3 Reasons to Cancel Your Costco Membership in October

Whether you’ve had a Costco membership for years or are a new member, nothing says you have to keep shopping at Costco if it’s no longer working for you. For a Costco shopper, it’s all about leaving more money in your checking account and enjoying the shopping experience.

Here, we look at these (and other) reasons to take a closer look at your Costco membership and decide if it’s still working for you.

1. You gave up your car

We may not all be wearing masks in public anymore, but we are still suffering the consequences of the pandemic. One of the ways the pandemic has endured is through stubbornly high prices. Although headline inflation has slowly cooled, the cost of some critical goods and services has continued to rise. Car insurance is the perfect example. Between July 2023 and July 2024, rates rose a painful 18.6%.

As more people struggle to find affordable car insurance, it’s fair to assume that many have (or will) stop driving. If you’ve given up your vehicle because of costs or because you no longer feel safe driving, you may find that a Costco membership makes a lot less sense than it used to.

While you can still shop at Costco.com, you’ll quickly learn that items sold online tend to cost more than those sold in-store. Although the base price may be similar, shipping and handling charges are factored into the online prices. According to Krazy Coupon Lady, once these extras are factored in, the cost of a single item can be up to 49% higher.

Unless you know someone willing to take you to the warehouse store or just buy enough to take home on public transportation, October might be a good time to cancel your membership and save money.

2. You’ve gotten frustrated with the crackdown on sharing members

We’re all keeping a close eye on our finances these days. And for some people, one way to save money is to share a Costco membership card. Maybe you lend yours to a family member, or a neighbor shares yours with you. Either way, Costco has cracked down on the practice of sharing members and aims to stop it by paying more attention to identification.

The retail giant recently announced that shoppers will have to start scanning their membership cards at the entrance of Costco stores instead of just showing them to an employee. You will need to scan your card to enter the store if you have an active membership.

If your card does not include a photo of you, you will also need to provide a valid photo ID. Shoppers without a membership card can only enter Costco with an active membership.

In other words, the days of using your father-in-law’s card without him present are almost over. If you’ve always been able to justify paying for a subscription because of the number of people you can share it with, it might be time to rethink whether you want to be a member.

3. You can save more money elsewhere

Not everyone saves money at Costco. For example, if you find yourself throwing away products you’ve bought in bulk or letting over-the-counter medications expire because you can’t use them fast enough, you may be wasting money.

There is also the issue of credit cards. Today’s credit cards do much more than allow us to buy something immediately and pay for it later. For example, the best cash back cards also reimburse a percentage of our spending and offer some pretty sweet perks like purchase protection.

One way we’ve found to save money on groceries and gas is to use a credit card with cash back rewards to make purchases. Click here to see our list of recommended cash back credit cards to apply for one today. We may not save up front, but each purchase puts a little more into our credit card account, and that’s cash we can use when we need it most.

Let’s say you regularly use a credit card at restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations. Fortunately, you can find a card that rewards you with 5% cash back every time you swipe it at one of these places. Spending an average of $150 per week on groceries at Costco would net you $390 per year ($150 x 52 = $7,800 and $7,800 x 0.05 = $390).

Putting $35 in your gas tank at a Costco gas station each week would add another $91 to your cash back total ($35 x 52 = $1,820 and $1,820 x 0.05 = $91). Think what you can do with an extra $481. You could cover the cost of your annual membership, buy three weeks worth of groceries, or save it for a big purchase you have in mind.

With about 128 million members worldwide, Costco will be fine no matter what you do. All that really matters is doing what’s right for you and your home.