Costco Is Cracking Down on Membership Sharing—Again

If you’ve been relying on your friends or family to get those amazing deals, it might be time to invest in your own membership.

The benefits of having a Costco membership are plentiful. It costs money—$120 for the annual membership fee (along with a $60 membership fee and $60 upgrade fee), but it easily pays for itself. You can do practically all of your shopping at the grocer and at some pretty steep discounts.

But, like with all subscription services, it’s common to look for ways to get around that membership fee. (We’ve all logged into a friend’s Netflix account before, right?) Folks do the same thing with Costco memberships. And, like Netflix, Costco is cracking down—for the second time just over a year.

Related: Costco Is Raising Its Annual Fee for All Members Later This Year

The company just released an announcement that over the next few months, shoppers will start having to scan their membership cards in order to enter the store. Previously, they just had to present them to a store employee.

“Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner,” reads an announcement on Costco’s website. “Guests must also be accompanied by a valid member for entry. If you have any questions or concerns, there will always be an attendant at the door to assist you!”

The statement added that if you scan your code and it turns out that your membership is inactive or expired, you can chat with an attendant and head to the membership counter before shopping that day. If your membership card doesn’t have a photo, you’ll be asked to present a valid photo ID or to stop by the membership counter to have a photo added to your card.

Related: The Internet Reacts to Costco Making This Change to Its Rotisserie Chicken

This comes not too long after the company announced a different crackdown on its membership cards. In June 2023, the retailer broke the news that shoppers would have to show their membership cards at the register and self-checkout kiosks.

“Costco is able to keep our prices as low as possible because our membership fees help offset our operational expenses,” a company spokesperson said in a statement at the time. “We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members.”

It makes sense—you can only have such great offerings if customers are participating. So next time you make a Costco run, make sure you’re armed with your membership card and photo ID to get those coveted deals.

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