Costco or Sam's Club or Keep Both?

[disneysteve]

We don’t have problems with the Costco large sizes because they are easy to break up and freeze.

Not when it’s mustard or salad dressing or something like that.

 

[Phroig]

Yes, we rack up the hotel and dining charges. We did a lot of travel this year. Plus we get the 4% back on EV charging.

Costco for us.
I see the Citi Visa does 3% on travel. Does their travel category include Airbnb? How about parking and tolls?

 

[audreyh1]

Not when it’s mustard or salad dressing or something like that.

Ah hah, I get it now. Does anyone only shop at Costco or a warehouse store and never at a regular grocery store?

Regardless I make my own condiments from scratch except for mustard. And I buy normal sizes of mustard at my regular grocery store. I shop both at HEB and Costco. I make our own mayo and salad dressings. I avoid the highly processed seed oils such as soy, canola, sunflower or other “vegetable” oils.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

The Costco is a bit far away for us, and it's too crowded, so nobody goes there anymore.

 

[easysurfer]

Doing some looking up, both Costco and Sam's Club started in 1983.

As the saying goes, the rest is history .

 

[Aerides]

The Costco is a bit far away for us, and it's too crowded, so nobody goes there anymore.

Crowded with nobody I guess.

 

[Aerides]

Ah hah, I get it now. Does anyone only shop at Costco or a warehouse store and never at a regular grocery store?

I rarely even buy groceries there unless it's something I can freeze (meats). But the produce is too much and goes bad before I can use it.

A few condiments like Worcestershire sauce, salts, spices, are cheaper in their mammoth costco sizes than the typical store ones. Or things like ketchup are in three packs with ketchup, mayo, mustard, and I do not use all of those enough.

Even their frozen packages of veggies are so big, the freezer can get overfilled too easily. So I'll continue to use a local smaller place for stuff that I plan to use over 2-3 days.

 

[Chuckanut]

Costco. It’s my only choice.

Sam’s Club pulled out of the PNW years ago. I don’t think there is a Sam’s Club anywhere in Oregon or Washington. There is one in Idaho, at least a day’s drive away.

BJ’s It exists only in the minds of a few transplants from what I can tell.

I try to shop at Costco and Trader Joe’s for most of my goods. I hit the local Kroger affiliate if I need something not at the other two. Or Kroger has a good sale. Kroger stores are just too expensive in my area.

 

[disneysteve]

Does anyone only shop at Costco or a warehouse store and never at a regular grocery store?

Not us. There's actually a very short list of products we buy at BJ's but we buy those items regularly enough to make membership worth it. Otherwise, they don't carry a lot of the things we buy and use frequently.

 

[disneysteve]

I rarely even buy groceries there unless it's something I can freeze (meats). But the produce is too much and goes bad before I can use it.

A few condiments like Worcestershire sauce, salts, spices, are cheaper in their mammoth costco sizes than the typical store ones. Or things like ketchup are in three packs with ketchup, mayo, mustard, and I do not use all of those enough.

Even their frozen packages of veggies are so big, the freezer can get overfilled too easily. So I'll continue to use a local smaller place for stuff that I plan to use over 2-3 days.

Exactly. Industrial size packages are great if you have a large family or a business or office or something but not for just 2 or 3 people. And as you said with the condiments, the warehouse clubs often have packaging that combines different items or flavors so if you can't use/don't like all of them, it's not worth it.

 

[Beldar]

Neither for us anymore. We drive a Miata, ok?

Seriously, on the monthly Old Geezer Day at the local supermarkets we have to carefully pack the trunk in order to take advantage of the whopping 10% discount. That car has saved us a fortune.

_B

 

[38Chevy454]

Have both Costco and Sam's. Costco is closer and go there more often. I do think Kirkland brand is a better deal than Member's Mark. Also seems to me that Costco is just a little nicer. But we keep both memberships since there are some tings carried at one vs not at the other. I use my Costco Visa at Sam's since it is our most used card.

 

[jrgators]

Have both Costco and BJs. Find the prices for comparable items to be about the same. BJs has more brands that I would buy at the grocery store. But Costco has stuff I like too so keep both. BJs is a little run down, but its hours are more convenient.

 

[braumeister]

The nearest Sam's Club is very close to the nearest Costco, both about half an hour's drive from home. I tried Sam's a few years ago just to see, but didn't like it nearly as much as Costco.

In particular, I love the Kirkland branded stuff; it always seems to be top quality at a good price. I also like that it's consistently rated highly as a place to work by its own employees.

Due to the distance, I don't spend enough there each year to justify the Executive membership, but I feel I get more than my money's worth out of the regular card.

 

[W2R]

I don't belong to either Costco or Sams. Instead, I just order stuff on Amazon or from Walmart or Target to be delivered to my house. (I can't drive any more because my bad vision won't let me renew my driver's license.)

Since we eat lunch together at my house every day, Frank brings me take-out fresh food from local restaurants almost every day. He also picks up one or two grocery items for me every month or so if/when he happens to be at a grocery store. That's really all I need.

 

[easysurfer]

Here's a question about Costco ...

What does Costco have against Discover Card?

When getting a membership, one of the first things I noticed is Costco doesn't take Discover. Not for memberships nor I think at checkout.

I don't even know if Costco takes Discover at the Costco gas stations.

 

[audreyh1]

Costco only accepts Visa. They don’t accept Mastercard either. They might not accept American Express anymore.

 

[Venturer]

Audrey is right Visa only or still accepting cash!

 

[braumeister]

What does Costco have against Discover Card?

Why do restaurants offer only Coke or Pepsi, not the other?

In the US, Costco only takes Visa, but on my last visit to Canada they only took MasterCard. So apparently a countrywide deal they have negotiated.

 

[aaronc879]

Neither. I am not paying for the privilege of spending my money in your store. I will continue to buy the sales at Pick N Save(Kroger).

 

[Another Reader]

Sad news for Costco fans. At least at my Costco, rotisserie chickens are no longer $5.00. They are now $1.33 a pound. Only small birds yesterday, and mine was $5.33. A five pound bird would have been $6.65!! Don't really care about the hot dogs, but those $5.00 chickens went a long way.

 

[PatrickA5]

We recently joined Costco. Used to be a Sam's club member, but cancelled a few years ago.

So far, Costco is OK. We've bought 9 items (non food) and according to my Costco Analysis spreadsheet, (yes, I have one LOL) we've saved $106.32 over the same items at Walmart. So, we're up $46.32.

The only negative is that the sizes are so big, I'm pretty sure my kids will inherit some of the bulk items we've bought so far. The two giant jugs of hand soap will last us decades.

 

[braumeister]

those $5.00 chickens went a long way.

I guess a lot of people like them, but I quit buying the Costco rotisserie chickens some time ago. They seemed to be all white meat -- the legs and thighs were indistinguishable from breast meat, and that turned me off completely.

 

[Venturer]

We have a very spoiled Maltipoo tha tabsolutly loves the Costco chickens. We buy one every trip and she actually gets more of it than we do. DW cuts it up ,peels every piece of meat off and freezes what she (Nikki the dog) can't eat within a couple of days, then thaws and feeds in with her dry dog food.

 

[Badger]

We have a very spoiled Maltipoo tha tabsolutly loves the Costco chickens. We buy one every trip and she actually gets more of it than we do. DW cuts it up ,peels every piece of meat off and freezes what she (Nikki the dog) can't eat within a couple of days, then thaws and feeds in with her dry dog food.

I bet that one of those chickens is cheaper than the equivalent amount of canned food and they are healthier (not meat by-products).

Cheers!