For years, Costco has had an extremely loyal fan base. With their affordable grocery staples available in bulk, exciting new products and beauty and fashion dupes, irresistible baked goods, mouth-watering prepared foods, free samples and more, it’s hard to leave Costco without a smile on your face (and a dent in your bank account). These days, however, many longtime Costco customers have a bone to pick with the warehouse retail store, thanks to a recent change in their store hours. Beginning on September 2, Costco put into place a new policy that gives Executive Members a highly-coveted perk—an extra hour of uninterrupted shopping time Sunday through Friday and an extra half hour on Saturdays. While many are outraged over this new change, others find themselves questioning: Is the Costco Executive Membership worth it? Here, we break down the perks, how the membership compares to the basic Gold Star Membership and more.
Is the Costco Executive Membership worth it?
While the standard Gold Star Membership offers a satisfying shopping experience, there are a handful of perks offered to Executive members that are not available to Gold Star members. For starters, Costco Executive Members can earn an annual 2% cash back reward of up to $1,250 that’s not offered to Gold Star Members. Additionally, Executive Members now have access to exclusive shopping hours, meaning they can get their trips out of the way earlier in the day with smaller crowds. (If you’ve been to a Costco on a weekend or worse—right before a holiday—then you understand why this new perk is such a big deal.) Another new perk Executive Members have access to is a $10 monthly credit for SameDay.Costco.com or Instacart on an order over $150. If you’re unfamiliar with this program offered by the store, it’s a grocery delivery service which allows shoppers to place online orders, delivered to their doors on the same day in which the order was placed. This $10 is not available to Gold Star Members.
Executive Members also have access to exclusive discounts on certain services and products, like travel upgrades and credits. Both memberships allow for shopping online and in-store, provide two membership cards and the cancellation and reimbursement of your membership at any point if you are no longer satisfied with your experience. For Executive Members, the annual fee is $130 per year, while the Gold Star Membership is $65 a year. So is the splurge worth it? That depends on you and your lifestyle. If you’ve got a big family, run a business or are feeding a lot of mouths, buying in bulk makes sense, and the benefits associated with an Executive Membership might be worth it if you find that you shop at Costco pretty often. However, if a trip to Costco is more of an occasional thing every few months and you’re shopping for a smaller crew, the more basic membership is probably just fine for your shopping habits.
