Can You Add Another Shopper to Your Costco Membership? Here’s What to Know
As every Gold Star member knows, Costco is amazing. It’s where I go to get the best prices on cooking staples like bone broth, flour and olive oil, as well as stock up on all the snacks my kids loveand quickly devour. Of course, it’s also a wallet-friendly place to make impulse purchases along the way. (Hello, giant tub of chocolate-covered salted caramels for only $14.99!)
With so many great products and even better deals, it’s only natural to want to spread the love when it comes to your Costco membership. But can you? Costco may be known for being fairly lax when it comes to its return policy, but the retail chain is definitely less forgiving when it comes to sharing memberships.
Here’s what you need to know about potentially adding a shopper to your Costco accountor lending someone your Costco card.
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What do you get with a Costco membership?
Costco offers two options for personal memberships: a Gold Star Membership ($65 per year) and an Executive Membership ($130 per year). Both include the ability to shop at all Costco warehouses and online at Costco.com, as well as get groceries and everyday items delivered to your door with same-day or two-day delivery. Even though the memberships cost money, you’ll likely spend less shopping through Costco than at a traditional grocery store because items are sold in bulk. (One analysis found that the savings on typical grocery items could amount to roughly $1,000 per year.)
Membership also includes exclusive deals on travel, insurance and appliances, and at some locations, you can even fill up on Costco gas. Costco also offers a pharmacy and optical services, where you can get glasses and contact lenses.
The difference between the Gold Star Membership and the Executive Membership is that the latter offers an annual 2% cash-back reward of up to $1,250 on eligible Costco and Costco Travel purchases. The Executive Membership also provides some additional benefits and discounts on select Costco services, like pet insurance and bottled-water delivery.
Can you add another shopper to your Costco membership?
Yes, but there’s a catch: You can only add another person who lives in your household to your Costco membership. So you can’t share your membership with a parent or child or any other family member if they do not live with you. But you can share your membership with a roommate, spouse, child over 16 or anyone else who resides at the same address as you.
In 2024, Costco began verifying membership cards in store by scanning them and asking for photo identification upon arrival. This makes it harder for family members who don’t live in the same home to share memberships.
Does Costco’s business membership have different rules?
Yes. If you have a Business Membership (either the base Business Membership or the Executive Business Membership), you can add up to six more people to your membership for a fee of $65 per individual. This allows people within your company to shop at Costco for business purposes.
How do you add someone to your membership?
You can either add someone to your membership when you first sign up to get your Costco card or you can add someone later. A total of two people can be on a personal Costco membership: one primary member (that’s you!) and one household member who is over 16 and lives at the same address as you. You can change who receives your second membership at any time.
There are two ways to add someone to your Costco membership: by visiting the membership counter at your local Costco or by adding someone in your household to your Costco account online by following the steps below.
- Sign in to your Costco.com account.
- Add a person to your household in your Account Details section.
- This person can pick up their card at the membership counter of your closest Costco. They will be asked to present proof that they live at the same address as you when picking up their card at the membership counter. And just like with your own membership card, it must be picked up in store by the person it’s foryou can’t pick up a card for someone else.
What will happen if you try to share your Costco membership with someone who’s not on your account?
Costco may cancel your membership if you try to share your account with someone who is not in your household and you get caught. As the website states, “Costco reserves the right to refuse, decline or cancel a membership at any time. Membership may be terminated at Costco’s discretion and without cause.”
In 2023, a woman in San Mateo, California, was allegedly banned from the store, according to her son, because she wasn’t specifically named as the second account user on her husband’s Costco account. While she had used the membership card for years without issue, this story highlights the warehouse’s more recent crackdowns when it comes to sharing accounts.
It’s also important to note that Costco’s policy about membership cards states that “cards remain the property of Costco and must be returned upon request.”
Another way to share your membership
While your Costco membership card is nontransferable and you can share your account only with someone who currently lives with you, there is a way to share your membership with others. You are allowed to bring up to two guests with you to Costco during each visit. While these guests cannot make purchases themselves, you could theoretically pay for their items and have your guests reimburse you.
Chances are, though, that your guests will end up visiting the membership counter themselves after seeing all of those great in-store deals and getting Costco cards of their own.
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Sources:
- Costco: “Join Costco”
- CNET: “Wondering How Much Cheaper Costco Groceries Are? I Did the Math”
- Forbes: “New Costco Rules Crack Down on Membership Sharing with New Card-Scanning Rules”
- Fox Business: “California man says Costco ‘banned’ his mom for using his dad’s membership card: ‘Given a warning before'”
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