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Column: industry Tag: Costco,Membership,Perks Published: 2024-07-30 10:41 Source: www.mashed.com Author: CHRISTINE DULION
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There are plenty of benefits to shopping at Costco, especially if you're into bulk buying, but the cost of club membership might make you wonder if it's worth it. With a membership, you can save cash on groceries and gas and get just about anything you need, from a giant pack of toilet paper to car tires, and let's not forget about the free samples, delicious rotisserie chickens, fresh bakery items, and generous return policy. Another big Costco perk is its famous food court, where the price of a hot dog and soda combo has been the same since 1985. But do the perks make up for what you have to fork over to become a Costco member?
At $60 for a Gold Star membership and $120 for the Executive membership, you might hesitate to pay up front just to shop at the store. But the numbers speak for themselves — with nearly 128 million people worldwide paying for Costco memberships in 2023 (via Statista), there must be something to it. So, we've crunched the numbers for you to figure out just how many rotisserie chickens (or other Costco faves) you'd need to buy to offset your membership cost. Keep in mind, starting September 1, 2024, Costco is increasing its membership fees in the U.S. and Canada by $5 and $10 for Gold Star and Executive memberships, respectively. So, from that date, you'll need to adjust our findings — but just by a chicken or two, so to speak.
Rotisserie chicken
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Let's start with Costco's legendary rotisserie chickens. These will run you just $4.99 for a roughly 3-pound bird. To offset the $60 membership fee, you would need to buy 12 rotisserie chickens, and you'd need to double that for the $120 Executive membership; however, the Executive membership includes a 2% annual reward. So, buying 24 chickens would get you a reward of $2.40, meaning you'd essentially only need to purchase 23 birds to make up for the membership fee. That's one to two chickens a month, depending on your membership level. This could be the most convenient way to reimburse your member cost — not only are these birds good for a quick meal on their own, but there are also plenty of rotisserie chicken recipes out there that offer variety and save you time in the kitchen.
Costco's $4.99 rotisserie chicken is a deal compared to the average cost of a whole, fresh chicken, which is about $2 a pound as of June 2024 (per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) — and that one would still need to be seasoned and cooked. The company has kept the price of its rotisserie chicken steady for decades, with CFO Richard Galanti explaining in a 2023 earnings call that keeping the price low is all part of the company's strategy to keep shoppers interested in Costco memberships (via Seeking Alpha).
Hot dog and soda combo
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Another one of Costco's cult-favorite items is the food court's hot dog and soda combo. For just $1.50, you can snag a ¼-pound all-beef hot dog and a 20-ounce soda to fuel up for your shopping spree (you also get free refills on the drink). Hot dog lovers will be happy to hear that 40 of these combos will offset the $60 membership fee. You'd need to double that for the Executive membership, but keep in mind that it'll also rack you up a reward of $2.40. If you're just grabbing a soda (which costs $0.69), 87 of them will cover the Gold Star membership, and 174 will cover the Executive.
Costco's hot dog and soda combo is known as one of its "loss leaders" (via Forbes), meaning the company loses money on it, but as with its low-priced rotisserie chickens, the whole idea is to get shoppers in the door and drive up other sales. Adjusting for inflation, the combo should be over $4 today. But there's another reason it's stayed the same price since the mid-'80s. Costco's former CEO W. Craig Jelinek told 425 Business in 2018 that he'd once mentioned to co-founder Jim Sinegal that the price was too low, with Sinegal reportedly responding, "If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out." That eventually led to Costco manufacturing its own hot dogs, and business has been booming ever since.
Pizza
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After the hot dog, another one of Costco's top-ranked food court items is pizza. For $1.99, you can get a massive slice of either cheese or pepperoni (with no extra charge for the topping), or you can buy a whole 18-inch pie for $9.95. That means you'd only need to buy six whole pizzas to cover your Gold Star membership, or 11 for the Executive membership when you factor in the rewards. If you think you'll be in the mood for a large and cheesy Costco pizza every one to two months, you might just consider this a score.
On the slice end of things, Gold Star members would need to buy 30 slices to cover the fee, while Executive members can break even with 60 slices. If that sounds like a lot (about three to five slices a month), it's worth remembering that that's only counting pizza purchases — factor in some rotisserie chickens, hot dog combos, and food court desserts, and you may have the membership fee covered sooner than you think. But if you aren't a fan of these offerings and think Costco's food court is basically the same as fast food, you might want to consider whether the membership fee is worth it just for the other perks and savings.
Desserts
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For shoppers with a sweet tooth, Costco is ready to deliver in the dessert category with its double chocolate chunk cookies, ice cream cups, and ice cream sundaes. The cookie and sundae (topped with your choice of either strawberries or chocolate) each cost $2.49. That means Gold Star members would need to buy 24 of either to break even on their membership cost, while Executive members would have to buy 48.
Depending on how much you love ice cream, that might be a tall order. But buying a batch of fresh cookies for a holiday party or family get-together once or twice a year might just make it worth it in the end. Keep in mind, however, that you can usually find different varieties of cookies that come in 24-packs in the bakery section. While the prices can vary for those cookie packs, they'll almost certainly cost you less than buying individual (albeit fresh and warm) cookies in the food court.
Kirkland's Signature Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets
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Peanut butter and pretzels are a delightful combination, and Costco fans rave about Kirkland's Signature Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets. One Reddit user even said in 2024 that they ate the entire container in just six days. Prices can vary by location, but Costco's website lists a 55-ounce container of these at $11.99. Just five of them will take care of a Gold Star membership fee, while 10 will do it for Executive members. If you're anything like the aforementioned Redditor, that should get you through at least a month (we're kidding — take your time!). Just under $12 for a full container of the pretzel bites is a steal compared to similar products from other brands.
To sum up, whether you dig the hot dog combo at Costco's food court or enjoy saving kitchen prep time with a rotisserie chicken, all of the food items we've listed can easily cover your Costco membership, but only if you buy enough of them. Also, if you shop at Costco frequently or buy in bulk throughout the year, it might be worth springing for the Executive membership solely based on its 2% annual reward. At $120 for the member fee, spending $6,000 at Costco in one year will earn you back the full cost in rewards.
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