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Anyone who’s ever set foot in a Costco warehouse knows it’s a great place full of food, toilet paper and clothes. However, you may not have heard of the Gold Star Executive Membership, also known as the Costco Executive Membership. The main benefit is a 2% refund (you can earn up to $1,000 in rewards) on all eligible Costco purchases, but there’s a caveat: you must pay for this privilege.
How to qualify for Costco Executive Membership
Perhaps because of the name and how the Costco website styles it, Costco Executive membership seems elusive and difficult to achieve. However, in reality, everything is not so mysterious. For existing Costco Gold Star members, you can upgrade by paying an additional $60 fee that will be prorated for the months remaining in your membership. Upon renewal, you will be charged a $120 fee for a representative membership. Newcomers to Costco will be charged $120 immediately.
The rewards themselves are actually pretty generous, but Costco is $1,000 of them. Note. You must spend $50,000 on Costco purchases (including Costco Travel) before you receive a $1,000 reward. In addition, Costco Executive membership provides more benefits and discounts on select Costco services.
Terms and Conditions
The 2% cashback on a Costco Executive membership is very attractive and you may be considering upgrading just because of this. However, keep in mind that this is subject to conditions, as with other credit card rewards.
Do home card holders get 2% back on purchases?
Costco states on its website that “only purchases made by the primary and active primary family cardholder on the account will be eligible for rewards.” This language is a bit confusing as it suggests that not all cards associated with an account are rewarding.
However, a Costco public relations officer confirmed that a “household card holder” is any person who lives in the same household as the person who has the account. The additional reward applies to only one family and a maximum of two cards. However, a Costco spokesperson said that if an Executive Member is a business member and has “additional” members (usually employees), additional member purchases will not apply to rewards.
When will I get my 2% back?
Please be aware that Costco cards are different from credit cards. Costco cards are membership cards that allow you to shop at Costco. Rewards do not come at the end of each billing cycle like a bonus credit card. They come in the form of an incentive certificate along with your executive membership renewal by mail to the main member’s address.
Do all authorized users also receive rewards on other cards?
Credit cards are similar in that they usually allow you to apply for an additional card associated with your main account. The person with this additional card is known as an authorized user. Adding an authorized user to your account can help that person increase credit, but you have to be careful because if you are the primary cardholder, you are solely responsible for all charges.
However, when it comes to rewards, the primary cardholder receives them for all purchases made by an authorized user. If you look at the terms and conditions of major credit card reward programs, they tend to say that authorized user cards are eligible for rewards.
This is certainly true for most Chase, American Express and Citi cards. Citi even tells potential applicants that they can add authorized users “at no extra cost and earn points faster.” Sometimes, simply adding an authorized user to a credit card account can earn you extra points.
In case you’re wondering, Costco’s co-branded card, Citi’s Costco Anywhere Visa® Visa Card, states in its terms and conditions that authorized user fees count towards cash rewards.
bottom line
Whether you’re a current Costco member or someone who has never set foot in a Costco warehouse, you may find Costco Executive membership and its 2% cash back reward attractive. It costs $120 per year to become an executive member, and you can earn at that rate on your purchases up to $1,000 per year. If you want to earn even more rewards for shopping at Costco, be sure to check out Citi’s Visa® Costco Anywhere Card.
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