cash back on all Costco purchases, including online orders.

But you may not want to get too used to those numbers. Costco is actually overdue for a membership fee hike. And so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the warehouse club giant make changes to its fee structure before 2023 comes to a close.

Members should brace for a fee hike, though it’s not guaranteed

The last time Costco raised fees was June 1, 2017. Prior to that, fees went up on Nov. 1, 2011.

Based on this cadence, Costco should’ve raised its fees already earlier this year. The fact that it didn’t doesn’t mean that a fee hike isn’t in the cards for 2023.

Like many retailers, Costco has had to bear the brunt of inflation. And if it wants to continue to be able to offer such high-quality products to customers at such low price points, it may need to compensate by raising fees.

Now to be clear, it’s not like Costco has set a date for its next membership fee hike or stated explicitly that fees will be going up in 2023. But at some point, it’s apt to get more expensive to be a Costco member, so fans of the store ought to brace for that.

A fee hike may not be all that bad

At a time when living costs are soaring due to inflation, nobody wants to see their bills increase. But the reality is that if Costco does decide to raise membership fees this year, they’re unlikely to rise by a substantial amount.

In 2017, Costco raised the cost of a basic membership by $5, while the cost of an executive membership rose $10. There’s a good chance that if fees rise in 2023, members will be looking at a similar increase. That would take the cost of a basic membership from $60 to $65 and make an executive membership $130 instead of $120.

When we break these figures down on a monthly basis, consumers may be looking at as little as $0.42 extra per month for a basic membership, and as little as $0.83 a month more for an executive membership. That’s less than the cost of a hot dog and soda combo at Costco’s food court.

So all told, Costco fans shouldn’t lose sleep over the idea of a membership fee hike. It may be an unwanted change, but it’s unlikely to be a financially devastating one.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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