Overview
- Business Insider’s price check found a 38-pound Blue Buffalo dog food bag at Costco for about $65 versus roughly $111 elsewhere, producing a payback score of 713 that more than recoups the $65 fee in two purchases.
- Diapers and wipes scored 373 with Huggies at about $50 at Costco versus $70 at other retailers, while Similac formula at roughly $55 versus $68 recoups the fee in about five purchases with a score of 240.
- Coffee and cheese offer moderate offsets, with Starbucks Pike Place beans at about $8.40 per pound versus $12 elsewhere (payback score 166) and Tillamook cheddar priced to nearly cover the fee over a year (score 102).
- Savings vary by item, as shown by Charmin toilet paper at about $1.10 per roll—around 37 cents less than competitors—which yields a smaller payback score of 67 if four 30-packs are bought annually.
- Costco’s $65 Gold Star and $130 Executive tiers remain the baseline, with the Executive’s 2% reward requiring roughly $3,250 in annual spend to break even, and shoppers note added value from staples like the $4.99 rotisserie chicken, gas discounts, OTC meds and the option for a full membership refund.