- Costco has launched a new “9 a.m. club,” giving early shopping access exclusively to its Executive Members.
The perk aims to ease peak-hour congestion and deliver added value after last year’s membership price hike.
Some standard members feel left behind, while rivals like Sam’s Club already offer similar early-entry benefits.
Costco’s legendary opening rush — a retail stampede for rotisserie chickens, giant packs of toilet paper, and cheap gas — has a new wrinkle: only its highest-tier customers now get first dibs.
As of June 30, the warehouse giant has rolled out a “9 a.m. club,” a golden hour reserved for shoppers holding the $130-a-year Executive Membership. It’s the first time Costco has split its famously egalitarian shopping hours. Standard Gold Star cardholders now find themselves arriving to half-filled carts and echoing announcements that the store has already been open for an hour.
The details include digital sweeteners
Under the new rules, Executive Members can enter Costco warehouses at 9 a.m. Monday through Friday and on Sunday. On Saturdays, their exclusive window runs from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Meanwhile, regular members must stick to the traditional 10 a.m. opening time (or 9:30 on Saturdays).
Costco has added digital sweeteners to justify the black-card upgrade. Each Executive account now automatically receives a $10 monthly credit usable on Same-Day or Instacart orders over $150. Other perks include discounts like 15% off Figo pet insurance, extra savings on the Costco Auto Program, and occasional exclusive tech deals.
While none of these benefits individually dent Costco’s bottom line, together they help polish the black card’s allure — and keep high-spending households feeling special.
Costco did the math
The math speaks for itself. Although Executive Members represent 47% of U.S. households, they drive a whopping 73% of Costco’s global sales. They’re also incredibly loyal, renewing at a 92.8% clip. After raising the Executive fee from $120 to $130 last fall, CEO Ron Vachris promised customers visible returns on their investment. Early shopping hours and digital credits are the first tangible signs of that pledge.
There’s a practical reason too: crowd control. Costco’s weekday mornings and Saturday openings can snarl parking lots and stretch checkout lines into theme-park territory. Giving top spenders a head start eases congestion without forcing the retailer to hire more staff. Fewer carts jammed into produce aisles at 11 a.m. is good for both shoppers and store optics.
Mixed member reactions
Some Gold Star members aren’t thrilled. “I paid my $65, and now I watch them wheel out the beef tenderloin before I get through the door,” one Phoenix shopper vented on Reddit.
Others shrug off the change, happy to trade the early rush for a few more minutes of sleep. Inside the stores, early birds relish quiet aisles, full bakery racks, and easy parking.
Costco’s move isn’t entirely original. Rival Sam’s Club has offered Plus members an 8 a.m. entry for years, splashed prominently across its help-desk pages. BJ’s Wholesale tested a similar “Express Entrance” for its Elite tier in New England last winter. Costco’s version is a strategic catch-up—albeit with a later, coffee-friendly hour and enticing Instacart credits.
Will it drive more upgrades?
Chances are good. The $65 price gap between Costco’s membership tiers disappears once a household spends about $3,250 annually, thanks to the 2% Executive rebate. Factor in $120 in delivery credits, and the break-even point drops to closer to $2,500. A family of four making biweekly Costco runs could hit that mark easily.
Early entry also changes the store’s internal dynamics. More staff are needed by 8:45 a.m., while mid-morning crews may shrink. Costco’s IT teams are refining entrance scanners that instantly display membership tiers, cutting down on awkward card-color confrontations. Insiders suggest the early hours may also serve as a testing ground for scan-and-go technology that could eventually soften Costco’s longstanding “no-phones-on-the-floor” policy.
Costco built its empire on the thrill of a treasure hunt equally open to all. Now, it’s inching toward first-class boarding privileges for those who spend the most. For Executive Members, the hush of empty aisles might be priceless. For others, a little extra sleep is worth more than snagging the first strawberries. Either way, the warehouse wars have entered a new phase—and the black card feels more exclusive than ever.