Costco vs. Sam's Club: Where Can You Save the Most?

Costco and Sam's Club are two prominent warehouse clubs that offer significant discounts on bulk groceries, household goods, and big ticket items like furniture, electronics, appliances, cars, and travel. Whether you want to get a great deal on a new set of tires, save money on prescriptions, buy a new mattress or sofa, enjoy a smattering of delicious food samples (or Costco's famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo), or go on a "treasure hunt" for something outlandish that you didn't even know you needed, both big box retailers deliver an extravagant all-American shopping experience.

Costco versus Sam's Club is a heated debate among shoppers. It's hard to pinpoint which retailer offers bigger savings; it depends on how you want to spend your money and your time. But depending on your shopping habits, Costco or Sam's Club could give you big savings. It might be worth investing in a warehouse club membership to improve your personal finances.

Let's take a look at Costco versus Sam's Club savings and how to make the most of your membership.

Costco vs. Sam's Club: Membership fee and 2% rewards

Costco and Sam's Club both offer two tiers of membership with similar price points and benefits. Sam's Club offers its "Club" membership for $50 per year, or "Plus" membership for $100 per year. Costco has the basic "Gold Star" membership for $60 per year, or "Executive" membership for $120 per year.

Why pay extra for a higher-level membership? Because you can earn special cash back rewards, directly from the retailer. Costco and Sam's Club both offer 2% rewards for their Executive and Plus members. However, you can save more with Costco's 2% rewards, because Costco offers a maximum reward amount of $1,000 per year, while Sam's Club caps its maximum "Sam's Cash" 2% reward amount at $500 per year.

Of course, to get that full $1,000 reward at Costco, you'd have to spend $50,000 per year. And to get the full $500 of Sam's Cash, you'd have to spend $25,000 annually at Sam's Club. Don't go into credit card debt just to get a few dollars back on your warehouse club membership! But if you're about to buy some big-ticket items, like new furniture, electronics, appliances, or other qualifying purchases, it might be worth upgrading to the higher-level Costco or Sam's Club membership so you can get some money back with 2% rewards.

Bottom line: Costco lets you save more money per year with its 2% rewards offering -- up to $1,000. Sam's Club is capped at $500.

Average shopping savings at Costco vs. Sam's Club

According to recent research, the average Costco shopper saves $60 per Costo trip (compared to what they would spend at a conventional grocery store) and makes 23 Costco trips per year. That means the average Costco member saves about $1,380 per year -- which more than makes up for the cost of a membership.

Although we don't have comparable survey data for Sam's Club, it's safe to assume that the average savings are similar to Costco. Both of these retailers offer a wide range of bulk-discount grocery products, low prices on big-ticket items, and surprising savings and special offers. Research shows that warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's Club have lower markups on items -- just 14% over wholesale prices, instead of 25%-50% at conventional retailers.

Whether you prefer Costco versus Sam's Club, both stores compete to offer the lowest possible prices. You're probably going to save money with either warehouse club compared to typical grocery and home goods retailers, especially if you like to buy food in bulk. And you can save even more money by staying loyal to the Costco private label brand (Kirkland) or the Sam's Club Member's Mark store brand.

Bottom line: Costco and Sam's Club offer similar savings and low markups; how much you save will depend on your individual shopping habits.

Costco vs. Sam's Club credit card deals

Both Costco and Sam's Club offer their own special credit card deals so you can earn extra rewards.

Costco

The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is the official store credit card for Costco members. This card has no annual fee if you're a Costco member, and it offers special cash back rewards.

Here's how much you can earn:

• 4% on qualifying purchases of gasoline and electric vehicle (EV) charging, up to a $7,000 annual spending cap
• 3% on travel and restaurants, including purchases with Costco Travel
• 2% on other spending at Costco and online at Costco.com
• 1% on other eligible spending

Sam's Club

Sam's Club offers two credit cards, but its best rewards are available with the Sam's Club Mastercard. Just like Costco's store credit card, the Sam's Club Mastercard has no annual fee for club members.

Here's how much Sam's Cash you can earn with the Sam's Club Mastercard:

• 5% back on gas anywhere Mastercard is accepted (on first $6,000 per year, then 1%)
• 3% back on Sam's Club purchases for Plus members.
• 3% back on dining and takeout
• 1% back on other purchases

Compared to the Costco credit card, the Sam's Club Mastercard offers slightly more generous cash back on gasoline and Sam's Club purchases. Another benefit of this card is that the rewards you earn are available quickly, in digital form, and are automatically loaded onto your Sam's Club membership card. You can earn rewards on one shopping trip, and spend them on the next visit (or online). One drawback of the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is that the rewards are less flexible: they're only paid out once per year, in February, so you have to wait awhile to get the extra value that you've earned from your spending.

Bottom line: The Sam's Club store credit card might be a better deal than Costco's card.

Where can you save the most? Costco and Sam's Club both have special discounts and low pricing on everyday items. Deciding which warehouse club to join will likely come down to how far you have to travel to get to the store, how frequently you plan to shop, and which special items or "treasure hunts" are most important to you.