Everything we know about Costco’s potential membership fee hike

Every five to six years, Costco raises its membership fees, which means that a new fee hike may be on its way soon.

In a Q1 earnings call, chief financial officer Richard Galanti confirmed that a new fee hike is coming, though he stopped short of providing a date.

“I’ll use my standby answer, my pat answer: It’s a question of when, not if,” Galanti said.

In 2011, a Gold Star membership cost $55 per year, but the price was raised to $60 in 2017. Similarly, the Executive membership price went from $110 to $120 after that same six-year period. Both memberships are required to enter any Costco worldwide, but the Executive membership has additional perks.

We are now almost seven years removed from 2017, which is longer than the six-year period between Costco’s last price increase. Industry analysts have predicted that Costco was waiting for inflation to moderate before increasing membership fees and that a hike will come this summer.

Galanti didn’t provide any hint during the call about how much money an increase could entail.

“We like providing extreme value,” he said.

Costco memberships last for one year.