Sam's Club vs Costco: How the Memberships, Rewards and Perks Compare in 2026

Costco charges $65 for Gold Star and $130 for Executive. Sam’s Club charges $60 for Club and $120 for Plus, after a fee increase on May 1, 2026. Both are membership-only warehouse clubs, and both pay 2% back at the top tier. This guide compares them from Costco’s and Sam’s Club’s own pages and from Walmart’s and Costco’s filings, with fees checked in October 2026. It covers fees, rewards, perks, fuel, cards and scale. The last section reads both programs as paid loyalty designs.

Is Sam’s Club or Costco better?

Costco is the better pick for households that spend a lot and want the larger club. Its Executive tier pays a 2% Reward of up to $1,250 in any 12 months, and the company runs 939 warehouses, 647 of them in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Sam’s Club runs 601 clubs and caps its 2% Sam’s Cash at $750 a year.

Sam’s Club is the better pick for households that want a lower fee and delivery from the club. Club costs $5 less than Gold Star, and Plus costs $10 less than Executive. Plus members get free delivery from the club on orders over $50 and shop up to an hour before the doors open to everyone else. Costco’s Executive members instead get a $10 monthly Instacart credit.

Sam’s Club vs Costco at a glance

The table sets the two clubs side by side. Fees are the list prices on each club’s own pages in October 2026, before tax.

How much do Costco and Sam’s Club memberships cost?

Costco Gold Star and Business memberships are $65 a year. Executive is $130. Costco raised its fees on September 1, 2024, and the Executive Reward cap rose from $1,000 to $1,250 at the same time. A Business membership can add affiliate cards for $65 each. Every membership includes one free card for a household member.

Sam’s Club Club is $60 a year and Plus is $120. Walmart’s quarterly report says Sam’s Club raised those fees from $50 and $110, effective May 1, 2026. Walmart expects the increase to lift income in later periods because membership fees are recognized evenly over the one-year term. Each Sam’s Club card comes with a second card for someone in your household.

The gap is small at both levels. Club costs $5 less than Gold Star. Plus costs $10 less than Executive. A household that wants the top tier should compare reward caps and perks, since the fee gap is only $10.

How do the 2% Reward and Sam’s Cash compare?

Costco pays its reward once a year. The 2% Reward is issued about three months before the renewal date, in the Renewal Statement. A member must be a current, paid Executive member at the end of the membership year to receive it. Only purchases by the primary cardholder and the active household cardholder count, and purchases made before the upgrade do not.

Costco excludes some purchases. The terms list gasoline, Shop Cards, stamps and food court items. Cellphones, tobacco, some alcohol and membership fees are out too. Purchases on Costco.com and through Costco Travel do count. Costco says the Reward is not guaranteed to equal the upgrade fee.

Sam’s Club pays as you go. Plus members earn 2% Sam’s Cash on qualifying in-club purchases, up to $750 a year. Walmart says members can redeem Sam’s Cash for cash, spend it on purchases or use it to pay membership fees. Sam’s Cash earned during the free Plus trial can be redeemed only after the member converts to a paid Plus year.

For illustration, take the extra fee for each top tier. Executive costs $65 more than Gold Star, so a member needs about $3,250 of qualified purchases to earn $65 back at 2%. Plus costs $60 more than Club, so $3,000 of qualifying in-club purchases earns $60 in Sam’s Cash. The Costco cap arrives at $62,500 of qualified spend and the Sam’s cap at $37,500. Both figures ignore each club’s exclusions.

What else do the top tiers add?

Plus adds savings on services. Members pay $0 for up to 10 select generic prescriptions. They get 40% off extra pairs of glasses and 50% off tire and battery installation. Free curbside pickup and Scan & Go are open to Club members too.

Executive adds a $10 monthly Instacart credit. It needs one order of $150 or more. The credit began June 30, 2025. Executive members also get extra value on Costco auto buys and savings on pet insurance and moving. All members can buy Kirkland Signature goods and use Costco Travel.

Both clubs stand behind the sale. Costco’s risk-free 100% satisfaction guarantee covers the membership as well as merchandise. The Reward terms add a rule: a member who cancels or downgrades can get the Executive upgrade fee refunded, less any Reward issued or accrued. Sam’s Club offers a refund or replacement on purchases.

Which has better gas prices and credit cards?

Both clubs sell fuel to members. Costco says the fuel station is open to Costco members only, with a Shop Card exception. Its stations number over 750 worldwide. Sam’s Club offers member-only prices at select clubs, and Scan & Go can pay for fuel. Costco excludes gasoline from the Executive Reward, while the co-brand cards pay on gas at both clubs.

The Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi pays 5% on gas at Costco and 4% on other eligible gas and EV charging. Those two share a $7,000 yearly limit, then pay 1%. Restaurants and eligible travel earn 3%. Other Costco purchases earn 2%. There is no annual fee with a paid Costco membership. Citi pays the cash back as an annual reward certificate once the February statement closes.

The Sam’s Club Mastercard pays 5% Sam’s Cash on gas for the first $6,000 a year, 3% on dining and 1% on other purchases. Plus members get 3% back at Sam’s Club, and Club members get 1%. The card pays in Sam’s Cash, the same currency as club earnings.

How big are the two clubs?

Costco publishes its scale in full. It ended fiscal 2026 with 84.1 million paid members and 150.4 million cardholders, and 42.3 million of the paid members hold Executive memberships. Executive members account for about 75.2% of worldwide net sales. Costco reports a renewal rate of 92.3% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.8% worldwide. Membership fees reached $5.907 billion in the year, up from $5.323 billion.

Walmart’s 10-K gives no member count for Sam’s Club. It describes 601 clubs in 44 states and Puerto Rico. Its second-quarter fiscal 2027 release said membership fee revenue grew 6% on steady growth in member counts and Plus penetration. In the first quarter, Walmart said millennial and Gen Z members made up roughly half of new members.

Which should you choose?

• Large households with high spend: Costco Executive. It has the higher reward cap and the larger network.
• Households that want delivery: Sam’s Club Plus. Free delivery from the club starts at $50, and early hours come with it.
• Smaller households and light shoppers: Club at Sam’s or Gold Star at Costco. The fee gap is $5.
• Gas-heavy drivers: Either. Both co-brand cards pay 5% on gas, up to a yearly limit, so compare the nearest station.
• Trial seekers: Sam’s Club. Plus has a free 30-day trial for new members, and Costco backs its fee with a satisfaction guarantee.
• Anyone near both: Pick the club closer to your home. Distance decides how often you shop, and frequency decides the reward.

Our guides to the best retail loyalty programs and the best grocery loyalty programs cover where else your spending can earn.

What do Costco and Sam’s Club teach a loyalty team?

Costco took in $5.907 billion in membership fees in fiscal 2026. Its operating income was $11.685 billion, so fees came to about half of it. A team that sells a membership should plan the renewal rate as carefully as the earn rate.

Costco prints that rate and lets the tier carry the load. It reports 92.3% renewal in the U.S. and Canada. Executive members make up about half of paid members and drive roughly three quarters of sales. The upgrade costs $65 and arrives with a 2% Reward. Costco says the Executive reward reduces net sales, so it is booked against revenue.

The Reward lands when the bill does. Costco issues it about three months before renewal, and the member must still be a paid Executive at year end to collect. A reward timed to the renewal date gives the member a reason to stay at the moment of decision. It also makes the annual cap a cost control, set at $1,250.

Sam’s Club shows the other side of a cash-like currency. In a single quarter, Walmart said other income included about $40 million in breakage from unredeemed Sam’s Cash. Breakage becomes income only when members leave currency unspent, so a team has to decide how much unspent value is acceptable. The trial rule is a conversion lever: Sam’s Cash earned in the free Plus trial is redeemable only after the member pays for a year. Our points liability accounting guide explains how to account for both.

How GRAVTY handles tiered memberships and cash-like currencies

GRAVTY, Loyalty Juggernaut’s platform, models a paid tier as configuration instead of a bespoke build. Fee tiers and reward rules are authored in Visual Rules, its patented visual rules language. The loyalty team deploys them without an IT ticket. GRAVTY does not set the fee or design the rewards. It runs 500M+ members in production under a 99.99% uptime SLA. An annual reward run is a heavy batch job. WestJet’s year-end rollover takes 28 hours on GRAVTY, down from 10 days on Siebel. Spin Premia by FEMSA, a retail program across 33,000 stores, runs on GRAVTY. See our paid loyalty programs guide and our tier strategy guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sam's Club cheaper than Costco?

Yes, by a small amount. Club membership at Sam's Club costs $60 a year against $65 for Costco Gold Star. Sam's Club Plus costs $120 against $130 for Costco Executive. Sam's Club raised its fees on May 1, 2026, and Costco raised its on September 1, 2024.

Is Costco Executive better than Sam's Club Plus?

It depends on spend. Costco Executive pays a 2% Reward of up to $1,250 in 12 months, and Sam's Club Plus pays 2% Sam's Cash up to $750 a year. Plus adds free delivery from the club over $50 and early hours. Executive adds a $10 monthly Instacart credit.

What is the Costco Executive 2% Reward?

It is a yearly reward of about 2% on qualified Costco purchases, capped at $1,250 in any 12 months. Costco issues it in the Renewal Statement about three months before renewal. A member must be a paid Executive member at the end of the year to receive it.

What is Sam's Cash and how does it work?

Sam's Cash is the reward currency of Sam's Club. Plus members earn 2% on qualifying in-club purchases, up to $750 a year. Walmart says members can redeem it for cash, spend it on purchases or use it to pay membership fees.

Is there a free trial for Sam's Club or Costco?

Sam's Club offers new members a free 30-day trial of Plus. It charges $120 at the end unless the member cancels. Costco's pages describe a risk-free 100% satisfaction guarantee on the membership and merchandise, with limited exceptions.

Can you buy gas at Costco or Sam's Club without a membership?

No at Costco, with one exception. Costco says its fuel stations are open to members only, but prepaid Shop Card customers do not need a membership. Sam's Club lists member-only fuel prices at select clubs.