Will Costco’s membership prices go up in 2024?

In the United States there are several supermarket options to purchase groceries and other necessary household items. One of the most popular is Costco, one of the largest membership chains in the country.

Costco has three types of memberships. The Gold Star Membership, with an annual fee of $60. There is also the Business Membership, as well $60 per year, which is exclusive for business owners to purchase products for commercial, personal use and resale.

And then it offers an Executive Membership, which costs $120 per year. This tier offers increased savings, as well as a 2% annual reward on qualifying purchases. To get it, you must first have a Gold Star Membership and then upgrade your account.

These are current prices, which could increase next year, although the company has not confirmed a specific date. Every few years, the company increases prices. It did so in 2011 and later in 2017, and it is speculated that it could increase again in 2024, since seven years have now passed without an increase.

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The increase is “a question of when, not if”

According to SFGATE, in a conference call regarding first-quarter results, CFO Richard Galanti confirmed that a new rate increase is coming, although he did not provide a specific date. “I’ll use my standby answer, my pat answer: It’s a question of when, not if [it will go up],” Galanti said.

Galanti also revealed that it has seen “strong renewal rates, strong new signups, strong loyalty” regarding its membership program. “We haven’t needed to [increase prices]. We like providing extreme value. Certainly, while we’ve gone a little longer than the average increase, we feel we certainly have driven more value to the membership,” he said, according to KTLA5.

By 2024, the membership rates will have gone almost seven years without increasing, longer than the six-year span between 2011 and 2017, which was the last time membership prices were raised.

Since 2022, there has been speculation that an increase in the price of memberships would happen in 2023. However, it may be that the company has been waiting for inflation to drop before raising membership prices. According to the latest government data that has now occurred even promoting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to signal that the central bank’s interest rate hiking campaign is over.

If their prices increase, the Gold Star membership could go up to $65 dollars, while the Executive membership would rise to $125, however, there is no official confirmation from Costco on either the new prices or the date on which they could increase.