Costco Membership Cost in 2026: Gold Star vs Executive, and the 2% Math

A Costco membership costs $65 a year for Gold Star and $130 for Executive, plus sales tax where it applies, and the only thing the extra $65 buys at the register is a 2% Reward on most purchases, capped at $1,250 a year. By our arithmetic, the upgrade pays for itself at $3,250 of eligible spending in a year, about $271 a month, and the list of what does not count includes gasoline, the food court, and the membership fee itself. This guide sets out both fees, the reward’s exclusions and cap, the new-member Shop Card offer, and the auto-renewal rules that decide when the $65 or $130 hits your card, all from Costco’s own pages read on October 8, 2026. If the fee has already renewed and you want it back, our Costco cancellation guide covers the refund, including the Executive catch.

The quick answer

• Gold Star: “$65” a year, “plus sales tax where applicable,” with “one free Household Card for anyone over the age of 16 and living at the same address”
• Executive: “An Executive Membership is an additional $65 upgrade fee per year,” so $130 total, for a 2% Reward “up to $1,250”
• Break-even, our calculation: $65 divided by 2% is $3,250 of eligible purchases a year; the $1,250 cap is reached at $62,500
• What the 2% skips: gasoline, food court, Costco Shop Cards, membership fees, tobacco, stamps, bottle deposits, delivery and installation charges, and more
• Renewal: auto-renew is “charged on the first day of your renewal month”; changes to level need “at least two business days before”
• Refund: “We will cancel and refund your membership fee at any time if you are dissatisfied,” but any 2% Reward “will be subtracted from the refund”
• New members: a $20 (Gold Star) or $40 (Executive) Shop Card, only if you have not been a member “in the last 18 months” and set up auto-renewal

Key facts at a glance

	Gold Star	Executive
Annual fee	$65 plus applicable sales tax	$130 ($65 plus a $65 upgrade fee) plus tax
Household Card	One free, age 16 or older, same address	Same
2% Reward	None	On qualified purchases, capped at $1,250 per 12 months
Spending to cover the upgrade (our math)	Not applicable	$3,250 a year of eligible purchases
Reward certificate	Not applicable	With the renewal notice, about two months (or three, per the other page) before renewal
Upgrade mid-year	Not applicable	”charged a prorated upgrade fee”
New-member Shop Card	$20	$40
Auto-renew charge	$65 on the first day of the renewal month	$130 on the first day of the renewal month
Refund	Fee refundable “at any time”	Fee refundable, minus any 2% Reward issued or accrued

Fees and rules from Costco’s membership and customer service pages, read October 8, 2026. The break-even figures are our calculation from the published 2% rate and $65 upgrade fee.

The two fees

Costco’s Executive Membership page states the whole price list in three sentences: “Costco membership is $65 a year. An Executive Membership is an additional $65 upgrade fee per year. Each includes a free Household Card.” The auto-renewal page puts the same numbers the way they appear on a card statement: $65 a year for Gold Star and Business members, an additional $65 a year for Executive members for $130 in total, $65 a year for each affiliate business member, “plus applicable taxes.”

The Gold Star product page adds the term and the card rule: “Your Gold Star Membership is valid for one year at any Costco location worldwide, and at Costco.com,” and “Primary Members receive one free Household Card for anyone over the age of 16 and living at the same address.” Business members pay “an additional $65 for each additional cardholder,” and the Executive page notes that purchases by those extra cardholders “do not contribute towards the 2% Reward.”

What the $65 upgrade actually buys

The Executive Rewards page describes the benefit: “Executive Members earn an annual 2% Reward, up to $1,250*, on qualified Costco, Costco.com and Costco Travel purchases.” The reward is “approximately 2% of pre-tax purchases (less refunds),” and the cap is firm: “Reward is capped at and will not exceed $1,250 for any 12-month period.” Costco also says in plain terms that the reward may not cover the fee: the page states that the Reward is not guaranteed to equal or exceed the upgrade fee you paid.

So the arithmetic, which is ours and not Costco’s: at 2%, the $65 upgrade is covered once eligible purchases reach $3,250 in the membership year, roughly $271 a month or $62.50 a week. Below that, Executive costs more than it returns; above it, every further $100 of eligible spending returns $2, until the $1,250 cap at $62,500 of purchases. If you upgrade mid-year, “Members who upgrade for a partial year will be charged a prorated upgrade fee,” and the rewards page says “We will prorate the upgrade amount based on the months remaining in your current membership.”

The Executive page lists other perks, such as earlier shopping hours and extras on Costco Services like check printing, auto buying and travel, but it attaches no dollar value to them.

What the 2% does not count

This list is where most people’s break-even math goes wrong. The Executive page says “The following purchases do not apply to the 2% Reward:” and names, among others, “Gasoline,” “Food Court,” “Costco Shop Cards/Gift of Membership,” “Membership Fees,” “Tobacco,” “Stamps,” “Bottle Deposit,” “Optical Exams,” “Costco Services,” “Home Delivery Services (Delivery Charges, Installation),” cell phones and service contracts bought through third parties, and alcohol in a list of two dozen states. Prescriptions mostly count, but “Only the amount not covered by insurance (co-pay) is calculated as part of the 2% Reward.” And “Refunds of eligible purchases will be deducted from the 2% Reward.”

The practical effect: a household that fills two tanks a week at Costco gas and eats at the food court is spending money that never reaches the 2% calculation. The $3,250 threshold has to come from warehouse merchandise, Costco.com orders and completed Costco Travel bookings.

When the reward arrives, and what cancels it

Costco’s two pages give two timings. The Executive page: “The 2% Reward Certificate is mailed with the renewal notice approximately two months prior to the member’s annual renewal date.” The rewards page: “The 2% Reward is issued approximately three months prior to the member’s renewal date, in the Renewal Statement.” Either way it is tied to renewal, not to the calendar, and “A member must be a current, paid Executive Member at the end of the membership year to be entitled to the Reward.”

Downgrading has a cost. “Members who reverse their Executive status will lose all rewards accumulated. Rewards are not prorated.” And the refund rule for the upgrade fee reads: “To receive a refund for the current Executive upgrade fee, the membership must be canceled or downgraded to a Gold Star or Business Membership. Any 2% Reward issued or accrued will be subtracted from the refund.”

Renewal: the first of the month, and a two-day rule

Auto-renewal is tied to a date, not to your sign-up anniversary. The auto-renewal page says the card “will be charged on the first day of your renewal month.” The charge page describes what that looks like: a charge of about $65 or $130 from Costco on a Visa or Mastercard around the first or second day of the month is most likely the automatic renewal, with $65 meaning a Gold Star or Business membership and $130 an Executive membership, “before applicable sales tax.”

Three deadlines sit around that date. “Changes to your membership type or level must be completed at least two business days before your Auto Renewal takes place.” By phone, Costco asks for “at least 72 hours prior to the first day of your renewal month.” And if you cut it close, removing auto-renewal within 48 hours of the renewal date means the card on file “will likely be charged,” after which Costco says it refunds the charge to the same card within two business days. A refund requested after an unwanted renewal takes “approximately 5-7 business days to process.”

The fee itself is covered by the same guarantee as the merchandise. Costco’s return policy page says, “On Membership: We will cancel and refund your membership fee at any time if you are dissatisfied.” How Costco’s merchandise rules compare with Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy is in our return windows comparison.

The new-member offer and its 18-month rule

The membership benefits page lists a sign-up bonus: “Receive $40 Costco Shop Card for Executive Members and a $20 Shop Card for Gold Star Members.” The fine print narrows it to new members and people who have not held any Costco card, “in any capacity, Primary, Household, or Affiliate,” in the last 18 months, and it requires setting up auto-renewal on a Visa credit or debit card or a Mastercard debit card at sign-up. A separate $65 Shop Card is tied to being approved for the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi with a new Executive membership, which is a credit application, not a membership term.

Where the documents disagree or leave gaps

Two months or three. The Executive page says the reward certificate comes “approximately two months prior” to renewal; the rewards page says “approximately three months prior.”

The reward may not cover the fee, and Costco says so. The rewards page states that the Reward is not guaranteed to equal or exceed the upgrade fee paid. Our $3,250 figure is the line, and it excludes gas and the other listed categories.

Sales tax is on top. Every fee line adds “plus applicable taxes” or “plus sales tax where applicable”; the $65 and $130 figures are pre-tax.

Household Card versus additional cardholder. Gold Star and Executive each include one free Household Card; Business memberships pay $65 per additional cardholder, and those cardholders’ purchases do not earn the 2%.

The renewal date is a month, not a day. Auto-renew charges on the first of the renewal month, so a membership bought mid-month renews earlier in the calendar than many expect.

Before you choose or renew

This is a sequence of checks, not a recommendation:

1. Add up a year of warehouse and Costco.com spending, excluding gas and the food court. Below about $3,250, the Executive upgrade returns less than it costs by our math
2. Count only the primary and household cardholders. Extra Business cardholders’ purchases do not earn the reward
3. Note the renewal month, not the sign-up date. The charge lands on the first of that month
4. Make level changes two business days ahead. Within 48 hours the card is charged and refunded afterward
5. If downgrading from Executive, time it after the certificate. Reversing Executive status forfeits accrued rewards, and they are not prorated
6. New members: check the 18-month rule before counting on the Shop Card. Any prior Household or Affiliate card in that window disqualifies you

Quick answers to what people search

How much is a Costco membership in 2026? “$65” a year for Gold Star or Business, “$130 total” for Executive, plus applicable sales tax, per Costco’s pages read October 8, 2026.

Is the Costco Executive membership worth it? It depends on eligible spending. By our calculation the 2% Reward covers the $65 upgrade at $3,250 a year of purchases that count; gas, food court and Shop Cards do not count.

What is the maximum Costco 2% Reward? “Reward is capped at and will not exceed $1,250 for any 12-month period,” which corresponds to $62,500 of eligible purchases.

Does Costco gas count toward the 2% Reward? No. “Gasoline” is on Costco’s list of purchases that do not apply to the 2% Reward.

When does Costco charge the renewal fee? On “the first day of your renewal month” if auto-renew is on; the charge shows as about $65 or $130.

Can I get a refund on a Costco membership? Yes. Costco will “cancel and refund your membership fee at any time if you are dissatisfied,” with any 2% Reward subtracted from an Executive refund.

Do new Costco members get a Shop Card? $20 for Gold Star and $40 for Executive, if you have not been a member in any capacity in the last 18 months and set up auto-renewal at sign-up.

Bottom line

As of October 8, 2026, Costco costs $65 or $130 a year before tax, and the extra $65 buys a 2% Reward that, by our math, breaks even at $3,250 of eligible purchases and tops out at $1,250. Gas and the food court never count, the certificate arrives two or three months before renewal depending on which Costco page you read, and the fee renews on the first of the month with a two-business-day window to change course. The fee is refundable at any time; the reward is not. Sam’s Club’s $60 and $120 tiers, and a 2% rebate that skips online orders, are in our Sam’s Club membership cost guide. What the membership buys at the returns counter, including the no-deadline guarantee, is in our Costco return policy guide.

Fees, reward terms, exclusions and renewal rules quoted from Costco’s customer service and membership pages, US versions, read on October 8, 2026. The break-even figures are our own calculation from the published 2% rate and $65 upgrade fee. Costco’s pages are the authority and may change. This is general information, not financial advice.