Here's What Happens When You Don't Like Your Costco Executive Membership

As a Costco member, you have choices when it comes to your membership plan. You could opt for a basic membership, which costs just $60 a year, or you could spring for an executive membership, which costs $120.

The primary benefit of an executive membership is getting to score 2% cash back on all Costco purchases you make, including online purchases. So basically, if you spend $3,000 a year at Costco, your executive membership pays for itself. That's because 2% back on that sum is $60, which is the difference in cost between the lower tier membership and the higher tier. And if you spend anything more than $3,000, you come out ahead financially by having an executive membership.

But what if you've paid for an executive membership and regret that decision? It may be that you're not shopping at Costco as frequently as you expected to. If that's the case, worry not. Costco will allow you to downgrade your membership at any time. Here's how that works.

When an executive membership isn't right for you

Some people upgrade to an executive membership at Costco only to realize it doesn't make financial sense. The good news is that Costco offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on its memberships. So if you're unhappy with your upgrade, you can always downgrade at any time and get a prorated refund.

So, let's say that three months after having upgraded your membership, you decide the executive option isn't right for you. All you need to do is go to Costco customer service and ask to switch back to a basic membership. At that point, you can expect a $45 refund, since you paid $60 for 12 months of an upgrade.

That said, you may not want to cancel your executive membership immediately if your Costco shopping slows down. One lesser-known fact about that membership is that if you don't earn enough cash back from it to make up for the extra $60 you paid for it, Costco will refund you the difference at the end of the year.

So, let's say you did the upgrade and only wound up spending $2,000 at Costco after a year, thereby only snagging $40 cash back from your executive membership. At that point, Costco will give you $20 back to make you whole. So there's really very little risk in keeping that membership, even if your spending at Costco declines.

You have choices either way

All told, there's nothing to worry about if you end up unhappy with your Costco executive membership. If you want to cancel it and downgrade to a basic membership, that option exists. And if you want to keep the upgraded membership and see what happens as far as your cash back goes, that option is there, too, because you can always get refunded at the end of the year.

In fact, the beauty of shopping at Costco is that on top of saving money, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a good experience. And if you don't, you can rest assured that Costco will make it right.