3 Reasons I Love My Costco Executive Membership

It's a program I'm really glad I signed up for.

When I first started shopping at Costco, I didn't realize there was such a thing as an executive membership. But one year, when my membership came up for renewal, I was asked if I wanted to stick with the basic membership or upgrade. And I decided to go the latter route.

These days, my Costco executive membership costs me $120 a year, which is twice the cost of a basic membership. But despite that added fee, the executive membership is totally worth it for me. Here are some of the things I love most about it.

1. Cash back on my Costco purchases

With a regular Costco membership, you don't get cash back on your purchases (though your credit card might give you cash back depending on its rewards program). With a Costco executive membership, you get 2% back on any Costco purchase. And that doesn't prevent you from also getting cash back on a credit card you use at Costco.

So, let's say your credit card gives you 1% cash back across the board and you have an executive membership at Costco. All told, you're getting 3% back on the items you're buying.

2. Cash back on Costco Travel

You'd think Costco's travel services would be excluded from the 2% cash back offer. Not so. Years ago, I booked a trip through Costco that wasn't inexpensive, and my entire itinerary was eligible for that 2% back.

3. An annual rewards certificate you can redeem for purchases or cash

Some credit cards give you access to your cash back month after month. That can be a good thing, but it often means you're only getting a small amount of cash back at a time.

What I really like about Costco's executive membership is that your 2% cash back comes in the form of a reward certificate that's issued to you once a year. This means that by the time your rewards arrive, you're likely to have accumulated a nice sum if you shop at Costco often.

Also, you have options for using your rewards certificate. You can simply present it at the checkout counter and use it to cover the cost of purchases you're making, or you can take it over to the customer service counter and redeem it for cash. I've done both in the past, and both options are really nice to have.

Is a Costco executive membership right for you?

For an executive membership to make sense based on its current price point, you really need to do more than $3,000 of Costco shopping in a year. That's because 2% back on $3,000 is $60, so for every dollar you spend above that threshold, you come out ahead financially with an executive membership over a basic one.

Since I shop at Costco pretty much every week, the executive membership makes sense for me. But if you're not sure about it, tally up your Costco spending from 2022 and see what number you get. If you're above $3,000, you may want to upgrade to an executive membership for 2023.