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Wondering which warehouse offers the best membership deals? Here are the Sam's Club Vs Costco Prices (and BJ's too!) – see which one offers the best perks and prices!
Sam's Club Vs Costco Vs BJ's Membership Deals
If you have several big box stores near you and are wondering which is the BEST for you to grab – here are some comparisons on the current deals they're running and a few tips and tricks to keep in mind!
Sam's Club Membership:
If you have been considering a Sam's Club Membership, NOW is seriously – SERIOUSLY – the time to grab one at a discount with EXTRA benefits!
Sams Club is a members-only warehouse store, where members are paying for MORE than convenience & value. The Sam's Club Membership Price includes these perks:
- Bulk Values
- Monthly Instant Savings Offers *See this month's Instant Savings Sam's Club Membership Deals – save on bakery, produce, & more!
- Free Sam's Club Card for Another Household Member
- Sam's Club Gas Savings
- Flat Tire? Free Sam's Club Tires Repair, Battery Testing, and Wiper Blade Installation
- Early Shopping (Plus Members Only)
- 30% Name-Brand Pharmacy Savings & More (Plus Members Only)
- 20% Off Optical & Free Shipping on Contact Lenses (Plus Members Only)
- Free Shipping on Sam's Club Online Orders, NO minimum (Plus Members Only)
- 2% Cash Rewards up to $500/Year (Plus Members Only)
You might wonder – how much is a Sam's Club Membership? A regular annual Sam's Club membership costs about $45 per year, normally (as opposed to $60 for Costco membership). While a Plus Membership is approximately double that but there are more perks (see above).
BUT, right now you can get this Sam's Club Membership PLUS extra benefits – not only do you get access to all the exclusive savings at Sam's, but right now you can get FREE food or FREE gift cards too! 🙂
Looking to get a Sam's Club PLUS Membership?
A Plus Membership costs $100/year, but comes with some killer perks like FREE Shipping with no minimum purchase! You can think of the Free Sam's Club delivery as an alternative to having an annual membership to Amazon Prime – which similarly costs $99.
Sam's Club Locations
Wondering if there's a Sam's Club near you? To decide if this is a good deal for you to consider – you'll first want to see if there are any Sam's Clubs located near you. Here are Sam's Club locations and hours so you know if there's one near you.
Costco Membership:
Right now, you can grab a special deal on a Costco Membership – get a $40 Costco Shop card with certain membership purchases – a great way to save a little bit more!
Costco Membership Perks:
- Enjoy 25-35% off gift cards and tickets (in-store and online)
- Fill up with Costco's gas
- Book exclusive travel deals with Costco Travel (save on vacation packages, car rentals, & more!)
- Get discounted prescriptions at Costco Pharmacy (starting at under $8!)
- Book free hearing tests & follow-up exams at the Costco Hearing Aid Center
- Save 50% on custom checks with free delivery (Executive members save additional 20%!)
- Get discounts on tires and auto services
- Save at the Costco photo center
- Low prices at the Food Court (the Costco pizza is amazing!)
- and more!
Costco Locations
Wondering it there's a Costco near you? Here are the Costco locations and hours so you can see if there's a warehouse close by.
As a Costco member, you'll get access to exclusive warehouse prices on thousands of products and services at more than 750 locations worldwide. Plus, Costco offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on both your membership and merchandise, so you can shop with confidence!
BJ's Wholesale Club Membership
Shopping for a BJ's membership deal? Check out the latest membership deal below and save over $30!
If you have a BJ’s in your area, you can currently get a BJ’s Inner Circle Membership for just $20 (regularly $55)! They offer lots of great perks – and the first one below sets them apart from the other two warehouse clubs above!
BJ's Membership Perks:
- Accepts Manufacturer's Coupons (and you can stack with BJ's Coupons!)
- Exclusive member-only BJ’s Coupons available in the mobile app
- Complimentary Membership for a member of your household
- Get 3 Add-on Members for $30 each annually
- Up to 25% Off Grocery Store Prices
- Digital Conveniences
- Big Savings at BJ's Gas (pay as little as 2¢/gallon with their Gas Savings Program!)
- BJ's Services – Special Savings on BJ's Tires, Travel, Eyewear, Home Improvement, and Other Services!
- …and more!
BJ's Locations
To decide if this is a good deal for you to consider – you'll first want to see if there are any BJ's Wholesale locations near you. Here are BJ's locations and hours so you know if you should even consider a membership to this warehouse.
So – which is better when you compare Sam's Club Vs Costco and BJ's?
When you look at all the data above – it just truly depends on the area you live and how you choose to shop! Obviously, if a warehouse store is too far away and you never use it, it's not quite as beneficial. And if going into a big box store like this causes you to buy lots of what you don't really need and can't budget for, then that isn't very useful either.
However, if you carefully budget and make sure to really use your warehouse membership, I'm sure that one of these stores will fit you perfectly!
Looking for more updates on Sam's & Costco pricing? Here you go:
More deals today:
I only have a Sam’s or a Bj’s near me so I wish the article or future ones could give more information on those two stores. When I lived further north I used the Costco but now I have to decide between the other two. Help….
Thanks for the suggestion! There is a comparison to all three stores in the post. We will see if we can find more details to add. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Hampton/Newport News. I used to have a BJs membership but I switched to Sam’s Club because it’s closer and in a less-dangerous part of town. However, I thought that the BJs was cleaner and better organized. Getting gas at Sam’s is a nightmare due to the placement of the entry to the store. ALWAYS busy unless you go at 8PM which requires I make a special trip back out rather than go after work. Sam’s Club has stopped selling everything I used to go to get a better price. The most recent casualty for me is Equal Sweetener where I used to get 1000 packets for about $9. The only thing get from there now are meats and seafood. It’s gotten kind of like Walmart where you get used to buying a certain product and they have it; then they don’t; then it’s back; then it’s not. When you ask a manager about them carrying a certain product, it’s “out of their control and they have no input”. At this point, I’m going to look into Costco or go back to BJs.
We have both Sam’s and Costco. I had BJ’s for a year several years ago but didn’t really use it so I dropped that one. I have to say a prefer Costco over Sam’s. I buy organic as much as possible and Costco has so many organic options and their organic produce is awesome. I’ve tried many of the Kirkland brand products and have loved them all. The monthly specials are always good too.
This is a great article! Thanks for sharing!
I found this very helpful for a comparison as I recently got a Costco membership at our new Costco in Centerville, OH. Although Sams is closer and I love, love, love their pretzels and other inexpensive snack bar items. I have found that Sams no longer sells Epsom Salt but Costco does.
I have shopped at sams for years. They just opened a costco nearby last month, so I bought a membership. With all the fanfare, I really thought it would blow me away. Really didn’t see much different, except a newer store. I priced checked the items I usually buy, and most were close or slightly cheaper at sams. Their clothes selection was mostly store brand while sams had a lot of name brand. Both have unique items, so it depends on what you are looking for. Membership more expensive at costco. I will continue to compare, but if not further impressed will likely drop costco as it is further away from where I live.
There is no Costco here but I have been to the one in Columbus Ohio and it can't beat the Sam's prices in Alabama….I also went to a Sam's in Columbus and they were even or better then the Costco there….
I found this article to be very useful and would like to see more price comparisons. We have always shopped at Sam’s and have never really considered Costco until now. I too agree that it would be better if you compared prices in the same area though. And as for the way Sam’s treats their employees vs. Costco, I appreciate how everyone cares about that, and I can only speak for myself when I say this, but I have worked for Wal-Mart as an hourly part time associate for almost two years now and I believe that it is more about how each individual store is ran that matters. It doesn’t solve all of the problems, but I believe that proper, caring management that is willing to work with their employees is key in any corporation. My store manager cooks out for us every 90 days or so that we are accident- free, we get bonuses every three months, and most of the managers at my store are concerned about their employees and will help to promote you if you just do your work to the best of your ability. It takes time, like any other place, to get noticed and no, you still don’t get the best treatment in the whole world and it is not the best pay, but it is a job and I will take it over any fast food joint or convenience station with comparable pay any day. Anyways, please do more side by side comparisons of Sam’s and Costco, as I would enjoy seeing where I could get the best deal on things I buy frequently 🙂
We have memberships at both and even though Costco is much further away, we prefer to go there. (We only got a Sam’s membership when they had the awesome Groupon deal.) Although there is certain stuff we like from each one. Costco employees just always seem happy (very much unlike Sam’s), they have a great return policy, and they have the coolest stuff! Plus we have found bigger ticket items for far less than Amazon or other stores there.
The quality of the house brand for Costco s Sam's club out of the water. I had a membership to both for one year and dropped Sam's. Costco has a great return policy too. The downside for me is that they don't carry Pampers diapers which are better than Huggies. But at least I can order them off Amazon for the same price as sam's
I have a membership to both and the prices are very similar, but they are worlds apart. I prefer Costco. Their employees are friendly and the quality on stuff is much better.
I agree, the distance throws this comparison. This only works for stores in the sames area. I will say, I have been thinking of switching to costco and this kind of answers it for me. Prices are so close its likely to not matter even though you are talking two completely different regions.
I personally have shopped at both Sam’s and Costco and prefer Costco. With Costco is not just about the price but how the business is run from employee benefits and willing to work with the employees during illness and other family issues.
We shop at both, just because of the locations. The Costco is closer to my job. Sam’s is closer to my church. Each one has things we use that the other doesn’t.
I will say this about Costco’s cheese, though. It may be cheaper, but it shows. Their cheese melts like plastic. Sam’s cheese melts much better. I won’t be buying Costco cheese again.
Interesting. The costco store brand is a thousand times better than the sam’s store brand. Also the cashiers at Costco are so much better than at sams. We are members at both but generally will shop at Costco more and only do SAMs for quick trips since they are much closer.
I like Costco better. I have been going to Sam's all my life, but since Costco came to town about 5 years ago, we have been going there. There store brand products are just a good or better then named brand and there cheaper. I grown up in the grocery business with mom working at local chains and myself also working for a variety of chains since I was 15. Costco is by far the best bulk /economy for your money. There sales are on an every other or every 2 month loop. The only thing i dont like about Costco is they have a habit of changing suppliers on some items. I like a certain brand of butter, they carried it for several years now they carry a brand I do not like. And they do not take outside coupons. (I can really use that extra $1 off that $32 box of diapers, etc)
Ooh, I love that you’re comparing Sam’s and Costco prices! Unfortunately, a lot of your comparisons were on things I don’t normally buy, so not all that helpful… Also, I love the good deals on some of the organic products at Costco (produce, whipping cream, etc) and I don’t know if Sam’s has anything similar or not…
Costco has better products in my opinion. By the looks of this it just depends on what you are buying. I think that when it comes down to it I agree with Donna King, I personally do not want to support the Walton's for many reason (all my personal opinions) I would rather go to Costco and look for coupons to get the other products at other stores. Costco also has a way better wine selection than SAMs. I really do not see the need to hold two memberships at a store that is similar. Costco for me all the way!