Costco is raising its membership fee for the first time in 7 years

• Costco said Wednesday that it's raising its annual membership fee.
• It's the first time that Costco has raised the fee since 2017.
• The retailer has hinted for months that a raise was in the future.

Costco's annual membership fee is getting more expensive.

As of September 1, the wholesale club retailer will charge $65 a year for its Gold Star and Business memberships, it said as it announced its June sales results. Currently, the memberships run $60.

Executive memberships, meanwhile, will cost $130 each, up from the current rate of $120.

One benefit of the Executive membership is a 2% cash back reward on what members spend annually. The maximum cash-back that those members can earn will rise to $1,250, up from the current $1,000 cap.

The fees will apply to Costco members in the US and Canada. The membership prices are the same amount regardless of currency — a Gold Star membership in Canada runs 60 Canadian dollars, for example.

The increase is the first time that Costco has raised its membership fee since 2017.

In May, Costco CFO Gary Millerchip said that a fee increase would happen at some point, adding that it was a question "of when we increase the fee, rather than if we increase the fee." Millerchip didn't offer a specific date for the increase at the time.

At the time, Costco said it had roughly 134 million members. The retailer boasts renewal rates of more than 90%.

The increase comes after Costco's CEO said in a memo obtained by Business Insider that its hourly employees would be getting a pay raise.

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