Costco Is Quietly Bringing Back a Legendary Perk You’ll Either Love or Hate

Starting on June 30, 2025, Costco is giving its Executive Members something new (well, technically old): an early access hour.

It’s a throwback to a perk that used to exist, quietly disappeared, and now—like the cult-hero Combo Pizza —has returned, maybe by popular member demand, but probably as a strategy to increase membership revenue.

On weekdays and Sundays, warehouse doors will now open at 9 a.m., creating an exclusive shopping window for Executive Members that’ll last an hour. If your local Costco has already opened at 9 a.m., that first hour will be for Executive Members only now.

This exclusive shopping window on Saturdays will last only thirty minutes, from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.

Conversely, this means every other member must wait until the standard 10 a.m. opening. This applies to every U.S. location and includes main shopping areas plus perks like the food court, tire centers, Costco-owned outside liquour stores and the pharmacy (except on Sundays). Gas Station hours, however, won’t be impacted.

As a bone to all Costco members, the company has also revealed that U.S. warehouses will stay open one extra hour on Saturday and close at 7 p.m.

A Splitting Decision

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Reddit has been buzzing for weeks since the change was announced. And it’s apparent through comments that some longtime members are excited:

“This was how Costco was when I joined. That little extra hour in the morning is amazing and totally worth the cost” one Reddit user stated.

“As an executive member, I am all for it” another shared.

However, many empathetic shoppers, Costco vendors, and even current employees appear wary of the new policy’s implications for worker well-being.

According to Business Insider, one front-end manager called the change “an absolute nightmare” for staff.

Some workers and other Costco contractors have also expressed concern over coming in earlier without any extra help or staffing adjustments.

“As an employee… This is gonna suck.” user andulinn stated succinctly.

Others who seem to be Costco employees, like user Fyrestorm85, and vendors who supply Costco publicly, elaborated on these concerns further.

“As someone who usually works the morning shift, I wonder (and hope) we’ll be able to work an hour earlier to offset the lost time in getting the warehouse ready for opening. We barely make it as it is.” Fyrestorm85 shared.

“Yeah idk man. I’m a morning cooler driver and I already struggle sleeping and waking up for work starting at 4 am. Let alone making opening as is. I’m not excited to come in an hour earlier, and get even less sleep than I already do, especially working two jobs.” user BazingaBeeKay added.

Not Quite Like Back in the Day

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The reinstatement of this particular perk also might not quite replicate the same level of pampering Costco once embraced when it came to a VIP morning shopping window, at least according to some longstanding Costco members chiming in on the same Reddit thread.

“They used to hand out doughnuts and coffee,” one user noted. “My Costco used to have coffee and muffins,” another confirmed.

Apparently, things were even bougier at certain locations. “Mine had fresh made quiche and fancy croissants as in addition to donuts and coffee,” another user added.

As of the information available right now, there’s no reason to believe that Costco will be handing out free food as part of this perk reinstatement, but there’s always Costco’s famed $1.50 loss-leading hot dog to fall back on.

But Will It Make a Noticeable Difference?

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Offering a quieter, earlier window is an excellent perk, at least paying for Executive Members on paper.

But this tier already accounts for almost half of Costco’s shoppers.

As such, some who’ve commented on the/r/Costco thread on the topic have already cynically noted that the exclusive window might not differ much from the typical morning onslaught.

“If every executive member rushes to get in at the early opening it might actually get busier than usual ironically.” one user pointed out.

“This. 100% it’s going to a shit show,” another replied.

“And when everyone upgrades it will make no difference!” another chimed in.

Other seasoned Costco shoppers and possibly current employees also raised the issue of real-world enforcement and whether staffers on the ground would effectively implement the new policy handed down from the wholesaler’s corporate office.

“It’s going to suck having to tell regular members that they’re not allowed in the store yet. I can already hear the complaints.” AJK02 relayed.

Another Reddit user, ClearedInHot, made an even stronger case along these lines.

“I have a feeling this is just going to be another policy that Costco allows people to ignore. Let’s see:

• No pets except legitimate service animals? Widely ignored and/or not enforced.
• Wear a mask during the pandemic? Widely ignored and/or not enforced.
• Don’t park near the nitrogen fill station? Widely ignored and/or not enforced.
• Senior hours during the pandemic? Widely ignored and/or not enforced.

New Executive hours? Perhaps the new electronic card scanners will help with this one, but I’m not holding my breath.”

In short, the general takeaway here seems to be that early hours might offer faster checkout lines and better chances at limited-stock items for members willing to pay double the price of a gold membership.

Still, current executive members and those who upgrade due to this change shouldn’t expect to find themselves alone in the snack aisle.

And that’s all assuming a staffing uproar doesn’t quickly prompt Costco leadership to reconsider whether this policy shift’s financial and consumer upsides are worth the internal strife.

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