Considering Inflation, This Is When To Upgrade Your Costco Membership
If there was one superstore that housed everything you could imagine under the sun, it would be the famous and popular Costco Wholesale. There's seemingly nothing out of reach, from $5 rotisserie chicken to outdoor patio furniture and fitness equipment. Costco requires a membership alongside a membership fee to enter the wholesaler, unlike other conventional supermarkets. The base-level entry membership for Costco is a Gold Star membership, which includes access to all Costco warehouse locations and online shopping access for two people (within the same household). The price tag behind a Gold Star membership is $60 a year or $5 a month (via Costco).
A step above the Gold Star membership is the glitzy Executive level membership. Is the upgrade worth spending double the Gold Star fee every year, or $120? Believe it or not, many shoppers would benefit from the upgrade when it comes to the card's elevated rewards and the upcoming cost of inflation. See if you and your family's Costco trips are worth the $60 extra splurge on an Executive-level membership.
Your cash back could pay for Executive membership
Unlike the traditional Gold Star member, each Executive-level member at Costco earns a 2% annual reward on eligible purchases up to $1,000 (via Costco). While 2% cash back on purchases may sound small, it can add up. In fact, for some members, it can offset the membership cost — and then some.
According to Motley Fool, Costco members who spend upward of $3,000 a year at the wholesale club would benefit from upgrading to an Executive membership card. Not only would your 2% annual rewards pay for the membership upgrade, each Executive membership also comes with additional Costco benefits and discounts that could add to your overall savings each year.
What if you spent just under $3,000 a year at Costco in 2021, is it worth upgrading to an Executive membership in 2022? The answer may be yes. As food prices continue to climb with inflation, your 2022 Costco annual spending could rise to $3,000 or more. Additionally, the sheer volume of items available at Costco — plus, the 2% annual savings — may encourage you to aggregate more of your shopping errands to this wholesaler (which also sells gas for your car, by the way), which would also push your annual spending to $3,000 or above.
In fact, Costco just saw a record number of renewed memberships from first-time Costco members in May, RetailWire reports, indicating new Costco shoppers in 2021 definitely discovered the benefits of shopping wholesale. Considering the cost of inflation, now might be the right time to upgrade your own membership, from Gold Star to Executive, and start reaping those upgraded benefits, too.