Costco is raising membership costs for the first time in seven years

Beginning on September 1st, Costco intends to raise the yearly membership cost for Gold Star, Business, and add-on members in the United States and Canada by $5, bringing the total to $65.

The maximum annual 2% reward associated with the executive membership will increase to $1,250 from $1,000, according to Costco. Annual fees for the executive membership tier in the United States and Canada, which account for slightly more than half of the 52 memberships, will increase by $10 to $130. This includes a primary membership fee of $65, as well as an executive upgrade of $65.

52 million memberships will be impacted by the price increase.

The announcement comes only months after the business hinted during a recent earnings conference that it had no immediate intentions to increase membership rates this year.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)