Petco Perks and Perks Premier: Points, Price and What's Included

Petco Perks is Petco's free rewards program, and Petco Perks Premier is a paid membership that sits on top of it. On either plan, members earn 1% back in points on everything bought at Petco and 3% back on Petco-owned brands, and 1,000 points are worth $1 in Petco Cash. Premier costs $24.99 a month or $239.99 a year for each enrolled pet, with an annual commitment, and for dogs and cats adds $15 of Petco Cash every month, 10% off food, 20% off dog grooming or cat litter and unlimited routine vet exams at Vetco Total Care hospitals.

Last checked on 27 October 2026 against Petco's Petco Perks page (plans table as of 27 October 2026, FAQ and footnotes as of 16 October 2026), the Petco Perks and Petco Perks Premier terms (both effective 22 June 2026), Petco's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 January 2026 and its quarterly report for the quarter ended 1 August 2026, for the US in US dollars. Sign-up offers change, so they are left out here.

This guide is written by Graeme, co-founder of Mage, a loyalty and customer accounts platform for Shopify.

Petco Perks at a glance

The plans table on the Petco Perks page, as of 27 October 2026.

How to join Petco Perks

You join in store at checkout, in the Petco app or on petco.com, and no purchase is needed. Members must be 18 or over, with one account per customer, though accounts that share a street address and last name can be linked into a household that combines points. If you enrol in store, create an account in the app or on petco.com with the same details and enter the Petco Perks ID printed at the bottom of your receipt, and your points and offers appear there.

Birthday treats need a pet profile and an opt-in to marketing emails. Petco sends one for every pet enrolled in Premier and for up to three pets without Premier, and the pet's birthday has to be in the profile 10 days ahead.

How you earn Petco Perks points

Every member earns 10 points for each $1 spent, which is 1% back, on food, litter, grooming, training, prescriptions and more, in stores, at petco.com and in the app. Petco-owned brands earn 30 points per $1, or 3% back, and include Reddy, Leaps & Bounds, WholeHearted, So Phresh, EveryYay, Youly, Well & Good, Good Lovin', Good2Go, Imagitarium, Healthy Select, Merry Makings and Bootique. Petco's terms say the list isn't exhaustive and that what counts as a Petco brand is decided at Petco's discretion.

The terms add that membership, insurance, bag and vet administrative fees don't earn either, that spending is counted after coupons and promotions, and that it is rounded to the nearest dollar, so $9.45 earns 90 points and $9.55 earns 100. Points arrive within 24 hours of an in-store purchase. Online orders earn within 24 hours of shipping, of delivery for Same-Day Delivery and of pickup for buy online, pick up in store orders. Personalized offers add bonus points on chosen items, and some need to be activated in the app first.

The points section of the Petco Perks page, as of 27 October 2026.

If you return something, the points it earned are deducted, which the terms say can leave a negative balance, and points you spent on a purchase that is later returned are given back. Petco asks for missing-points claims within 45 days.

The Grooming Perk is a second route to a reward. Every groom earns a punch, and after seven qualifying grooms members receive points equal to the average value of their grooms, making the eighth free (Petco's FAQ describes it this way). Members switch it on under "Offers For You" in their account or at the store checkout.

What Petco points are worth

Petco publishes the value: 1,000 points equal $1 in Petco Cash. At 10 points per $1 that is a 1% return, and at 30 points per $1 on Petco brands it is 3%. Redeeming needs a balance of 5,000 points, which takes about $500 of spending at the base rate or about $167 on Petco brands (our arithmetic).

Petco puts an average annual value on each plan: $200 or more for Perks and $600 or more for Premier. Both are Petco's estimates, built from average member use of points, member pricing, benefits and offers, and Petco gives no breakdown.

How to redeem Petco Perks points

Points work in store or online whenever the balance reaches 5,000 points ($5), with no loading step. A member with 12,000 points can use all of them, use 5,000 or keep saving. In store, give your Petco Perks number at checkout and choose how many points to use. Online and in the app, log in and choose the amount.

Points are applied before coupons. They can't be exchanged for cash, gift cards or gift certificates, and they can't be used at Just Food For Dogs Kitchens or at third-party partners.

Do Petco Perks points expire?

Yes. Points earned from purchases expire 365 days after they are earned, and points from offers can have their own dates, so check each offer. Premier's monthly points expire much sooner, 45 days after they are issued. Petco's terms add a second rule: if an account has no new eligible purchase for 365 days, all points are forfeited and the balance resets to zero, and forfeited points aren't returned.

Petco Perks Premier: price and what's included

Premier is a subscription for one enrolled pet, and the benefits depend on the pet type. Members pay monthly or annually, there is an annual commitment either way, and the subscription renews automatically for another year at the then-current price.

The Premier column of the Petco Perks page for dogs, as of 27 October 2026.

The details that decide the value:

• Food: The 10% covers any brand of dry, wet, fresh or frozen dog or cat food, plus broths and toppers, but not treats or chews, and other exclusions apply.
• Grooming: The 20% applies to the listed price of a full-service dog bath, or a bath with haircut, and to add-ons and packages. It isn't available at mobile grooming salons or self-wash stations.
• Vet exams: The benefit covers unlimited routine exams at participating Vetco Total Care hospitals, with the exam fee waived and other fees for tests, medications and services still charged.
• Vet of your choice: Members can instead receive 20,000 points ($20) for a routine exam with their own vet, up to two a year, by submitting the receipt in the Petco Perks dashboard.
• Monthly Petco Cash: It arrives about three business days after each monthly anniversary of enrolment and expires after 45 days.
• Stacking: Premier discounts don't apply to items that are already discounted and can't be combined with other Petco promotions.
• Points: Premier members earn at the same 1% and 3% rates, but the subscription fee itself earns no points.

Petco also advertises "Save $24 a year when you enroll the whole pack in Perks Premier" without saying how the $24 is worked out.

What Premier costs after the monthly Petco Cash

Some arithmetic of our own. Twelve months of the monthly dog or cat plan is $299.88, so the $239.99 annual plan saves $59.89, about 20%, which matches Petco's own "20% savings". The monthly Petco Cash is worth $180 a year, so if every month's $15 is spent inside its 45 days, the annual plan's net cost falls to $59.99 and the monthly plan's to $119.88. At that net cost, about $600 of eligible dog or cat food a year, or about $300 of dog grooming, repays the annual plan through the discounts alone, and the waived vet exam fee comes on top. For a small pet the annual plan costs $119.99 against $59.99 net of its $60 of Petco Cash, and $400 a year of food and supplies at 15% off repays that.

Cancelling, renewals and refunds

Premier is an annual commitment. You turn off auto-renew in the Premier tab of your Petco Perks account on petco.com or in the app, or by calling customer service, before the annual anniversary processing date. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the term: you are billed for the full year and keep the benefits until it ends. Petco's terms say it doesn't offer full or partial refunds for the subscription.

Petco can change the fee or the benefits. A member who disagrees can cancel within 30 days of the notice, and otherwise the subscription renews on the new terms. Petco can also cancel a subscription at any time, and refunds a prorated fee unless the cause is misuse of the benefits.

From Pals Rewards and Vital Care to Petco Perks

Petco introduced Pals Rewards in 1997, and in January 2023 it combined that program with its paid Vital Care membership into a free Vital Care Core tier and a paid Vital Care Premier tier, which it said covered more than 24 million subscribers. Premier then cost $19.99 a month for a dog or cat. Petco's FAQ now says Vital Care is Petco Perks, and the terms for the relaunched program are effective 22 June 2026. In its report for the quarter ended 1 August 2026 Petco says sales reflected a temporary disruption from a stronger-than-expected response to its membership program relaunch.

What Petco doesn't publish

• A current member count. The last figure is more than 24 million subscribers in January 2023, for the two earlier programs combined, and neither annual report for fiscal 2024 or 2025 gives one.
• How the $24 whole-pack saving and the annual value figures are built. Petco gives only footnoted assumptions.
• What "average value of their grooms" means for the points a member receives after seven grooms.
• The price of a vet exam, which decides how much the unlimited exams are worth.

The fine print

• Petco can modify or end the program at any time, and changes to the terms apply immediately.
• Points have no cash value, can't be sold or transferred, and are forfeited if Petco ends a member's participation.
• Premier benefits work only at participating locations. Some grooming benefits need a Petco store with an on-site salon.
• A Premier account has to be active and in good standing at the time of purchase, and Petco doesn't reimburse discounts retroactively.
• Disputes go to binding arbitration with a class action waiver.

What stands out about Petco Perks

One currency does the work of two programs. The free and paid plans share the same points. Petco Cash, the monthly Premier credit and the vet-of-choice reward are all paid in them, and Petco states the exchange rate. That means Premier works as a monthly deposit into a balance members already use, not a separate rewards scheme.

The monthly credit pulls members back. Premier's Petco Cash expires in 45 days, so each month's $15 has to be spent soon, which creates a reason to visit about twelve times a year. On the annual dog or cat plan, $180 of the $239.99 fee comes back as Petco Cash (our arithmetic), so the fee works as a prepaid credit with the discounts and vet exams on top.

Pricing follows the pet. Each plan covers one pet and one type, and a dog plan buys groom and food discounts while a cat plan buys litter. A household with several pets pays for each, and small animals get a cheaper plan with a smaller credit. The pet in the profile is also what drives the birthday treat and the grooming benefits.

The free plan carries a services habit. The free eighth groom rewards repeat grooming, and a service visit is a reason to return that doesn't depend on shopping. Petco's annual report says owned brands are a significant driver of sales, customer loyalty and repeat purchasing, and the triple rate on those brands points members at them.

What members should know going in:

• Monthly Petco Cash is use it or lose it. It lapses after 45 days, and the Premier fee earns no points.
• The vet benefit has limits. It covers routine exams at participating Vetco Total Care hospitals, not every Petco store or every service.
• The food discount has exclusions. Treats and chews are left out, and it doesn't stack with other promotions.
• The commitment is a year. There are no refunds, and cancelling takes effect at the end of the term.
• Terms and benefits can change, and the program was relaunched in 2026 under a new name.

Is Petco Perks worth joining?

The free plan is worth joining if you shop at Petco at all. It costs nothing, 1% back is modest, and the 3% on Petco brands and the free groom make it better for regular buyers of those brands or regular groomers. Spend the points inside 365 days and remember that the whole balance resets after a year without a purchase.

Premier is for a specific pet owner. Our arithmetic says a dog owner who buys about $600 of dog food a year, or about $300 of grooming, covers the net annual cost if the monthly Petco Cash is spent, and a regular at a Vetco hospital saves the exam fee on top. A cat owner gets the food discount and 20% off litter. If you buy mostly treats, shop at Petco rarely, or won't use the Cash within 45 days, the free plan is the better choice. Take the annual price over the monthly one, and remember that the subscription is per pet.

What Shopify brands can learn from Petco Perks

A free points program with a paid membership on top gives a Shopify brand several mechanics to borrow.

1. Pay the paid tier in the same currency as the free tier. Petco's members top up one points balance whichever plan they are on. A brand can credit a member's balance or store credit each month, so the benefit feels like a deposit.
2. Give the monthly credit a clock. A credit that lapses after 45 days gets spent, and each spend is a visit. In Mage, points can expire a set number of days after they are earned, with a reminder before they drop off.
3. Earn faster on the products you want to push. Petco pays three times the rate on its own brands. In Mage, earning rates can differ by product or collection.
4. Reward a repeat habit with a punch card. Seven grooms earn the eighth. Punch cards pay a bonus in points or store credit after a set number of qualifying orders in Mage, on higher plans.
5. Price the membership around what the customer owns. Petco prices per pet and by pet type. A brand can set a separate price for each membership tier and write each tier's perks around the product line it covers.

If you're building a paid membership program on Shopify, Mage's Memberships feature covers recurring billing monthly, quarterly or annual, a separate price for each tier, a trial or promotional rate before the standard price, automatic renewals, and self-service from the customer's account to view perks, update a payment method, switch billing cycle or cancel. Perks can include scheduled credit top-ups, free shipping, a welcome discount, member-only codes, a first look at launches and sales, priority support and members-only cashback.

Frequently asked questions

Do Petco Perks points expire? Yes. Points from purchases expire 365 days after they are earned, and Premier's monthly Petco Cash expires after 45 days. Petco's terms also forfeit the whole balance if an account has no new eligible purchase for 365 days.

How much is a Petco Perks point worth? 1,000 points equal $1 in Petco Cash. At 10 points per $1 that is 1% back, and Petco-owned brands earn 30 points per $1, or 3%. The minimum to redeem is 5,000 points ($5).

How much does Petco Perks Premier cost? $24.99 a month or $239.99 a year for a dog or cat, and $9.99 a month or $119.99 a year for a small pet, per enrolled pet, with an annual commitment.

Is Petco Perks Premier worth it? It can be for a dog or cat owner who spends the $15 monthly Petco Cash and buys food, litter or grooming at Petco regularly. Our arithmetic puts the net annual cost at $59.99 after the Petco Cash, repaid by about $600 of food or $300 of dog grooming at the discount.

Can you cancel Petco Perks Premier and get a refund? You can turn off auto-renew in your account or call customer service, and the cancellation takes effect at the end of the annual term. Petco's terms say it doesn't offer full or partial refunds for the subscription.

Does Petco Perks Premier cover vet visits? It covers unlimited routine exams at participating Vetco Total Care hospitals, with other fees extra, or 20,000 points ($20) for up to two routine exams a year with your own vet.