How To Cancel Costco Membership In 2026: Full Refund Any Time
David Roberts
Founder and CEO
04.10.2026
Short answer: take your membership card and a photo ID to the membership counter at any Costco warehouse and ask to cancel, or call Costco Member Services on 1-800-774-2678. There is no fixed deadline: Costco’s satisfaction guarantee lets you cancel and get the membership fee refunded at any time. If you only want to stop the next charge, turn off auto renewal in your Costco account before your renewal month starts.
Costco is one of the few memberships where leaving can actually pay you. Most subscriptions keep the money once a billing cycle starts. Costco promises to cancel and refund your membership whenever you are dissatisfied, which is why people who want out should cancel properly rather than just letting the card lapse.
The catch is that cancelling is not a one-click job. There is no self-serve cancel button, the Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi is tied to the membership, Executive members can lose their 2% Reward, and a household card holder cannot close the account. This guide covers each of those, plus the cheaper option most people overlook: dropping from Executive to Gold Star.
First, Check Who Is Billing You
Costco memberships are paid in a few different ways, and the right move depends on which one applies. Look at your last renewal charge or receipt before you go to the warehouse.
How you paid
Who bills you
Where to cancel
Paid at the register or on costco.com, no auto renewal
Costco directly, once a year
Membership counter or Member Services; or simply do not renew
A COSTCO charge on a Visa or Mastercard each year in your renewal month
Costco, through auto renewal
Turn off auto renewal in your Costco account, or cancel at the counter or by phone
Membership fee charged to a Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi
Costco, with the fee on your Citi card
Cancel with Costco; the Citi card closes with the membership (see the Citi section)
An INSTACART charge for Costco groceries
Instacart
Cancel Instacart+ in the Instacart app; it is not part of your Costco membership
A Business membership paid by your employer
Your company’s primary member
The primary member cancels, or asks to remove your add-on card
Costco last raised its US and Canadian fees on 1 September 2024, the first increase in seven years, and those prices still apply in 2026. There are three membership levels in the US, and each comes with a free card for one person in your household.
Membership
US annual fee
Cards included
Main extras
Gold Star
$65 a year
2 (you plus one household member)
Warehouse, gas and costco.com access
Business
$65 a year
2; extra affiliate cards $65 each
Can buy for resale; Business Center access
Executive (Gold Star or Business)
$130 a year
2
2% Reward up to $1,250 a year, extra shopping hour, services discounts
Executive is really the base membership plus a $65 upgrade. Since June 2025, Executive members also get a members-only extra hour in the morning at most US warehouses and a $10 monthly credit on Costco orders of $150 or more through Instacart. Prices in other countries differ, so the figure on your own membership card or renewal receipt is the one that counts.
When To Cancel: Refund Versus Renewal
Most cancellation guides are about racing a deadline. Costco is different, because there are two separate things you can do and they have different timing:
Cancel and get refunded. Costco says it will cancel and refund your membership at any time if you are dissatisfied. You can do this in month two or month eleven. Your membership ends when the refund is processed.
Stop it renewing. If you want to keep using Costco until your year runs out, turn off auto renewal instead. Costco charges auto renewal on the first day of your renewal month, so change the setting at least a couple of business days before that month starts.
Your renewal month is printed on your membership card and shown in the Membership section of your costco.com account. If you are already past the renewal charge, you have not missed anything: cancel at the counter and ask for the fee back.
How To Cancel Costco Membership At The Warehouse
The membership counter is the quickest and most reliable route, and the refund is usually handled on the spot. Any US warehouse can do it, not just the one where you joined.
Go as the primary member. The person whose name the membership is in has to cancel. A household card holder cannot close the account.
Bring your membership card and a photo ID. Staff check both before making changes. If you use the digital card in the Costco app, have it open.
Go to the membership counter, not a register. It is usually by the entrance, next to returns.
Ask to cancel and request a refund of the membership fee. If you are an Executive member and only want to save the extra $65, ask to downgrade instead (see below).
Ask how the refund will be paid. It normally goes back to the card or method you paid with; cash payments may be refunded in cash.
Ask about your Citi card if you have one. Staff can confirm what happens to it before you commit.
Keep the receipt or cancellation slip. It is your proof if a renewal charge appears later.
Weekday mornings are the quietest time. The membership counter often has the same queue as returns on weekends.
How To Cancel Costco Membership By Phone
If there is no warehouse near you, Costco Member Services can cancel and refund over the phone.
Call 1-800-774-2678, Costco’s main member services line.
Choose the membership option and ask for an agent if the menu does not offer cancellation.
Give your membership number and answer the identity questions. You may be asked for the card you paid with and the amount of your last fee.
Ask to cancel with a full refund, or ask to turn off auto renewal or downgrade, depending on what you want.
Ask for confirmation by email. Costco normally emails details of the refund and when it will be processed.
If you have just been charged for renewal, wait a day or two for the charge to post before calling, so the agent can see it and refund it in the same call.
Can You Cancel Costco Membership Online?
Not fully. As of 2026 there is no self-serve “cancel membership” button on costco.com or in the Costco app. What you can do online is turn off auto renewal, which stops the next charge but does not refund the fee you already paid.
You can also contact Costco through the customer service section of the website and ask for a cancellation, but expect a reply asking you to call or visit. For a refund, the warehouse counter or the phone line is faster.
How To Turn Off Costco Auto Renewal
Many members are on auto renewal without realising it, because Costco has offered Shop Card bonuses to new members who enrol a Visa card in it at sign-up. To switch it off:
Sign in at costco.com with the account linked to your membership.
Open Account, then Membership. The renewal settings sit alongside your membership number and renewal date.
Turn off auto renewal or remove the card enrolled for it, and save.
Check the page again to confirm it now shows manual renewal.
If your account does not show the option, the membership counter or Member Services can change it for you. With auto renewal off, your membership simply expires at the end of the year and nothing more is charged.
Downgrade Executive To Gold Star Instead
A lot of people searching for how to cancel a Costco membership actually want to stop paying $130, not stop shopping at Costco. Dropping from Executive to Gold Star or Business keeps your card, your household card and your Citi card, and cuts the fee back to $65.
Work out whether Executive pays for itself. The upgrade costs $65, so you need to spend about $3,250 a year on eligible purchases for the 2% Reward to cover it. That is roughly $270 a month.
Ask at the membership counter or call Member Services and request a downgrade to Gold Star (or Business).
Ask how the upgrade fee will be handled. The refund on the $65 upgrade depends on timing, and if you take a refund of it you give up that year’s Reward.
Time it around your Reward. If your certificate is close, it can make sense to wait for it, spend it, then downgrade at renewal.
What Happens To Your Executive 2% Reward
This is the edge case that costs Executive members money. The 2% Reward is not a running balance you can cash out. It arrives as a once-a-year certificate with your renewal notice, and Costco’s terms attach conditions to it:
Cancel or downgrade with a fee refund, and you lose the Reward. Costco’s Executive terms say members who downgrade or cancel and receive a refund of their membership fees will not receive a Reward.
The last few months may not count. Members who downgrade or cancel at renewal may not receive a Reward on purchases from roughly the last three months of their final Executive year.
A certificate you already have is still yours to spend, but if you already redeemed one this year, ask the counter how it affects your refund before you cancel.
Practical rule: if your expected Reward is bigger than the fee you would get back, collect and spend the Reward first. If it is smaller, cancel now and take the refund.
The Costco Anywhere Visa By Citi Problem
If you have the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi, cancelling your Costco membership will also cancel the card. The card requires an active Costco membership, and Citi has generally not allowed it to be switched to a different Citi card.
Your credit history can take a hit. Losing an older card lowers your available credit and, over time, the average age of your accounts. Avoid cancelling right before a mortgage or loan application.
Redeem your cash back first. Costco card rewards come as an annual certificate redeemed at Costco, so plan the cancellation around it.
Move any autopay or recurring bills off the card before it closes.
Pay the balance in full. Closing the card does not cancel what you owe.
If keeping the card matters, downgrading to Gold Star is the way to keep both the card and a cheaper membership.
Household Cards, Business Add-Ons And Who Can Cancel
Every Costco membership includes a free second card for someone in your household. That card has no fee of its own, so there is nothing to cancel on it separately.
Cancelling the primary membership ends the household card too. Tell the other person before you go.
A household member cannot cancel the membership. Only the primary member can.
To remove or swap the household card, the primary member asks at the membership counter.
Business affiliate cards cost $65 each. The primary business member can drop them at the counter, and the refund rules are worth asking about at the same time.
Instacart And Costco Same-Day Orders
Costco’s same-day grocery delivery runs through Instacart, and that creates a second subscription people forget about. Costco Same-Day and Instacart orders are billed by Instacart, and Instacart+ is Instacart’s own membership. Cancelling your Costco membership does not cancel Instacart+, and cancelling Instacart+ does not touch your Costco membership.
To stop Instacart+, open the Instacart app or website, go to your account and manage the membership there. Executive members also lose the $10 monthly Instacart credit when they cancel or downgrade, which only applies to Costco orders of $150 or more anyway.
What Happens After You Cancel
Benefit
After you cancel
Warehouse shopping
Ends when the cancellation is processed; you can still go in with a member, or use a Costco Shop Card
Costco gas stations
Members only, so no more fill-ups
Pharmacy
Generally open to non-members; member prices may not apply
Costco.com orders
Non-members usually pay a surcharge on many items
Executive 2% Reward
Forfeited if you take a fee refund
Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi
Closed
Costco Travel, optical, tyre and other services
No longer available at member pricing
Returns are still accepted under Costco’s normal return policy after you cancel, so you do not need to rush back anything bought as a member. Use any Shop Cards and reward certificates before the membership ends, or check with the counter whether they can still be redeemed.
Cancel Your Membership Or Delete Your Costco.com Account?
Your membership and your costco.com login are separate things. Deleting the online account does not cancel the membership, and cancelling the membership does not delete the online account.
Cancel membership
Delete costco.com account
Stops the annual fee
Yes
No
Refund of fee
Yes, under the satisfaction guarantee
No
Keeps online order history
Yes, while the login exists
No
Affects Citi card
Yes, the card closes
No
Where to do it
Membership counter or 1-800-774-2678
Costco customer service or its privacy request page
If you want both, cancel the membership first and wait for the refund, then delete the online account.
How The Costco Membership Refund Works
Costco’s satisfaction guarantee covers the membership as well as merchandise. Its own wording is that it will cancel and refund your membership at any time if you are dissatisfied, and in practice that means the full annual fee rather than a prorated amount.
Full fee, whenever you cancel. $65 for Gold Star or Business, $130 for Executive, subject to the Reward rule above.
Paid back to the original method. Card refunds usually show within about a week; at the counter it is often immediate.
Auto renewal charges are refundable too. If you missed the renewal date, cancel and ask for that year’s fee back.
Do not abuse it. Costco can refuse membership to people who repeatedly cancel and rejoin to collect refunds.
If a refund does not arrive, call Member Services with your cancellation receipt or email before disputing the charge with your bank.
Troubleshooting
Symptom
Likely cause
Fix
Charged after turning off auto renewal
The change was made too close to the renewal month, or did not save
Cancel or ask for the renewal fee back at the counter or by phone
Counter will not cancel for you
You are the household card holder, not the primary member
The primary member must cancel in person or by phone
Refund smaller than expected
An Executive Reward or upgrade adjustment was applied
Ask for a breakdown of the refund
Citi card stopped working
The membership was cancelled, which closes the card
Call Citi about the balance; rejoin Costco only if you want the card back
Still being charged for groceries
Instacart+ or Instacart orders, which are separate
Cancel Instacart+ in the Instacart app
No cancel option on costco.com
There is no online self-serve cancellation
Use the membership counter or 1-800-774-2678
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I cancel my Costco membership?
Go to the membership counter at any Costco with your card and photo ID, or call Member Services on 1-800-774-2678, and ask to cancel with a refund. Only the primary member can do it.
Can I cancel my Costco membership online?
Not as a self-serve option. You can turn off auto renewal in your costco.com account, but a cancellation with a refund goes through the counter or the phone line.
Will Costco refund my membership fee?
Yes. Costco’s satisfaction guarantee lets you cancel and get the membership fee refunded at any time, though Executive members who take a refund give up that year’s 2% Reward.
How much is a Costco membership in 2026?
$65 a year for Gold Star or Business and $130 a year for Executive in the US. These prices have applied since September 2024.
What are the Costco membership levels?
Gold Star for individuals, Business for companies and resellers, and Executive, which is either of those plus a $65 upgrade for the 2% Reward and extra perks.
How do I stop my Costco membership renewal?
Turn off auto renewal under Membership in your costco.com account, or ask at the counter. Do it before your renewal month begins, because the charge lands on the first day of that month.
How much does the Costco Executive membership cost, and is it worth keeping?
It costs $130 a year, $65 more than Gold Star. It pays for itself if you spend about $3,250 a year on eligible purchases; below that, downgrade rather than cancel.
Does cancelling Costco cancel my Citi credit card?
Yes. The Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi needs an active membership, so it closes when the membership does.
Can my spouse cancel our Costco membership?
Only if they are the primary member. A household card holder cannot cancel the account.
Can I rejoin Costco after cancelling?
Usually yes, at the counter or online. Costco can refuse people who repeatedly cancel and rejoin to collect refunds.
More Cancellation Guides
For a wider cleanup, start with our guide on how to cancel subscriptions online, then work through the memberships people most often pay for twice:
