Costco Family Accounts FAQ

1. Account Setup

Q: What is a Costco Family Account?

A: A Costco Family Account allows you to shop together on Costco SameDay with up to three additional Costco members. Once you link your accounts you can collaborate on a shared family cart, while also maintaining the ability to shop in your own personal cart.

Q: How do I create a Costco Family Account?

A: Follow these steps:

Go to your account menu and select Start a Family Account.
On the invite screen, click Invite Now.
Share the invitation link via text message or your preferred communication platform.Once your invitation is sent, the recipient will receive a message to join your account.

Q: Can I invite someone who doesn’t have a Costco membership?

A: No, all invited members must have a Costco membership to join your Family Account.

Q: How will I know if my invitation was accepted?

A: You’ll receive a confirmation email as soon as the invitation is successfully accepted.

2. Using Family Accounts

Q: What benefits do Family Accounts offer?

A: Family Accounts make shopping together easier! You can collaborate on a shared cart, and if one member has Instacart+, everyone in the Family Account enjoys those benefits when shopping in the family cart.

Q: Can I shop in my personal cart while being part of a Family Account?

A: Yes, you can switch between your personal cart and the family cart at any time through the cart panel.

Follow these steps:

Open your cart and click the Settings icon in the top-right corner.
You’ll see two options: Personal Account and Family Account.
Select the account you’d like to use.
Click Shop Now

Q: Who’s responsible for paying a family account order?

A: The person who places the order from a family cart is responsible for paying the family account order. They are solely responsible for reviewing the cart items, payment, managing the order, communicating with the shopper, and ensuring they meet delivery requirements.

3. Permissions and Limits

Q: How many people can be in a Family Account?

A: A total of four members can join a Family Account

Q: Can I control who adds items to the family cart?

A: If you are the account owner, you can manage who is part of your Family Account and oversee activity. Each member can add items to the shared cart, but only you can remove members or deactivate the account.

Q: Can family members still shop independently?

A: Absolutely! Family members can switch to their personal cart whenever they like and shop separately from the family cart.

4. Costco Executive Membership Benefit

Q: Does the Executive Member Benefit ($10/month) apply to all family account orders?

A: The monthly $10 benefit can only be utilized by eligible executive members. In order for the benefit to apply, an eligible executive member has to be the one to place the family cart order. Credits are not shared across family accounts but family members can add items to the executive member’s order.

Q: Can family members combine their executive membership benefits on the same order within a shared family account?

A: No, the executive membership benefit applies only to the member placing the order. It cannot be combined with another family member's executive membership benefit on the same order.

Q: If executive members connect to a family account, can both members still redeem their benefit that month?

A: Yes, the benefit will still apply to each eligible member’s account, and members who haven’t previously placed an eligible order will still be able to utilize it even if another member in their family account has utilized it.

5. Managing Memberships

Q: How do I remove someone from my Family Account?

A: Go to your Family Account page in your account menu, select the member you wish to remove, and follow the prompts to confirm their removal.

Q: What happens if I deactivate my Family Account?

A: Deactivating your Family Account will unlink all members immediately. Each member will retain their personal cart, but the shared family cart will no longer be available. To deactivate a Family Account, click on your username under the family account section and select "Delete Family," to deactivate the account and remove all family members.

Q: Can I re-add someone after removing them?

A: Yes, you can send them a new invitation at any time to rejoin the Family Account.

6. Troubleshooting

Q: My invitation wasn’t received by the intended family member. What should I do?

A: Ask them to check their spam or junk email folder. If the email isn’t there, you can resend the invite from the Family Account page.

Q: I’m having trouble switching between my personal and family cart. How can I fix this?

A: Ensure you’re logged in with the correct account. Use the cart panel in the app or website to toggle between your personal and family cart. If the issue persists, try logging out and logging back in to refresh your session.

Q: What if I accidentally remove a member?

A: Don’t worry! You can always send them a new invitation to rejoin your Family Account.

Family Accounts terms and conditions

By creating a family account or accepting a family account invitation, you agree to the following terms, and the Instacart+ terms, if applicable. You also agree that Costco Wholesale (the “Retailer”) may share your name, address, and cart information with any individual who accepts an invitation to join the family account. Upon creation of a family account or acceptance of a family account invitation, all of your future carts created on https://sameday.costco.ca/store/costco-canada/storefront (the “White Label Site”) will automatically become Family Carts. You will have the ability to convert any existing personal cart into a Family Cart and Family Cart into a personal cart in settings once you create a cart. Please see the Using Family accounts section in the FAQ for guidance. You agree that each Family Cart will be shared with all family account members and each family account member may:

view all information associated with the cart including the delivery address (if applicable) and items in the cart;
add or remove items from the cart;
create or delete new carts visible to all family account members;
place an order for the items in the cart; and
receive communications, notifications and/or confirmations regarding the cart, changes to items in the cart, status of orders placed using a family cart.

Family Carts will be shared with all active family account members until an order is placed or all items are removed from the Family Cart. If you place an order from a family cart, you acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for:

reviewing and/or updating the items, replacement preferences, and other attributes of the Family Cart before placing the order;
payment, order management, and correspondence with any shopper assigned to the order or with the Retailer’s or Instacart’s customer service regarding any issues; and
ensuring that you are present for the delivery (if necessary) and that you meet the requirements for ordering and receiving any regulated items (ex. alcohol, where available).

When you provide someone else’s information, you are responsible for ensuring that you have permission to share their information with Instacart or Retailer. You may not provide Personal Information about children under the age of 18. Any family account created on the White Label Site, and any associated benefits, are available only on the White Label Site. Any family accounts and associated benefits you may hold on Instacart or another Retailer site are inapplicable on the White Label Site. The family account feature is not a guaranteed benefit and Instacart reserves the right to limit the availability of the feature and/or to limit the ability of certain invitees to participate in family accounts. Instacart and/or Retailer may limit the number of concurrent participants in a family account and remove members from your family account if it reduces the total number of concurrent participants. The family account feature is available to customers and invitees who:

have an existing White Label Site account or create a new one;
accept these terms and the https://sameday.costco.ca/store/costco-canada/pages/pricing-policy to participate (collectively, the “Criteria”).
are not a member of an existing family account.

Instacart and Retailer reserve the right to remove or suspend family account members who do not meet these Criteria. Family account members will have access to certain Instacart+ benefits associated with the membership, if applicable. Instacart reserves the right to limit the Instacart+ benefits that are shared with members of the family account. Instacart+ benefits that are triggered by placing orders on the White Label Site will only be awarded to the family account member placing the order. Such benefits will not be shared and cannot be transferred or counted towards another family member’s progress towards obtaining any bonus or incentive associated with placing an order or multiple orders. By accepting a family account invitation, you agree that Instacart may limit your ability to redeem or participate in offers to receive free or discounted Instacart+ memberships or trials even if no such restrictions are specified in the offer. In addition, Instacart may restrict your ability to access any offer, incentive or other benefit that has a one per household limitation if such offer, incentive or benefit has already been redeemed by another member of the family account. Family account members will immediately lose access to all active family carts and any shared Instacart+ benefits if:

the family account creator deactivates the family account;
the family account creator removes a member from the family account;
the family account member leaves the family account.

Any shared Instacart+ benefits will also terminate if the shared Instacart+ membership expires or is terminated.To the fullest extent permitted by law, Instacart and Retailer reserve the right to disqualify you from participating in the family account feature if Instacart and/or Retailer suspect or determine, in their sole discretion, you have invited individuals who do not meet the Criteria or you have engaged in any fraud, tampering, abuse, or violation of our Terms of Service or these terms (“Disqualification”). You will have no claim against Instacart, Retailer, and/or any affiliated company regarding any Disqualification or for any issue relating to your use of the family account or family cart features. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither Instacart, Retailer, nor any affiliated company shall be liable for any losses arising out of any use of the family account or family cart feature, the failure or inability of a customer to use the family account feature, or any Disqualification relating to the family account feature.All of the provisions of these Terms are subject to change by Instacart at any time. Instacart and Retailer reserve the right to modify or cancel the family account feature at any time.