What happens to Costco membership when the owner dies

Costco publishes only four requirements for a faxed or mailed request: the membership number of the deceased primary member, the requester's name, the requester's relationship to the primary member, and contact information. It names no death certificate, no letters testamentary, and no other document, and it publishes no estates department or claims form. That is what Costco commits to in writing; a warehouse or Member Services agent may still ask for more, so bringing a certified death certificate and any letters of appointment is sensible even though Costco does not require them.

A free Household Card is issued to one designated household member who is 16 years of age or older and lives at the same address. That person can continue using the membership after the primary member dies. To keep the membership active long-term, the surviving household member should change the Primary Cardholder into their own name through Costco Member Services or a warehouse membership desk.

Costco's Risk-Free 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on Membership states: "We will cancel and refund your membership fee at any time if you are dissatisfied." It is a full refund of the fee, not a prorated one. Costco's own cancellation answer says a warehouse membership counter gives an immediate refund, or the account can be handled by calling Member Services at 1-800-774-2678. Current fees are $65 a year for Gold Star and $130 for Executive. If a survivor instead wants to keep the membership, they can request the Primary Cardholder change rather than cancel. On an Executive Membership, check for an unredeemed 2% reward first: Costco subtracts any issued or accrued reward from the refund.

Costco states that the date on the top right corner of the certificate "is the date the Reward was issued. It is not an expiration date." It is a paper certificate mailed with the Renewal Statement roughly two to three months before the renewal date (Costco's own FAQ gives two months, 2.5 months, and three months in three different answers) and is capped at $1,250 for any 12-month period. It can only be redeemed "while making a purchase or renewing memberships," and only by an active member, at a warehouse front-end register (not self-checkout). It cannot be cashed out on its own, though Costco publishes a conversion to a Costco Shop Card for a narrow set of circumstances ("Incapacitated; Moved out of the area from a Costco") on request by the Primary Cardholder or Account Administrator — worth asking about, since a Shop Card can be spent by a non-member. It is also not additive to a refund: Costco states that if the Executive Membership is cancelled or downgraded, any 2% Reward issued or accrued is subtracted from the refund and forfeited to the extent it exceeds the refund.

Yes. Non-members as well as members may use Costco Shop Cards at any Costco location in the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico, and online at Costco.com. No membership is needed to spend one, they never expire, and Costco states they "may be used toward a membership and merchandise" — so a balance can even pay for a survivor's own membership. Shop Cards are non-refundable and not redeemable for cash "except as required by law": balance under $15 in California; under $5 in Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington; under $2.50 in Texas; under $1 in Rhode Island and Vermont. A digital Shop Card can be handed to someone by forwarding the email; a lost or stolen physical card cannot be replaced. Locate any Shop Cards in the deceased's belongings, check the balance with the card number and PIN, and record it for the estate inventory.

Only in narrow circumstances. Costco states Shop Cards are non-refundable and not redeemable for cash except where state law requires it below a small balance threshold. There is one other documented route: if Costco's own Unclaimed Property Department writes about an unclaimed Shop Card, Costco says the member may visit a membership counter within 30 days of the letter date for a replacement card, "or you may follow the instructions on the letter to receive a check refund," and after 30 days the funds are claimed through the state's unclaimed property program. Otherwise treat a Shop Card as a spend-down asset for the family rather than a cashable one.

Costco Member Services handles it. Visit any warehouse membership desk (fastest, and the Primary Cardholder change or a fee refund can be completed on the spot), call the Member Services Center at 1-800-774-2678 (phone Mon-Fri 6am-6pm PT, Sat-Sun 8am-5pm PT), fax a written request to 425-313-6870 (Attn: Member Services), or mail a written request to Costco Wholesale, Attn: Member Services, 800 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027. The Primary Cardholder change cannot be made through live chat or on Costco.com. There is no separate deceased-member department or estates portal; the membership change and any refund both run through Member Services.