Should You Cancel Your Costco Executive Membership Now That It Costs More?

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It finally happened. After a long stretch without a membership fee hike, Costco raised the cost of its memberships on Sept. 1. Now, instead of paying $60 a year for a basic Costco membership, you'll pay $65. And instead of paying $120 for an Executive membership, you'll pay $130.

These increases aren't so substantial if you break them down on a monthly basis. In the case of a Gold Star membership, you're looking at an extra $0.42 per month. For the Executive membership, you'll need to pony up an extra $0.83 on a monthly basis.

But still, you may not be a fan of paying more for any service or product right about now, Costco included. So should you cancel your Executive membership now that its cost has risen? It depends on how often you use it.

Make sure you're getting your money's worth

The fact that Costco just hiked up its fees gives you an opportunity to assess your membership and decide whether it's worth keeping. But here's a general rule you should follow.

If you were getting great value out of your Costco membership before the fee hike, then it pays to stick with Costco. If you were barely using your membership prior to September, you were probably wasting your money. And in that case, there's no sense in spending more.

Let's imagine you have an Executive Costco membership that you use once a month for a big stock-up. If your monthly haul costs you $200 and saves you $30 each time compared to buying those same items at a supermarket or big-box store, then you're saving yourself $360 in the course of a year.

In that case, it pays to retain access to Costco, because you are saving money. But a Gold Star membership makes more sense. It doesn't pay to keep an Executive membership if you typically spend less than $3,250 per year, which is what it now costs to break even on the $65 upgrade fee (the difference between $65 and $130). So if you typically spend $2,400 a year like in our example above, you may want to downgrade to the basic membership to avoid wasting money.

It doesn't hurt to take a chance

The decision to stick with a Costco Executive membership at a higher cost versus cancel may not be so clear cut. It may be that you used your membership just enough last year to make it worthwhile, but you're not sure that will be the case this year due to a change like a child going off to college or moving to an area without a nearby Costco store.

In that case, sticking with the higher-priced membership won't hurt you. If you find that you're not using your membership enough to justify the higher cost, you can cancel for a refund at any time.

You can also downgrade to a basic membership at any time. And Costco will even pay you the difference between the cash back you racked up and the $65 extra you paid. In other words, if you only earned $40 in cash back, Costco will give you $25 when you downgrade.

That said, remember that Costco offers a world of benefits beyond discounted groceries and paper towels. You can save on everything from travel to eyewear to gift cards when you shop at Costco. So before you let the higher fee spook you, think about all of the cash back you have the potential to earn.

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