Can you pass on your Costco membership when you die?
Costco membership can pass to a family member after a death. While alive, the account holder can use authorized users, transferring the account and gift purchases.
Protecting Costco membership while the account is active
No beneficiary designation, lifetime transfer options for membership, and 7-step plan.
How to protect your Costco membership while you are alive →Someone died. Handling Costco membership after a death
Membership can be transferred to family members, 6-step process, and 7 required documents.
What happens to Costco membership when someone dies →A Costco membership is a paid annual warehouse-club membership (Gold Star or Executive) tied to a named Primary Member, with a free Household Card for one designated household member 16 or older living at the same address.
Costco Wholesale's terms allow Costco membership to transfer to a family member after the account holder dies. While the account holder is alive, Costco Wholesale allows authorized users, transferring the account and gift purchases.
What happens to Costco at death
Naming who acts after a death
- Designation
There is no beneficiary designation on a membership. A Personal Administrator can renew or upgrade it but cannot remove the Primary Member, so the role is not a substitute for the Deceased Primary process.1
Costco Wholesale publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: Deceased Primary: change the Primary Cardholder in the event of a loss; a written request goes by mail to Costco Wholesale, Attn: Member Services, 800 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027. There is no way to name a beneficiary or successor on a Costco account.
Sources
Data sourced from Costco Wholesale Corporation primary sources (12 pages reviewed). How we research.
Costco customer support
Costco Member Services Center (Membership and Warehouse)
Phone
Hours
Website
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