Why do it if you're just going to break even?

They will calculate for you and tell you whether it's worth it. I don't think they do the hard sell at all. I don't live in the DC area any longer but I was at Costco yesterday and they told most of the people it wouldn't pay. However , I had an overflowing cart so they said "I assume you are already executive?" Lol. I actually couldn't remember but had recently upgraded and am due to get about $125 back.

So are you saying that you can earn 2% from an Amex card and then 2% more from Executive membership? So it is like 4% off everything you buy?

If so, sounds like a great deal.

Anonymous wrote:No, I have the Costco Amex for the regular price, and it gives me 2% cash back on everything.

Executive gives you a second reward. We got our AmEx reward for $350 earlier this month.

Our membership renewal with the Executive check came last week. Another $180 in that. Not bad for a $50 "investment".

We pay our AmEx (and all cards) in full every month. If you don't, they actually add an extra bonus percent onto AmEx. No way would I do take the bonus for a credit card balance.

If you don't earn at least $50 in your Executive check, Costco will refund the membership fee.

It really is win-win.

We must spend a lot at Costco every year because our yearly rebate check with our Executive membership is usually like $150...sheesh! But I do love that store

No, I have the Costco Amex for the regular price, and it gives me 2% cash back on everything.

We do and we always seem to break even at the least with the 2% back.

I think it makes sense to look back and see how much you actually spent at Costco in previous years. I did that after getting the sales pitch at check-out. For us it didn't make sense. We probably used to spend enough at Costco to cover the cost. But Amazon Prime has definitely changed the way I shop.

We first check Costco for everything we need, and go to other stores only after we know that Costco does not carry those items. Apart from food, cleaning supplies, medicines, toiletries - we also buy bedding, clothes, furniture, party supplies, pet food, gifts, opticals, electronics, flooring, etc.

Over the years we realized that these are the best prices on most bestselling items, and we no longer bother to get them from other places.

Executive membership makes a lot of sense. The 2% back is more than the cost of the membership.

We share the executive membership with a family member, who has her own family. We just got a check for $167, which covers the executive membership price and leaves us with a few buck to split. It's worth it for us.

Thanks for the replies! It is sobering how much I do spend at Costco, though we now spend less at other grocery stores.
It sounds like it will work for us, so I'll upgrade on the next trip.

Yeah, I got the hard sell on this yesterday while checking out. I usually just say thanks but no thanks but for some reason, went for the upgrade. Mostly because they prorated the cost so I saved a few bucks. Also, they showed me that I would have gotten about $50 back last year which means I would have broke even. I'm using it as an experiment this year - just had a baby so maybe I'll spend more than I did last year. That really seems to be the point, spend more and you get more money back at the end of the year.

We have it. You have to pay the membership fee regardless, and we usually spend enough to get between 50 and 100 bucks back. More when we were buying formula. So we continue to do it. If you spend a lot there, it is worth it.

Yes, we do..mostly for the 2% back. If you spend more than $2,500/year at Costco, you'll make back the $50 difference between reg and exec memberships. It really depends on how much shopping you plan to do at Costco.

If so, what are the added benefits? We are a family of 2, shop there quite often, and buy mainly produce and meat. I got the spiel last time I was there, but it costs twice the regular membership, so I 'm not sure we really need it. We do have a good non-Amex rewards card for all our other shopping.