Costco, like Walt Disney World, never offers broad discounts on its membership prices (or in Disney’s case, theme park ticket prices). You may see discounts for specific groups, such as Disney World’s military passes or its deal with the National Association of Educators, but these deals are very limited.
For both companies, it can be argued that the core cost of getting in the door is the same for everyone.
Former Costco CFO Richard Galanti made it clear that warehouse clubs will never discount membership prices.
“Well, for us, there’s really no change. I mean, we do some promotions every year. But the biggest thing that we don’t do is discount our membership in any way. Some brochure stuff where you can sign up to be a member and get a certain number of coupons tied to stuff,” he said during the chain’s third-quarter 2023 earnings call.
Costco currently charges $65 for a one-year Gold Star membership and $130 for an Executive membership. Higher-priced memberships allow you to shop longer and earn 2% cash back on purchases up to $1,250 per year.
While Costco doesn’t sell memberships at discounted prices, it rarely offers additional perks to entice people to join. The chain is currently running a promotion with Groupon where new members can get a gift card and a 12-month membership.
“Become a new Costco member and enjoy exclusive deals on groceries, electronics, gas and more, and get a $40 or $60 Costco Digital Store Card bonus to spend online or in-store,” Groupon shared on its website.
Those who qualify can receive a $40 Gold Star Membership gift card and a $60 Costco digital store card when they pay for an Executive membership.
There are some caveats to this offer.
Groupon says: “Available only to new members and those whose previous memberships (primary and affiliate) have expired for at least 18 months or more. Not applicable to renewals or upgrades of existing memberships.”
Furthermore, if you want to take advantage of this, you only have until the end of 2025 to do so. The offer expires at midnight on December 31st.
Costco’s current chief financial officer, Gary Millerchip, talked about the chain’s membership during its first-quarter 2026 earnings call.
“We reported membership fee revenue of $1.329 billion, an increase of $163 million, or 14%, year over year. Accounting for foreign exchange, the increase was also 14%. Membership fee growth in the United States and Canada accounted for less than half of the membership revenue growth last September,” he said.
On September 1, Costco is increasing Gold Star memberships from $60 to $65 and Gold Star memberships from $120 to $160.
“Excluding membership fee increases and foreign exchange, membership revenue increased 7.3% year-on-year. This was driven by continued growth in our membership base and an increase in upgrades from Gold Star membership to executive membership,” he said.
Millerchip shared more data on the chain’s membership and renewal rates.
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As of the end of the first quarter, we had 39.7 million paid executive members, an increase of 9.1% from last year.
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As of the end of the quarter, our total number of paid members was 81.4 million, an increase of 5.2% over the same period last year; the number of cardholders was 105.9 million, an increase of 5.1% over the same period last year.
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In terms of renewal rates, at the end of the first quarter, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate was 92.2%. The global ratio was 89.7%, both down 10 basis points from the previous quarter.
“This slight decrease is due to factors we discussed last quarter and reflects a growing percentage of new online members as a percentage of our total base, with renewal rates slightly lower than warehouse registered members,” Millerchip said. “The decrease was lower than expected due to some early success with targeted communications with expiring members.”
Costco’s membership base continues to grow.Shutterstock” loading=”eager” height=”540″ width=”960″ class=”yf-lglytj loader”/>Joining Costco means paying to enter its warehouse clubs, which offer items at lower markups than other retailers.
“Costco made $4.8 billion in 2024 from membership fees alone, accounting for just 2% of total revenue. Yet those fees contributed 65% of the company’s net operating income,” Arthnova’s Aditya Badola writes. “This paradox reveals a fact that most businesses miss: Sustainable profits come not from selling products, but from building relationships valuable enough for customers to pay for the privilege of buying from you.”
Costco CEO Ron Vachris acknowledged the importance of selling memberships.
More retail:
“The most important item we sell is membership cards,” Ron Vachris tells Fortune.
Having been a Costco member and retail reporter for the better part of the past 30 years, it’s clear the retailer doesn’t need incentives to get people to join. If you live near Costco, or at least close enough to visit on a semi-regular basis, the value adds up quickly, making the decision to join Costco an easy one.
As a newbie on a tight budget, I bought some household essentials in bulk. The money saved and the peace of mind knowing I wouldn’t have to restock for months made joining an obvious choice.
Broadly speaking, only members can shop at Costco, but the chain does offer a range of items for delivery via Instacart and Uber Eats. This is a controversial choice, although warehouse clubs may charge higher prices to non-members.
GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders supports the strategy.
“With grocery sales under pressure, Costco wants to make sure it expands its audience reach and captures as much share as possible. Partnerships with Instacart and Uber allow it to do that. They also make up for Costco’s weak online presence,” he wrote on RetailWire.
He noted that customers are not getting the full Costco experience.
“The problem is that shopping through third-party apps doesn’t give consumers access to the great prices found in Costco stores. The product range may also be more limited, and you don’t get the full in-store tasting and bargaining experience. For these reasons, these partnerships are a complement to traditional memberships, not a threat,” he added.
Not everyone agrees.
“Here’s the thing: I pay for a Costco membership. If non-members can get similar (albeit less) benefits without joining, why should I continue to do so?” posted Georganne Bender, a member of his brain trust.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on December 28, 2025, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.
