Christopher Byassee
Staff reporter
Sam’s Club and Costco are two very similar places but are also very different, one is more centered around snacks than actual food but they both have bulk food items.
Personally, I like Costco more because it feels like a supermarket rather than a mall or food court. However, you must have a specialized card to get into each store. The cost of each membership varies between levels. Costco is $60, $120, and $20. They all have an expiration date, a Costco membership is $60 a year, an Executive Membership is an additional $60 upgrade fee, also paid once a year. You may be subject to sales tax. Costco accepts all Visa® cards, as well as cash, checks, debit/ATM cards, EBT, and Costco Shop cards. Departments and product selection may vary
With the Sam's Club Membership you have to pay a yearly fee of $40 to get a card for a household of 8, but if you want to upgrade the membership you have to pay $100 for a household of 16. If you want to go the cheaper route you can go to Sam's Club and give your family members cards as well, but if you are okay with spending some money you can go to Costco where you can get free samples, great bulk food, and drinks. The same goes for Sam's Club, they also have free samples and bulk items, but they have a food court. In the food court, they sell pizza, pretzels, hotdogs, salads, etc.
At Costco, there is also a food court, where they sell pizza, pretzels, smoothies, etc. From as far as I have seen, Costco has better prices on their food, equipment, and household essentials. A con of this is that the cost of the membership is higher at Costco, but you are going to get better prices in the grand scheme of things. Long story short, I recommend getting a Costco membership over a Sam’s Club membership.
Image Credit: From Left to Right: Trong Nguyen/Shutterstock; Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock
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