Why I'll Never Give Up My Costco Membership for a Sam's Club Membership

Two parents and two kids pushing a shopping cart full of groceries while checking the receipt

Paying for a warehouse club membership is an obvious win for me. As a family of five, my household goes through a lot of groceries and cleaning supplies in my house, and buying in bulk makes it easy to save on many of them.

Now as it happens, I joined Costco about 18 years ago because my husband was a member at the time. And I'll admit that in all these years, I've never given Sam's Club a chance because I've been happy with Costco from the start.

That said, Sam's Club is a bit cheaper. A basic membership at Sam's Club costs $50 a year, while a Plus membership costs $110. At Costco, the basic (Gold Star) membership costs $60, and I pay $120 for my Executive membership, which offers 2% cash back on my purchases.

At times, I've actually thought about giving Sam's Club a try. But here's why I don't see myself canceling my Costco membership to join Sam's Club instead.

1. There are certain products that I can only find at Costco

Although I frequently buy Bounty paper towels at Costco, you can get them at just about any supermarket or big-box store. But there are some items I buy regularly from Costco that you can't get elsewhere.

I happen to love Costco's bakery muffins. And each fall, I eagerly await the return of the pumpkin streusel variety. If I leave Costco, I give up my beloved muffins, which I can't imagine doing.

There are also a few specific Kirkland snacks I happen to enjoy, like the Signature Cashew Clusters I snack on all year round. Sam's Club may have a nice selection of snacks, but it doesn't carry Kirkland products, since those are Costco's signature brand.

2. The location is more convenient

The nearest Costco warehouse to where I live is about seven to 10 minutes closer than Sam's Club. That may not seem so important, but trust me, it is.

Saving myself time on the road each week frees up that much more time for me to do my job. When you're a freelance worker who gets paid on a per-project basis, every little bit of extra time at your desk counts.

And also, I don't enjoy dealing with traffic. So sticking with Costco means experiencing less of it.

3. Costco has a slightly better return policy

Most of the items I buy from Costco end up being keepers. But it's comforting to know how easy it is to bring back items I no longer want or that don't meet my needs.

To be fair, Sam's Club's return policy is fairly similar to Costco's. But Both stores, for example, give you 90 days to return electronics and major appliances. But Sam's Club only gives you 14 days to return cellphones, whereas with Costco, cellphones fall under the general electronics policy. This happens to be important to me right now because this summer, we need to shop for new cellphones for my kids.

Also, Sam's Club has the following instructions on its website for returning items to a store: "Return your item with your receipt to the Member Services desk at any Sam's Club location."

You'd think this would be fairly uncontroversial, but it's the "with your receipt" part that gets me. I'm not good about keeping receipts. And with Costco, you don't have to. I've made plenty of returns without a receipt, and the store employee just looked up the item based on my membership ID number.

Now I'll admit that I don't know how strictly Sam's Club enforces the whole receipt policy because I'm not a member. But if you really do need a receipt to get refunded, I'd be in serious trouble with a Sam's Club membership.

I'm happy where I am

All told, the main reason I won't give up my Costco membership is that I'm more than satisfied with it. And I also can't find a way to justify having a membership to two warehouse club stores at the same time.

None of this, however, is to say that Sam's Club doesn't offer plenty of value in its own right. And if Sam's Club is much closer to your house or the lower-cost membership is helpful given your financial situation, then it could pay to choose Sam's Club over Costco. But I don't see myself joining Sam's Club unless something at Costco changes drastically for the worse.

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We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.