Costco fee hikes for Gold Star, Business, Executive memberships take effect

It’s going to cost Long Island consumers a few bucks more to shop at Costco.

The big-box warehouse chain increased fees for Gold Star personal and business memberships by $5, from $60 to $65, effective Sunday. The fee for Costco’s premium plan, the Executive Membership, will rise $10, from $120 to $130.

The cap on Executive Membership 2% Reward will increase from $1,000 per year to $1,250.

Costco said the fee increase is its first in seven years.

“Our membership fees help to offset operational costs so we can keep our prices low,” the company said on its website. “A modest increase in fees will allow us to bring our members even greater value.”

Some shoppers have said that they might take their business elsewhere because of the fee increase. Costco’s stock shares nearly doubled since the beginning of 2023, The Associated Press reported in July, increasing the company’s market value by about $180 billion during that span.

Costco shares rose by more than 2% after news of the fee increases and sales figures came out.

"They’re making enough money,” Felix Baba, of Deer Park, told Newsday in July after shopping at Costco’s Commack store. “Why [do] they want to make more money on us?”