Costco will be increasing its membership fees by $5 in the U.S. and Canada starting Sept. 1, raising the annual cost to $65 from $60. The higher-tier "Executive Membership" will go up to $130 from $120 per year. This change affects 52 million memberships, over half of which are executive. The company's last rate increase was in June 2017, with fees being typically raised every five and a half years. This decision was delayed due to consumer challenges with high inflation. Costco relies heavily on membership fees for revenue and to maintain low merchandise prices. Walmart's Sam's Club also recently raised its fees after nine years. Costco has increased monitoring to prevent shared memberships, similar to Netflix's crackdown on unpaid users. Despite the hike, Costco remains a slightly pricier but high-quality option among warehouse clubs.