In this guide
Before you start.
- Work out whether you want to cancel or simply not renew. Cancelling ends the membership now and Costco's cancellation page ties it to a refund; removing Auto Renewal lets the membership run to the end of the year and then lapse.
- Find your renewal month. Costco states that the card set up for Auto Renewal is charged on the first day of your renewal month, so the deadline works backwards from that date rather than from a signup anniversary.
- Only the Primary Member can cancel. Costco's page puts the action with the Primary Member, so a household cardholder or an additional cardholder cannot close the account.
- Take photo identification and your membership card if you are going to a warehouse. The counter needs to identify the Primary Member.
- Costco states it offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee and will cancel and refund membership fees at any time if a member is dissatisfied, so the refund is not conditional on how long you have been a member.
How to find all your subscriptions How to cancel a membership
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Costco Membership, step by step.
Cancel at a warehouse membership counter
This is the first option Costco names, and the only one where its own page promises the money immediately.
- Go to any Costco warehouse, not necessarily the one you joined at.
- Find the membership counter, usually just inside the entrance.
- Ask a team member to cancel the membership. Costco's page states the Primary Member can do this and receive an immediate refund.
- Hand over the membership cards, including any household card.
- Keep the receipt or cancellation paperwork you are given.
Costco's cancellation page describes the refund at the counter as immediate. That is the practical reason to go in person rather than phone.
Cancel by phone
The alternative Costco documents, and the realistic route if there is no warehouse near you.
- Call Costco Member Services on 1-800-774-2678.
- Ask to speak to a live agent, which is what Costco's page specifies for a cancellation.
- Say you are the Primary Member and that you want the membership cancelled rather than just not renewed.
- Ask what refund is being issued and how it will be paid.
- Ask for written or emailed confirmation and note the date and the agent's name.
Remove Auto Renewal online so it expires
Costco does document an online action, but it is not cancellation. It stops the renewal charge and leaves the membership to run out.
- Go to Costco.com and select Sign In / Register in the upper right corner, with your membership verified beforehand.
- Under Account, choose Renew Membership.
- Add, remove or select the Visa or Mastercard used for Auto Renew.
- Remove Auto Renew at least two business days before the first day of your renewal month, which is what Costco states is needed to let the membership expire at the end of the year.
- Check the setting again afterwards, since an unsaved change is not a change.
Costco states that if you remove Auto Renewal within 48 hours of the renewal date, typically the first of the month, the card on file will likely still be charged, and that it will systematically refund that charge to the card within two business days.
Cancel Auto Renewal through chat or the counter
Costco names these as the ways to stop the Auto Renewal charge if you would rather not do it on the website.
- Visit a Costco membership counter, or chat with Costco Member Services, or call 1-800-774-2678.
- Costco states that a call to cancel Auto Renewal should be made at least 72 hours before the first day of your renewal month.
- Say whether you want Auto Renewal removed or the membership cancelled outright: they are different requests.
- Ask for confirmation of which one was actioned.
What happens next?
- Costco states it will cancel and refund membership fees at any time if a member is dissatisfied, under a 100% satisfaction guarantee that applies to Gold Star, Business and Executive memberships alike.
- Membership benefits stop when the membership ends. Costco warehouses require a membership to shop, so unlike a streaming plan there is no quiet tail of access afterwards.
- The household card ends with the primary membership. It is attached to the account rather than being a membership of its own.
- Costco states that Executive Members who reverse their Executive status lose all accumulated rewards, and that rewards are not prorated. The 2% Reward Certificate is mailed with the renewal notice roughly two months before the renewal date, and a member must be a paid Executive Member when the Reward is issued to receive it.
- Costco states that a membership charged at Auto Renewal can be refunded on request, and that those refunds take approximately 5 to 7 business days to process.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
I cannot find a cancel button in my Costco account
There is not one. Costco's own cancellation page lists only two routes, the warehouse membership counter and a call to 1-800-774-2678 to speak to a live agent. What the website offers is Auto Renewal management under Renew Membership, which stops the next charge but does not cancel the membership.
I turned off Auto Renewal and was charged anyway
Check how close to the renewal date you did it. Costco states that removing Auto Renewal within 48 hours of the Auto Renewal date, typically the first of the month, will likely still result in a charge, and that it systematically refunds that charge to the card on file within two business days. If nothing arrives, use Costco's auto renewal refund request or call Member Services.
The membership counter says I am not the Primary Member
Costco's page assigns cancellation to the Primary Member, so a household cardholder or additional business cardholder cannot close the account. The Primary Member has to make the request themselves, in person or on the phone.
I want to cancel a membership for someone who has died
This cannot be handled through the self-service Auto Renewal page, because that only edits a payment setting on a live account. Call Member Services on 1-800-774-2678 and explain the circumstances, or take the documentation to a membership counter. Ask specifically what happens to any Executive Reward and any pending renewal charge.
I was charged and now want the money back, not just the renewal stopped
Those are two different requests. Costco publishes an Auto Renewal refund request for a membership that has already renewed, and states such refunds take approximately 5 to 7 business days. Separately, its satisfaction guarantee states it will cancel and refund membership fees at any time if a member is dissatisfied, which is the request to make at the counter.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
Can I cancel my Costco membership online?
No. Costco states the Primary Member can cancel either at a warehouse membership counter, receiving an immediate refund, or by calling Member Services on 1-800-774-2678. Online you can only remove Auto Renewal.
Does Costco refund the membership fee?
Costco states it offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee and will cancel and refund membership fees at any time if a member is dissatisfied. Its cancellation page describes the refund at a warehouse counter as immediate.
When do I have to cancel Costco auto renewal?
Costco states that to let the membership expire at the end of the current year you should remove Auto Renew at least two business days before the first day of your renewal month, and that a phone request to cancel Auto Renewal should come at least 72 hours before that date.
What happens to the Executive 2% Reward if I cancel?
Costco states that members who reverse their Executive status lose all accumulated rewards and that rewards are not prorated. The certificate is issued with the renewal notice about two months before renewal, and you must be a paid Executive Member when it is issued to receive it.
Provider resources
- Costco: how can I cancel my Costco Membership?
- Costco: how can I manage membership Auto Renewal online?
- Costco: what is an Executive Membership?
- Costco: Auto Renewal refund request
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Costco Membership. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
