Costco Will Refund Your Membership Fee Any Time (If You End It)

While many retailers have achieved an almost cult-like status with fans — Target, Aldi, and Trader Joe's, to name a few — Costco is one of the few that makes you pay to play. However, not everyone is down to fork over the cash for a membership fee. If you did shell out $60 and now find you have buyer's remorse, though, Costco's website states that it will refund this fee "at any time."

Good to know, since what if you bought a membership and a week later, the Costco in your neighborhood announced it was closing down? Paying an annual membership fee is one thing, but having to drive across the state to take advantage of it may be a bridge (or highway overpass) too far. You might also have over-enthusiastically upgraded to an executive membership, only to find that you're not spending enough to make it worthwhile. It could even be that the food court discontinued your favorite item and you're boycotting until they bring back the Polish sausage. (Scandalous how Costco got rid of this hot dog alternative in such a cavalier fashion!) Whatever reason you're saying sayonara to the chain, do not pass Go without collecting your $60. Unless you're doing it on day 364 of your membership, of course, since that's just a real [insert expletive of choice] move.

While Costco itself does not list any stipulations for getting that membership fee refund, it also fails to supply a quick and easy, confrontation-free process. This indicates you'll probably need a certain amount of chutzpah to ask for your money back face-to-face at the customer service desk, and it would certainly take brass ... umm, armor to make that request the day before your current membership is set to expire: "Yes, I've shopped here regularly for a full year, but I suddenly find myself dissatisfied with everything, please give me all my money back." According to one Reddit thread, though, customers have tried to pull this trick. (If we didn't make it clear enough already, please don't be one of them.)

So do these last-minute Costco cancelers get away with it? This may depend on the store manager. The one Redditor who spoke of having direct experience said that their store was successful in deterring such cancellations by telling customers they'd need to wait another year before re-joining. While they didn't indicate whether Costco corporate backed up the statement or was even aware of it, some commenters chimed in to say that at their Costcos, manager discretion covered a wide range of actions. This might make it a gamble to cancel at the absolute end of your membership unless store records indicate that you haven't been using the card.