Costco has started scanning membership cards at the door of more warehouses, and the company says it's about keeping non-members from freeloading on the $1.50 hot dog and cheap gas.
But there's a second act here that gets less attention: the retailer has also been tightening its return policy, flagging accounts it considers excessive, and pushing more shoppers toward its pricey Executive tier.
The membership itself, once an afterthought, is now the product.
Costco's membership fee revenue jumped again last year, and those fees are almost pure profit — they subsidize the low prices that keep people coming back.
When the company raised base fees to $65 and Executive to $130, it wasn't a rounding error.
That's real money out of your pocket before you've bought a single rotisserie chicken.
The "deals" only pencil out if you actually shop enough to earn back the difference.
So where are the genuine bargains right now?
Pharmacy and optical remain consistently cheaper than most competitors, and the food court still sells a hot dog and soda for less than a dollar-fifty.
Gas is often a few cents under nearby stations.
Kirkland Signature store-brand items — coffee, olive oil, paper goods, nuts — are the quiet winners, usually matching name brands at a lower unit price.
What's less of a deal than it looks: bulk produce, which spoils before a small household can eat it; oversized snack packs that encourage overeating; and the impulse aisle near checkout, which exists precisely because you're already committed.
The warehouse layout is engineered to make you spend more, not less.
A $12 jar of something you didn't plan to buy isn't a bargain — it's a $12 mistake.
The Costco Anywhere Visa offers solid cash back on gas and dining, but only if you pay it off monthly.
Carrying a balance at today's interest rates wipes out years of rewards in a few months.
Rewards cards are marketed as free money; for anyone revolving a balance, they're the opposite.
For large families, small businesses, and disciplined shoppers, the math often works.
But the company is a business, and every policy change — door scans, return limits, fee hikes — is designed to protect its margins and push you up the spending ladder.
The question isn't whether Costco is cheaper.
It's whether you're the shopper the model is built for.
Our take: Costco's real product is your membership, and the deals are the bait.
Final Thoughts
Run the numbers on your own household before renewing, and don't let a $1.50 hot dog talk you into a $130 upgrade you'll never earn back.