With more than 600 locations each, Costco (opens in new tab) and Sam's Club (opens in new tab) are the most popular warehouse clubs in the country.
We checked how they stack up in several categories -- from who has the better return policy to store credit card. Here's what we found.
Better Prices
- Our pick: Sam's Club
A recent Consumer Reports review found that both stores offered comparable prices. But Costco's annual membership is $55 -- $10 more than Sam's Club's fee. And Sam's frequently discounts its fee or throws in freebies for new members.
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Better Products
- Our pick: Costco
Costco's Kirkland brand (opens in new tab) has earned more kudos for quality than Sam's Club's products (opens in new tab). Kirkland olive oil was one of only a few imported oils that met international and U.S. standards for extra virgin olive oil in a chemical and sensory study by the University of California, Davis. And Kirkland Signature Tequila Añejo received an "exceptional" score from the Beverage Tasting Institute's Tastings.com (opens in new tab). Consumer Reports has named Kirkland's Colombian Supremo whole bean coffee, Greek yogurt and super premium vanilla ice cream as best buys.
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Better Store Credit Card
- Our pick: It's a tie.
For those who spend a lot at their warehouse club, we pick the Costco Visa (opens in new tab) (0% APR for seven months, then 15.99%; membership fee of $55 includes the card's annual fee). The card will pay you 4% on up to $7,000 in annual gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations, 3% on dining and travel, 2% at Costco and 1% on everything else.
But if you buy a lot of gas, the Sam's Club MasterCard (opens in new tab) (15.40% or 23.40% APR) gets the nod. It pays an impressive 5% on up to $6,000 in gas purchases each year. You also get 3% back on dining and travel, and 1% on all other purchases.
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Better Financial Services
- Our pick: Costco
Both big-box stores offer an array of membership benefits free or at discounted prices, including health insurance, car-buying services and identity protection. But Costco has more: mortgages (opens in new tab); auto (opens in new tab), home (opens in new tab) and life (opens in new tab) insurance; rental cars (opens in new tab); and travel packages (opens in new tab).
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Better Return Policy
- Our pick: Costco
At Costco you can return virtually any item anytime (opens in new tab), no questions asked, without a receipt or the original packaging -- unless you're returning a PC or other electronics, in which case you have 90 days. That's similar to Sam's Club, except Sam's highly recommends (opens in new tab) that you have the original packaging and a receipt.
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