This Is the Biggest Reason to Shop at Sam’s Club Instead of Costco

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Wholesale club fans are usually Team Costco or Team Sam’s Club. Here’s one of the best arguments in favor of the latter. 

We love warehouse clubs around here. They can be great personal finance choices for many families thanks to the many ways they can help you save money. But we don’t all love the same clubs. As is common all across the fandom, there’s a tendency to pick sides: You’re either Team Costco or Team Sam’s Club.

I try to stay unbiased, but to be honest — Sam’s Club has the edge in my book. Oddly enough, however, it’s not really about money and deals for me (though Sam’s has plenty of deals).

No, I prefer Sam’s Club because of the sheer convenience it provides.

Scan & Go, no humans required

What’s the worst part of any trip to the local warehouse club? That’s right, it’s the lines.

On a busy day, despite the 10+ checkout lanes, getting out of a Costco tends to take a good 20 minutes while you wait for all the people ahead of you to scan their entire carts. (Because who actually makes it out of Costco with anything less than a cartful?)

That’s not a problem when I shop at Sam’s Club. In fact, I don’t even have to so much as think about standing in a checkout lane thanks to Scan & Go.

Instead, I open the Sam’s Club mobile app when I enter the store. Then, I simply scan items as I add them to my cart. (And yes, they can stay there until I put them in my car. No emptying the whole thing at checkout, either.)

Once I’m done shopping, I can check out and pay with one of my saved credit cards right from the app before bypassing the checkout lanes entirely. The associate at the door can scan your digital receipt on your way out, and you’re on your way.

Sam’s Club Plus perks add extra convenience

Scan & Go is a great perk that’s available for all Sam’s Club members. But if you’re a Plus member, you have access to additional benefits that make Sam’s Club even more convenient.

For instance, Plus members can get Free Curbside Pickup, which is a remarkably useful tool. You can place your entire order online — maybe during lunch or even the night before — then swing by on your way home to pick it all up. You don’t even need to get out of the car.

Or, my personal favorite, just have Sam’s Club ship it. Nearly anything in the store (minus the refrigerated stuff) can be shipped to your door. And shipping is free on most items when you have a Plus membership.

Oh, and there’s little to no markup on most items between the store price and online price. This is unlike Costco’s online shopping experience, where you pay a multi-dollar markup on top of the delivery fee.

Three cheers for Team Sam’s Club

The wholesale club universe has plenty of devoted shoppers who are firmly in the Team Costco camp. But Sam’s Club’s boundless convenience is the only reason I need to happily root for the other side.

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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.Brittney Myers 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.

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