This post may contain affiliate links which may compensate us based on your interaction. Please read the disclosures for more information.
[[{“value”:”Image source: Upsplash/The Motley FoolJoining Costco has so many benefits, it’s almost impossible to count them all. In addition to big savings on groceries and household essentials, Costco members get access to perks like discounted gift cards, affordable travel packages, and great prices on electronics and home appliances — just to name a few.Top credit card to use at Costco (and everywhere else!)
We love versatile credit cards that offer huge rewards everywhere, including Costco! This card is a standout among America’s favorite credit cards because it offers perhaps the easiest $200 cash bonus you could ever earn and an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, even when you shop at Costco. Add on the competitive 0% interest period and it’s no wonder we awarded this card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card.
Click here to read our full review for free and apply before the $200 welcome bonus offer ends!Plus, if you use the right credit card at Costco, you can add to your savings even more. Click here for a list of the best credit cards for Costco shoppers.Another big benefit of being a Costco member is getting to enjoy hassle-free returns. There’s nothing more frustrating than bringing an item back to a store only to learn that you’ve just missed the return window — and you’re now stuck with a product you can’t use. At Costco, you can bring back almost any item at any time for any reason and get your money back in full.That said, you need to be careful about making returns at Costco. Going overboard could put your membership at risk. And losing it could mean missing out on the warehouse club benefits you know and love.How many Costco returns is too many?Costco’s rules state the following about memberships: “Costco reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant, and membership may be terminated at Costco’s discretion and without cause.” Reading between the lines, this tells us that abusing Costco’s return policy could result in having a membership taken away.The tricky thing, though, is that Costco does not state specifically how many returns constitute an abuse of its policy or how many returns will put your membership at risk of getting canceled. It also doesn’t give any guidance as to what’s considered an unreasonable number of returns as a percentage of your total purchases.Someone who maximizes a Costco membership and buys 1,000 items per year should, in theory, get a little more leeway with returns than someone who buys 400 items. But it’s not like Costco says “returning more than 25% of your purchases per year puts your membership at risk.” All Costco says is that it reserves the right to end your membership as it sees fit.Costco doesn’t want to cancel your membershipHowever, if you ask a customer service representative, they’ll tell you that Costco is definitely not looking to cancel memberships. It wants to retain customers because membership fees make up a lot of its revenue. Costco will typically only cancel a membership on the basis of too many returns if it’s an extreme number and if the returns themselves aren’t reasonable.To figure out what an extreme number is, let’s just use logic. If you typically buy 12 items from Costco each week and commonly take back eight of them, that’s kind of extreme. If you normally buy 12 things a week and return two, that doesn’t sound too bad.There’s also a difference between returning a jacket eight months after you buy it with the tags still on versus returning a jacket eight months later with torn sleeves and a broken zipper. If you make too many unreasonable returns of that nature, Costco might yank your membership, even if the total number of returns you make per year isn’t all that high.Play it cool with returns and you should be just fineWhile making too many Costco returns could result in losing your membership, you shouldn’t worry about returning one item here or two items there. If you shop at Costco often enough, you might even get away with making 100 returns in a single year if they’re all reasonable in nature.It’s when you take advantage of Costco’s generosity by returning damaged items that things start to get dicey. So rather than focus on the number of returns you’re making, focus on the nature of those returns. Keep things reasonable and chances are, you won’t risk losing access to your beloved warehouse club store.Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money 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.”}]] [[{“value”:”
Image source: Upsplash/The Motley Fool
Joining Costco has so many benefits, it’s almost impossible to count them all. In addition to big savings on groceries and household essentials, Costco members get access to perks like discounted gift cards, affordable travel packages, and great prices on electronics and home appliances — just to name a few.
Top credit card to use at Costco (and everywhere else!)
We love versatile credit cards that offer huge rewards everywhere, including Costco! This card is a standout among America’s favorite credit cards because it offers perhaps the easiest $200 cash bonus you could ever earn and an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, even when you shop at Costco.
Add on the competitive 0% interest period and it’s no wonder we awarded this card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card.
Click here to read our full review for free and apply before the $200 welcome bonus offer ends!
Plus, if you use the right credit card at Costco, you can add to your savings even more. Click here for a list of the best credit cards for Costco shoppers.
Another big benefit of being a Costco member is getting to enjoy hassle-free returns. There’s nothing more frustrating than bringing an item back to a store only to learn that you’ve just missed the return window — and you’re now stuck with a product you can’t use. At Costco, you can bring back almost any item at any time for any reason and get your money back in full.
That said, you need to be careful about making returns at Costco. Going overboard could put your membership at risk. And losing it could mean missing out on the warehouse club benefits you know and love.
How many Costco returns is too many?
Costco’s rules state the following about memberships: “Costco reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant, and membership may be terminated at Costco’s discretion and without cause.” Reading between the lines, this tells us that abusing Costco’s return policy could result in having a membership taken away.
The tricky thing, though, is that Costco does not state specifically how many returns constitute an abuse of its policy or how many returns will put your membership at risk of getting canceled. It also doesn’t give any guidance as to what’s considered an unreasonable number of returns as a percentage of your total purchases.
Someone who maximizes a Costco membership and buys 1,000 items per year should, in theory, get a little more leeway with returns than someone who buys 400 items. But it’s not like Costco says “returning more than 25% of your purchases per year puts your membership at risk.” All Costco says is that it reserves the right to end your membership as it sees fit.
Costco doesn’t want to cancel your membership
However, if you ask a customer service representative, they’ll tell you that Costco is definitely not looking to cancel memberships. It wants to retain customers because membership fees make up a lot of its revenue. Costco will typically only cancel a membership on the basis of too many returns if it’s an extreme number and if the returns themselves aren’t reasonable.
To figure out what an extreme number is, let’s just use logic. If you typically buy 12 items from Costco each week and commonly take back eight of them, that’s kind of extreme. If you normally buy 12 things a week and return two, that doesn’t sound too bad.
There’s also a difference between returning a jacket eight months after you buy it with the tags still on versus returning a jacket eight months later with torn sleeves and a broken zipper. If you make too many unreasonable returns of that nature, Costco might yank your membership, even if the total number of returns you make per year isn’t all that high.
Play it cool with returns and you should be just fine
While making too many Costco returns could result in losing your membership, you shouldn’t worry about returning one item here or two items there. If you shop at Costco often enough, you might even get away with making 100 returns in a single year if they’re all reasonable in nature.
It’s when you take advantage of Costco’s generosity by returning damaged items that things start to get dicey. So rather than focus on the number of returns you’re making, focus on the nature of those returns. Keep things reasonable and chances are, you won’t risk losing access to your beloved warehouse club store.
Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.
We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money 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.
“}]] Read More
