The One Reason Costco Gives Executive Members The VIP Treatment

It seems like Costco heaps rewards on those who decide to level up from the basic Gold Star membership to Executive level, making the upgrade rather irresistible. There's actually a strategic reason why the big box store is trying to keep these higher-paying customers happy. Costco currently has about 38.7 million paid Executive memberships, which translates to about 47% of all members paying for this higher tier membership, per Seeking Alpha's transcript of Costco's Q4 2025 earnings call. But despite making up less than half of all memberships, Executive members account for approximately three-quarters of the chain's total sales. And if one group of customers is driving the most revenue and profits, it makes sense to give them reasons to want to continue to renew that higher-cost membership.

We can't believe how much a Costco membership cost when it first came out, which at $25, was just a fraction of today's $65 yearly cost for the basic Gold Star membership. But despite today's higher costs of basically everything, the amount of customers signing up for Executive memberships, which cost $130 a year, has still risen yearly, showing that the perks Costco offers for this type of membership are of great value to many shoppers.

Beating the crowds with extra shopping hours is just one Costco perk you can only get with an Executive membership. But what do you really need to spend at Costco to make an Executive membership worth it? It all depends on what you tend to spend monthly at the store. 

Executive members get an annual 2% reward. That means these customers get up to $1,250 back on eligible Costco purchases. Costco's website has an online calculator so you can see for yourself how your spending habits may translate into how much money you're likely to get back. For instance, if you have a household of three to four people and you typically spend around $300 monthly on household essentials like groceries, you'll get back $72 annually. And if you spend almost $550 at Costco each month, you'll get back $130 — enough to cover the cost of your Executive membership for the following year.

Executive members also receive a monthly $10 credit to use on same-day and Instacart orders over $150. This can add up if you're a frequent online shopper. Additionally, Costco shares that Executive members get some benefits and discounts on services that aren't explicitly listed. By framing Executive membership as a great value with perks, Costco's strategy to get shoppers to spend extra money on membership and more money in the store seems to be working.