Costco to Raise Membership Prices for First Time in Seven Years
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**ISSAQUAH** - [Costco](https://www. fox13seattle. com/news/costco-price-hikes-popular-items-cost-more) will be raising membership prices for the first time in seven years. The retail giant announced Wednesday that effective Sept. 1, the cost of a U.
S. and Canada Gold Star membership will increase by $5, raising the annual price to $65. Executive memberships in the U. S. and Canada will increase from $120 to $130.
Their maximum annual 2% reward associated with the Executive Membership will increase from $1,000 to $1,250. This change will affect more than 52 million memberships, more than half of which are Executive memberships. The last time Costco raised its membership prices was in 2017. In the same press release, Costco announced their net sales for the first 44 weeks of the year were up 6. 9% from the previous year.
The warehouse giant saw [popular goods](https://www. fox13seattle. com/news/costco-price-hikes-popular-items-cost-more) rise in prices earlier this year. CFO Richard Galanti had also announced earlier this year that the price increase for memberships was ["a question of when, not if. "](https://www.
fox13seattle. com/news/costco-answers-whether-it-is-raising-membership-fee-question-of-when-not-if) Costco currently operates 882 warehouses worldwide, with 609 being in the United States.