Costco offers a rare membership deal you need to grab now

Costco, like Walt Disney World, never offers broad discounts on its membership price (or in Disney's case, theme park ticket prices). You might see discounts for select groups such as Disney World's military passes or its deal with the National Educators Association, but those deals are very limited.

For both companies, the core cost to get inside the door, so to speak, is the same for everyone.

Costco's former CFO Richard Galanti made it clear that the warehouse club will never discount its membership prices.

“Well, for us, there’s really no change. I mean, we do a few promotional things each year. But the biggest thing that we don’t do is, in any big way, discount our membership. Some of the brochure things that you may sign up for a membership and you get a certain number of coupons related 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. The pricier membership comes with increased shopping hours and 2% cash back on most purchases up to $1,250 annually.

Costco does offer membership deals

While Costco won't sell memberships at a discounted price, it does very rarely offer added perks to get people to join. The chain currently has a promotion with Groupon where new members can get a gift card along with 12 months of membership.

"Become a new Costco member, unlock exclusive savings on groceries, electronics, gas, and more — and get rewarded with a $40 or $60 Digital Costco Shop Card to spend online or in-store," Groupon shared on its website.

Eligible people get a $40 gift card with a Gold Star membership and a $60 Digital Costco Shop Card when they pay for an Executive membership.

There are some caveats to the offer.

"Valid only for new members and those whose previous memberships (Primary and Affiliate) have been expired for at least 18 months or more. Not valid for renewal or upgrade of an existing membership," Groupon shared.

In addition, if you want to take advantage, you only have until the end of 2025 to do so. The offer expires at midnight on Dec. 31.

Costco's membership keeps growing

Current Costco CFO Gary Millerchip talked about the chain's membership during its first-quarter 2026 earnings call.

"We reported membership fee income of $1.329 billion, an increase of $163 million or 14% year over year. Adjusting for FX, the increase was also 14%. Last September's U.S. and Canada membership fee increase accounted for a little less than half of membership income growth," he said.

Costco raised its Gold Star membership from $60 to $65 and its Gold Star membership from $120 to $160 on Sept. 1.

"Excluding the membership fee increase and FX, membership income grew 7.3% year over year. This was driven by continued growth in our membership base and increased upgrades from Gold Star to Executive membership," he said.

Millerchip shared some more numbers on the chain's membership and renewal rates.

• At Q1 end, we had 39.7 million paid executive memberships, up 9.1% versus last year.
• We ended the quarter with 81.4 million total paid members, up 5.2% versus last year and 105.9 million cardholders, up 5.1% year over year.
• In terms of renewal rates, at Q1 end, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate was 92.2%. And the worldwide rate came in at 89.7%, both down 10 basis points from last quarter.

"This slight decline was due to the factors we discussed last quarter and reflects new online members growing as a percentage of our total base, renewing at a slightly lower rate than warehouse sign-ups. The decline was less than anticipated due to some early success with targeted communications to expiring members," Millerchip said.

Costco's members drive its profit

Joining Costco means paying for entry to its warehouse clubs, which offer merchandise at lower markups than other retailers do.

"In 2024, Costco earned $4.8 billion from membership fees alone, representing just 2% of total revenue. Yet those fees contributed 65% of the company’s net operating income," wrote Arthnova's Aditya Badola. "This paradox reveals a truth most businesses miss: sustainable profits come not from selling products but from building relationships valuable enough that customers pay for the privilege of buying from you."

Costco CEO Ron Vachris acknowledges the importance of selling memberships.

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“The most important item we sell is the membership card,” Ron Vachris told Fortune.

Having been a Costco member and a retail reporter for most of the past 30 years, it's clear that the retailer does not need incentives to get people to join. If you live near a Costco, or at least close enough to visit semi-regularly, the values pile up quickly enough to make joining an easy decision.

As a new member on a tight budget, I bought a few household staples in bulk. The savings and peace of mind, knowing I would not need to restock for months, made joining an obvious choice.

Can you shop at Costco without a membership?

In a broad sense, only members can shop at Costco, but the chain does offer a selection of items for delivery through Instacart and Uber Eats. That's a controversial choice, even though the warehouse club may charge higher prices for non-members.

GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders supports that strategy.

"With volumes in grocery under pressure, Costco wants to ensure that it is widening its audience and capturing as much share as it can. The partnerships with Instacart and Uber allow it to do that. They also make up for Costco’s weak online presence, which is somewhat deficient," he wrote on RetailWire.

He noted that customers are not getting the full Costco experience.

"The rub is that shopping via third-party apps does not give consumers access to the sharp Costco prices found in stores. Ranges can also be more limited, and you don’t get the full in-store experience with tasting and bargain hunting. For these reasons, these partnerships are incremental to, rather than a threat to, traditional memberships," he added.

Not everyone agrees.

"Here’s the thing: I pay for my Costco membership. Why should I continue to do that if non-members can get (albeit lesser) similar benefits without joining?" his fellow Brain Trust member Georganne Bender posted.

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