Is It Worth Getting A Costco Membership Just For Gas? Here's How Much You'll Actually Save

There are many reasons why someone would want to get a Costco membership. If you are part of a large family, being able to buy groceries in bulk from a wholesale store can be much more cost effective that going to your local supermarket. Maybe you just don't like going to the store that often as a single person and want to stock up on everything you need to avoid going out all the time. One of the more surprising ways you can save money at Costco is by using its gas pumps to fill up your car, as they are typically cheaper per gallon than the average pump in your county. A Costco membership is required to purchase gas at its pumps, but is the membership worth it for the gas savings alone?

How much you would save per year on gas at Costco is determined by a number of different factors. First, you need to consider the membership fee for Costco, which is either $65 per year for the standard Gold Star Membership or $130 for the Executive Membership. Once you've paid that, you need to determine how many miles per year you drive on average, your vehicle's average fuel efficiency, and how much cheaper your local Costco gas pumps are to the average cost of a gallon in your nearby area. After you've crunched the numbers on all this, you may find that paying that annual membership fee either nets you big savings over the course of a year or barely affects you at all. Let's look at some examples to gage your potential savings in filling up your car with Costco's high-quality Kirkland Signature gasoline.

To start, let's assume you drive a light truck that gets 18 mpg. If you lived in Austin, TX, the average price for unleaded gasoline is $2.54 per gallon, on the day of this writing. Meanwhile, the local Costco lists gas at $2.24 per gallon, a savings of $0.30 per gallon. If you drive 12,000 miles per year, you would need to purchase 667 gallons of gas. Take the $65 cost of a Costco membership and divide that by the $0.30 savings. You'd need to purchase about 217 gallons of gas from Costco in order to break even on the membership fee. That means you're saving $135 on gas for the remaining 450 gallons needed for the year.

There are places where the savings are even greater. If you live in Seattle, WA, the current average gas price in King County is $4.68 per gallon, but at Costco, you can get it for $4.19 per gallon, saving you $0.49 per gallon. With the same vehicle, 133 gallons would pay for your $65 membership. That leaves 534 gallons remaining to cover the rest of 12,000 miles of annual driving, netting you savings of nearly $262. However, there are also places where the savings are smaller. Take St. Louis, MO. The average gas price is $2.73 per gallon, and the local Costco sells it for $2.52. That's only $0.21 of savings per gallon. Using that same light truck, you're saving about $75 for the year.

Your car's fuel efficiency also effects your savings. If you drive a hybrid vehicle that gets 45 mpg, you only need to purchase 267 gallons to cover 12,000 miles of driving. Using the Austin, TX numbers, your Costco gas savings would barely pay for your membership fee, let alone get save you a ton of money after the fact. Ultimately, only your specific circumstances can determine whether or not a Costco membership for gas would be worth it.