6 Things BJ's Does Better Than Costco Or Sam's Club

It can be difficult to decide between the three major warehouse club chains: BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco, and Sam's Club. For many shoppers, the decision is already made based on convenience — whichever store is closest to you is the one you're likely to subscribe to. But if you're lucky enough to have access to all three, you may find yourself spoiled for choice.

Each of these three chains has its pros, cons, and unique offerings: Costco has its food court, Sam's Club has its wide variety of items. But what does BJ's do best? It doesn't have a food court, and, while the typical BJ's does stock more SKUs than Costco on average, it's neck-and-neck with Sam's Club when it comes to variety. 

BJ's is a significantly smaller chain, with just 280 locations in the United States, versus Costco and Sam's Club's 600-plus each at the time of writing. But that doesn't mean that a BJ's membership is inferior, or that you're missing out if you choose it over the alternatives. On the contrary, BJ's excels in quite a few ways that other chains can't quite match. 

Many of the perks that come with a BJ's membership are significantly better than their Costco or Sam's Club counterparts, and the chain even offers a few unique bonuses that can help reduce common pain points of warehouse shopping. Here are just a few things BJ's excels at that Costco and Sam's Club either don't offer or have greater limitations on.

Among BJ's shoppers, this is probably the chain's best-known advantage over Costco or Sam's Club: BJ's Wholesale accepts coupons directly from product manufacturers, in addition to providing its own in-house coupon book. In other words, if you clip a coupon directly out of a magazine or find one online, you can use it at BJ's just like you would any other retail store. 

Meanwhile, Costco and Sam's Club explicitly don't accept manufacturer's coupons, instead offering their own in-house savings programs. Other coupons that you find in print or online may not be honored at Sam's Club or Costco, but BJ's will accept them where eligible.

Manufacturer coupons may not always apply to the bulk items offered at BJ's, so make sure to check the terms and specific items listed on any coupons before you use them. Even so, not everything at BJ's is sold in bulk, and many items, especially perishables like meat, dairy, and produce, come in coupon-eligible smaller portions. 

Of course, BJ's also has its own coupon book, the Smart Saver weekly circular, which you can opt to receive in the mail or pick up near the store entrance. For even greater convenience, BJ's coupons are always available in the app, including certain digital-exclusive deals, so you can clip and save paperlessly as you shop. This way, you can simply search for discounted items by name instead of having to rifle through a massive coupon book.

Between their massive square footage, bulky items, and long checkout lines, wholesale stores like BJ's aren't exactly known for offering quick, convenient shopping experiences. Shopping at any of these chains is an event that could take up hours of your day. 

If you need to stock up but are short on time, BJ's offers a curbside pickup service for its entire in-store stock. The best part is that it's absolutely free for orders totaling at least $50; smaller purchases incur a $3.99 fee for Club members. This is especially useful when buying heavy bulk items or products such as large TVs from the electronics department. 

It's a pretty seamless and convenient option: You simply order online, select the pickup option, and use the app to notify store employees once you're on-site. BJ's even offers designated parking spots for curbside pickup, so you won't have to circle the lot.

Sam's Club offers a similar program, but Costco has no in-house curbside pickup option. Costco only offers in-store pickup or delivery, which are always options at BJ's, too.

On the other hand, you may be able to order curbside from Costco via Instacart, but this is far from the ideal pickup service. Not all Costco locations offer this option, and if there aren't many Instacart shoppers available in your area, you may experience longer wait times. And, as with all third-party shopping platforms, Instacart may also charge you additional service fees or shopper tips.

If you're curious to see whether BJ's is a good fit for you, the wholesale chain offers a one-day online shopping pass, effectively a free trial of a BJ's membership. Once you sign up, you'll have access to the entire BJ's stock on its website, which will be valid for a 24-hour period, with no strings attached and no non-member fees applied.

Unfortunately, Costco does not offer one-day shopping passes; it's all or nothing when it comes to its membership. You can shop Costco's website freely even if you're not a member, but you'll be charged a 5% non-member surcharge for all non-pharmacy purchases. Sam's Club, on the other hand, has a guest membership program that works similarly to BJ's, with full access to online shopping for delivery. However, it comes with an even higher surcharge at 10%.

There are some limitations on the BJ's membership trial: First, it's a one-time offer. Each account is only allowed one trial period, so make sure you're ready to shop when you sign up. Also note that the one-day shopping pass only allows you to order online for next-day delivery: In-store shopping, curbside pickup, and same-day shipping are still member-exclusive. Nor can you use BJ's coupons while shopping with a one-day pass. Still, it's a good way to see whether your local BJ's stocks all the groceries you regularly need, and whether the savings are worth the cost of a full-time membership before you commit to anything.

Another major difference between these three wholesale chains is just how much it costs to become a member. BJ's isn't the cheapest — that honor goes to Sam's Club, at just $50 a year for the basic Club membership. However, the lowest tier of BJ's membership is less expensive than Costco's, coming in at $60 to Costco's $65.

The price difference is even more pronounced at higher membership levels. If you sign up for BJ's Club+, the advanced membership tier with 2% back in rewards, discounts on gas, two free same-day deliveries per year, and always-free curbside pickup, it'll only run you $120 a year. Costco's equivalent, the Executive Membership, costs $130 and doesn't include the additional perks for delivery and pickup.

In addition, all three chains often have great deals for first-time members, offering special low rates for your first year of membership. But BJ's discounted membership prices are often lower than Costco's, reflecting the difference in its full yearly prices. You can get a BJ's Club membership for as little as $15 for your first year, though these are limited-time offers.

New Costco memberships don't go on sale as frequently, if at all. Costco almost always charges full price, but provides you with a digital Costco gift card instead of a discount. You'll get a $40 gift card with a $65 Gold Star membership, bringing your total cost to $25, or a $60 gift card with a $130 Executive membership, for a total of $70 — still more than BJ's.

If you've ever shopped at a wholesale store, you know the worst part is always the checkout lines. After all, people go to places like BJ's to stock up on months' worth of essentials. That means lots of large, unwieldy items in every cart, which can create long, slow-moving checkout lines that wrap around the store. And all that goes double on weekends.

Perhaps the handiest perk of a BJ's membership is a little in-app feature called ExpressPay. ExpressPay allows you to skip the checkout lines completely: Simply scan each item as you add it to your cart, and pay with your card on file. Instead of showing a receipt to the employee at the exit, you'll show them a QR code right in the app, which they'll use to check your cart before you leave the store.

This has the added benefit of making it easy to see how much you're spending as you shop, keeping you on budget and preventing sticker shock when you finally bring everything up to the register. In addition, ExpressPay will automatically clip any BJ's coupons available for the items you scan, so you can be certain you're always getting the best price.

Sam's Club has a similar service called Scan & Go, but Costco doesn't have its own equivalent just yet. As of January 2026, the chain is testing an ExpressPay-type program, but it has yet to be implemented nationwide. For now, the Costco app is still essentially just a digital storefront.

Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's all offer store credit cards, but the perks vary greatly. In general, you can expect rewards on in-store purchases, and discounts or cash back on gas, but each card has its own unique benefits to make shopping at your local warehouse club worth it. Although you may have to pay a fee to sign up for the store credit card, if you shop there enough, you'll receive enough cash back through the various rewards programs available that you'll save on groceries in the long run.

But the BJ's credit card comes out ahead in several categories. First of all, it gives you the potential to earn more rewards on in-store items: 3% with the BJ's One Mastercard, and 5% with the BJ's One+. Compare that to just 3% back at Sam's Club, and 2% for most in-store or Costco.com purchases at Costco. You'll also get 1.5 to 2% back in eligible purchases everywhere else, versus 1% at Costco. Finally, if your local BJ's has a gas station attached, your BJ's Mastercard will get you discounts on gas: 10 cents per gallon on the BJ's One, or 15 on the One+.

Ultimately, you should only sign up for a credit card at the wholesale store you plan on shopping at most frequently, since many of the perks go to waste otherwise. But if you do decide to go for a BJ's credit card, you'll have some extra goodies to look forward to.