What happens to Costco membership when the owner dies
Costco Wholesale Corporation has a formal process for transferring membership after an account holder dies
Costco Member Services (Deceased Primary — Primary Cardholder change in the event of a loss)
Costco Wholesale, Attn: Member Services, 800 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027
A Primary Cardholder change or a membership cancellation with refund can be completed immediately in person at a warehouse membership counter. A faxed or mailed request to Member Services depends on Costco's processing time, which Costco does not publish. The Executive 2% reward certificate and any Costco Shop Card never expire, so there is no calendar deadline, but the 2% certificate can only be redeemed while the membership is active — and cancelling an Executive Membership subtracts any issued or accrued 2% reward from the refund, so the sequence matters more than the timing.
Costco Wholesale Corporation offers a process for transferring Costco membership to family members after the account holder dies.
How to request a transfer
To request a transfer of Costco membership after an account holder's death, follow these steps:
- •Visit the membership desk at a local Costco warehouse and request the change; the warehouse may request a copy of the death certificate. This is the fastest route, and it can be completed on the spot.
- •Fax the requested changes to Member Services at 425-313-6870 (Attn: Member Services).
- •Mail the requested changes to Costco Wholesale, Attn: Member Services, 800 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027.
- •By fax or mail, include the membership number, your name, your relationship to the primary member, and your contact information.
- •The 2% reward certificate never expires. The date printed in its top right corner is the date it was issued, not an expiration date. It is issued approximately three months before the renewal date, in the Renewal Statement, and is capped at $1,250 for any 12-month period.
- •It can only be redeemed by an active member, at the front-end registers of a U.S. warehouse (not self-checkout) toward most merchandise, or used to buy a Costco Shop Card at a warehouse. It cannot be cashed out on its own.
- •Costco states that if the Executive Membership is cancelled or downgraded, "Any 2% Reward issued or accrued will be subtracted from the refund and forfeited to the extent it exceeds the amount of any refund." So an estate cannot both redeem the reward and collect the full fee refund. Compare the two amounts before choosing a path.
- •Shop Cards never expire and can be used by non-members as well as members at any Costco location in the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico, and online at Costco.com. No membership is needed to spend one.
- •Shop Cards are non-refundable and are not redeemable for cash except for small remaining balances where state law requires it: under $15 in California; under $5 in Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington; under $2.50 in Texas; and under $1 in Rhode Island and Vermont.
- •Treat Shop Cards as a spend-down asset for the family rather than a cashable one. Record the balance for the estate inventory.
Required Documents
- Membership number of the deceased primary member
- Copy of the death certificate (the warehouse may request this when changing the Primary Cardholder)
- Name of the person requesting the change and their relationship to the primary member
- Contact information for the requester
- Any unredeemed Executive 2% annual reward certificate (arrives in the Renewal Statement, roughly three months before the renewal date)
- Any Costco Shop Cards found in the deceased's belongings, with their card numbers
Timeline
A Primary Cardholder change or a membership cancellation with refund can be completed immediately in person at a warehouse membership counter. A faxed or mailed request to Member Services depends on Costco's processing time, which Costco does not publish. The Executive 2% reward certificate and any Costco Shop Card never expire, so there is no calendar deadline, but the 2% certificate can only be redeemed while the membership is active — and cancelling an Executive Membership subtracts any issued or accrued 2% reward from the refund, so the sequence matters more than the timing.
Frequently asked questions
The membership card itself is non-transferable, but the membership can continue. Costco publishes a "Deceased Primary" path that changes the Primary Cardholder in the event of a loss, so a surviving spouse or household member can have the membership reissued in their name. The change cannot be made through live chat or on Costco.com. Do it at a warehouse membership desk (the warehouse may request a copy of the death certificate), or by faxing Member Services at 425-313-6870, or by mailing Costco Wholesale, Attn: Member Services, 800 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027 — by fax or mail, include the membership number, your name, your relationship to the primary member, and your contact information. If a household member 16 or older at the same address already held the free Household Card, they can keep using the membership while the change is made.
A free Household Card is issued to one designated household member who is 16 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. A survivor handling the account can request an immediate refund at any warehouse membership counter or 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.
The Executive 2% annual reward certificate never expires — the date in its top right corner is the issue date, not an expiration date. It arrives in the Renewal Statement about three months before the renewal date and is capped at $1,250 for any 12-month period. It can only be redeemed by an active member, at a warehouse front-end register (not self-checkout) toward most merchandise, or used to buy a Costco Shop Card at a warehouse. It cannot be cashed out on its own. 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. So an estate should compare the two before choosing between redeeming the certificate and cancelling for the fee refund.
Yes. Costco Shop Cards can be used by non-members as well as members at any Costco location in the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico, and online at Costco.com. No membership is needed to spend one, and they never expire. Shop Cards are non-refundable and are not redeemable for cash except for small remaining balances where state law requires it: under $15 in California; under $5 in Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington; under $2.50 in Texas; and under $1 in Rhode Island and Vermont. Locate any Shop Cards in the deceased's belongings, record the balance for the estate inventory, and treat them as a spend-down asset for the family.
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, 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.
The written or in-person request should include the membership number of the deceased primary member, the requester's name, the requester's relationship to the primary member, and contact information. A warehouse may also request a copy of the death certificate when processing the change. The physical membership card is non-transferable, but the membership itself continues under the new Primary Cardholder.
After the transfer is complete, the recipient can use the membership according to the program's standard terms. Document the deceased account holder's details to make this process easier for your executor or family.
Sources
Data sourced from Costco Wholesale Corporation primary sources (9 pages reviewed). How we research.
Costco Member Services (Deceased Primary — Primary Cardholder change in the event of a loss)
Costco Wholesale, Attn: Member Services, 800 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027
A Primary Cardholder change or a membership cancellation with refund can be completed immediately in person at a warehouse membership counter. A faxed or mailed request to Member Services depends on Costco's processing time, which Costco does not publish. The Executive 2% reward certificate and any Costco Shop Card never expire, so there is no calendar deadline, but the 2% certificate can only be redeemed while the membership is active — and cancelling an Executive Membership subtracts any issued or accrued 2% reward from the refund, so the sequence matters more than the timing.
