For over a year now, my family has been paying for Costco and Sam's Club memberships.
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My family spends $180 a year on Costco and Sam's Club memberships.
We like comparing the prices at both stores to find the best deals.
By grocery shopping at both warehouses, we have access to more brand and flavor options.
I've happily been a Costco member for eight years. In fact, my family loves the store so much that a few years ago, we decided to upgrade to the $130-a-year executive membership.
However, after finding a deal for a $20 Sam's Club membership in late 2023, I decided to give the wholesale retailer's competitor a try.
After a year of shopping at both warehouses, we'd choose Costco over Sam's Club any day — but decided to renew our membership to the latter for $50 a year.
Here's why we pay $180 for memberships at both Costco and Sam's Club.
We get to compare prices at both stores to find the best deals.I've found good deals on Gatorade at Sam's Club.
Anne James
One of the main reasons we decided to keep both our Sam's Club and Costco memberships is that each store offers deals on different products.
For example, bottled and canned drinks, especially Gatorade, are typically more heavily discounted during sales at Sam's Club. For example, I saw a 28-pack of Gatorade Zero at Sam's Club for $13.60 and the same version at Costco for $15.80.
Likewise, we often find items on sale at Costco that are priced a little higher at Sam's Club. Although the price differences aren't usually huge, shopping at both warehouses helps us to stretch our budget a bit further.
Our local Sam's Club is closer to our house than Costco.We love stopping at Sam's Club for a quick grocery or gas-station run.
Anne James
Although we typically prefer shopping at Costco over Sam's Club, I enjoy having a membership to the latter because it's closer to our house. This is a great bonus if we're making a warehouse run solely for the purpose of cheaper gas.
However, our local Sam's Club and Costco stores are only about 5.5 miles apart from each other — so we can stop at both if we want to.
By shopping at both warehouses, we have access to way more snack options.My kids love the Amara smoothie melts from Costco.
Anne James
As a mom, I like visiting both stores to find a variety of snacks for my kids.
I've found that Sam's Club's snack selection typically has more variety in terms of brand offerings and flavors.
However, we've found several more nutritious options at Costco that we haven't seen at Sam's Club, like Amara organic smoothie melts, Bear fruit rolls, and That's It mini fruit bars.
Plus, we've been able to find more flavor varieties of our favorite products.We've found that each store carries different flavors of Pillsbury cookie dough.
Anne James
One of the best parts about having memberships at both warehouses is being able to choose from different flavors of our favorite items.
For example, at each store, we've seen different varieties of Chobani Flip yogurt, Pillsbury cookie dough, and Nature's Garden probiotic Yoggies (which my daughter once called "candies" — a major parenting win).
Having access to both stores has helped us cover our bases when buying toys and gifts.We love shopping for toys at both Sam's Club and Costco.
Anne James
Both Costco and Sam's Club have pretty sizable toy departments. However, after shopping at both stores, we've noticed that Sam's Club typically has a better variety of gifts.
We love going to Costco for larger play sets, but if we need a small, inexpensive gift, we typically turn to Sam's Club.
Sam's Club has a solid selection of books year-round, which we may soon be unable to find at Costco.Sam's Club has a great selection of books.
Anne James
This year, Costco plans to phase out its book department in most warehouses due to staffing demands.
Although books are expected to be brought back in the fall for holiday shopping, most members likely won't be able to find them year-round.
When this change is implemented, I'll be especially glad to have access to the book department at Sam's Club.