Costco is raising its membership fees for the first time in 7 years

Costco is raising its annual membership fees in the US and Canada for the first time since 2017, the company announced Wednesday.

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With the changes, the maximum annual 2% reward that customers receive with the Executive Membership will be raised from $1,000 to $1,250.

The fee change will affect its estimated 52 million members in the US and Canada, about half of which are executive memberships, the grocery giant said.

The news comes as Costco reported $24.48 billion in sales for June, a 7.4% year-over-year increase in net sales, with more significant growth in e-commerce.

Costco’s decision to raise its fees comes after it insisted it would not cave to inflation, promising the price of its beloved $1.50 hot dog and soda combo wouldn’t change.

Still, it has been hinting at membership fee increases. In May, a Costco executive acknowledged that the company tends to raise prices every five years or so and the last raise was in 2017.

Costco cracked down on membership sharing last year to ensure people are not using cards that don’t belong to them. It said it began asking shoppers for photo ID if their membership card didn’t have a picture. It also said more membership sharing was happening as it introduced self-checkout in various locations.

“We don’t feel it’s right that non members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” the company said at the time.

Costco is raising its membership fees for the first time in 7 years

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