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The holiday shopping season is slowly ramping up with less than three weeks until its official start on Black Friday. While the food and gifts are fun, paying for them can be really difficult on your savings account.

Where and how you shop can help you keep your costs down, and that’s definitely true when you’re talking about Costco. If your membership is ending soon or you’re thinking about joining for the first time, here’s why you may want to buy a membership before you begin holiday shopping.

Is a Costco membership a good investment for you?

A Costco membership could be a great tool to lower your holiday shopping costs. Costco offers excellent discounts on food and popular holiday gifts, so you may be able to find better prices here than you could at traditional retailers.

Costco Executive members in particular do well because they’re eligible for exclusive discounts on services as well as an annual 2% reward (up to $1,250) on eligible Costco and Costco Travel purchases.

You could really maximize your savings if you applied for one of the best credit cards to use at Costco. Click here to discover the best credit cards to use at the warehouse club.

All that said, a Costco membership might not be the right choice for everyone. Living near a Costco is a definite plus, but even if you don’t, you can still shop its online store. The bigger issue is whether you think you’ll save enough throughout the year to cover the cost of the membership.

How much does it cost to become a Costco member?

Costco has two membership tiers: Gold Star and Executive. The Gold Star member is its basic tier. It costs $65 per year and gives you access to its online store as well as its warehouses.

But if you want all the benefits the retailer can offer, you need an Executive membership. This costs $130 per year. But in addition to the perks of the Gold Star membership, you get additional discounts on many Costco services, like auto buying and home insurance, as well as the 2% annual reward mentioned above.

So really, your decision is as simple as whether you think you’ll save at least $65 by shopping at Costco. If the answer is yes, the Gold Star membership is probably worth it for you. If not, the answer is no.

What’s more, if you think you’ll spend at least $3,250 at Costco during the year, then it could also be worth upgrading to the Executive membership so you earn 2% back on purchases. That amount of spending would cover the cost of the upgrade, and any spending over $3,250 would be icing on the cake.

Keep in mind, these savings don’t all have to happen during the holiday season. You’ll have the membership for a full year, so you can use it for groceries, appliances, and other household needs all year long. That’s plenty of time to recoup the membership fee if you shop there regularly.

Also, don’t forget that you can gift Costco memberships to others. If you’re at a loss for what to get a loved one this holiday season, consider buying a membership for them if they live near a warehouse.

Top credit card to use at Costco (and everywhere else!)

We love versatile credit cards that offer huge rewards everywhere, including Costco! This card is a standout among America’s favorite credit cards because it offers perhaps the easiest $200 cash bonus you could ever earn and an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, even when you shop at Costco.

Add on the competitive 0% interest period and it’s no wonder we awarded this card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card.

Click here to read our full review for free and apply before the $200 welcome bonus offer ends!

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Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Kailey Hagen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.