Costco membership perks fuel renewals

Costco’s core pitch is not just cheap bulk goods. It is a paid membership that keeps renewing because the benefits show up again and again in everyday spending. (sec.gov) (investor.costco.com) That model got more expensive on Sept. 1, 2024, when Costco raised U.S. and Canada Gold Star and Business memberships by $5 to $65 and lifted Executive memberships from $120 to $130. (investor.costco.com) (customerservice.costco.com) Costco also raised the Executive 2% reward cap to $1,250 from $1,000. The company said the 2024 fee increase affected about 52 million memberships, with a little more than half of them in the Executive tier. (investor.costco.com) The reason Costco can charge more is that the membership comes with concrete uses beyond warehouse checkout. Executive members earn 2% on qualified Costco, Costco.com and Costco Travel purchases and get extra savings on some Costco Services. (costco.com 1) (costco.com 2) Those services now range from travel and insurance to auto-buying discounts, payment processing and Executive-only offers through partners such as PODS. Costco markets that bundle as “value beyond the warehouse.” (costco.com 1) (costco.com 2) The numbers show the strategy is still working. Costco’s fiscal 2025 annual report said membership-fee revenue increased 10%, driven by new sign-ups and the fee increase, while renewal rates ended the year at 92.3% in the United States and Canada and 89.8% worldwide. (sec.gov) Sales have kept growing too. Costco reported fiscal 2025 net sales of $269.9 billion, up 8.1%, and then posted another 9.1% increase in second-quarter fiscal 2026 net sales to $68.24 billion. (investor.costco.com 1) (investor.costco.com 2) Costco’s board has also kept returning cash to shareholders. On April 15, 2026, the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.47 a share from $1.30, or $5.88 annualized. (investor.costco.com) That mix helps explain why Costco talks about memberships as an ecosystem, not a ticket to enter the store. The more often members use travel, services and the 2% reward, the harder the annual fee is to walk away from. (investor.costco.com) (costco.com)