Starting September 1, 2025, Costco is strictly enforcing a new policy granting Executive Members exclusive early access to stores from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday–Friday, and 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Non-Executive members attempting to shop during these times will be denied entry.
After introducing a new membership perk in June and following a subsequent grace period, Costco's latest rule is taking effect. Costco shoppers with the Executive Membership have access to an hour of shopping in the morning without other customers.
No, Costco does not offer day passes, but you can shop without a membership by going with a member (who can bring up to two guests), using a Costco Shop Card (gift card), or accessing specific departments like the pharmacy, optical center (for exams), or alcohol sections (in some locations). Online shopping is also possible with a 5% surcharge.
You can't use your spouse's membership card
A physical (or digital, if you have the app) Costco membership card can only be used by the person to whom it belongs, i.e., the person whose face is on it. If that person is your spouse, and not you, you can't use that card to enter Costco or make purchases by yourself.
Costco has two main membership tiers in the U.S.: the Gold Star (Personal/Business) is $65 annually, and the Executive (Personal/Business) is $130 annually, with the latter offering 2% cash back on purchases and other perks like early access. Both memberships include a free Household Card for another adult in the same location.
This "VIP hour" allows only executive members to shop from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturdays. The doors are then opened to all other members at 10 a.m. Beginning Sept. 1, employees will now enforce the rule and non-executive members who try to shop early may be denied entry.
Each cardholder may bring two guests. However, guests do NOT have purchasing privileges. Costco can refuse entry to anyone at any time at its discretion. This includes members who do not display their Costco membership cards when requested.
Costco's major 2025 policy change introduced exclusive early shopping hours for Executive Members, allowing them to enter stores an hour earlier on weekdays and Sundays (9 a.m. vs. 10 a.m.) and 30 minutes earlier on Saturdays (9 a.m. vs. 9:30 a.m.), with strict enforcement beginning September 1, 2025, alongside a new $10 monthly credit on large Instacart grocery orders for these members. These perks aim to encourage upgrades to the higher-tier membership, complementing the standard 2% reward, though they've drawn mixed reactions from other members.
Yes, Costco, as of mid-2025, offers early shopping hours for Executive Members, typically giving them a 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. window (or 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays) before the general member opening at 10 a.m. (or 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays). This policy provides an exclusive hour on weekdays/Sundays and a 30-minute head start on Saturdays, though local store hours can vary.
Under its new "Executive Member Shopping Hours" policy that began rolling out earlier this summer, more than 37 million shoppers with the $130-per-year membership will have between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on weekdays and Sundays to exclusively shop the aisles. They will have from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
To get the effective $20 Costco membership, you buy the standard $65 Gold Star Membership through a special offer on sites like Groupon, StackSocial, or UNiDAYS, and receive a $45 Digital Costco Shop Card as a bonus, essentially making it a $20 net cost after you use the card. This deal is for new members or those whose membership lapsed over 18 months, requiring online sign-up and auto-renewal setup for the card.
No, Costco does not offer day passes, but you can shop without a membership by going with a member (who can bring up to two guests), using a Costco Shop Card (gift card), or accessing specific departments like the pharmacy, optical center (for exams), or alcohol sections (in some locations). Online shopping is also possible with a 5% surcharge.
Yes, four people can go to Costco with one membership by combining the free household cardholder and the guest policy (two guests per member), but only the cardholders can pay, so it's best for browsing or when the members plan to pay separately or share items, as Costco is cracking down on sharing cards for payment. A standard membership gets one primary member and one household member (same address, 16+) to share the card; each of those two cardholders can then bring up to two guests, allowing four non-members in total (plus kids), but only members can check out.
You can shop at Costco without a membership by going with a member, using a Costco Shop Card (gift card) bought by a member, shopping via Instacart (though with markups), or accessing specific areas like the pharmacy, optical center, and alcohol sections (in some states). The gift card method is popular, allowing non-members to enter and shop, but requires a member to purchase the card initially.