If you are about to renew a warehouse club, run the numbers before you click. Sam’s Club raised its basic membership from $50 to $60 on May 1, and the Plus tier from $110 to $120. That closes most of the gap with Costco, which still charges $65 for the standard Gold Star card and $130 for Executive. The choice used to be obvious. Now it isn’t.
Here is what actually changed. Sam’s Club’s first fee hike since 2022 is a straight 20% jump on the basic card and a 9% jump on Plus. The company sweetened Plus by raising the Sam’s Cash reward cap from $500 to $750 a year. Fine on paper. To max the new cap, you would need to run about $37,500 a year in Sam’s Cash-eligible spend at the 2% rate. Most households don’t come close.
Costco left its Executive card alone: $130 a year, 2% back on qualifying purchases, capped at $1,250. To max that cap, you’d have to spend about $62,500 a year at Costco. Also not most households.
So forget the caps. The real breakeven is different.
Sam’s Plus at $120 pays for itself when your 2% rewards clear the $60 fee difference over basic Club. That is $3,000 in eligible Sam’s spend a year, roughly $58 a week. Costco Executive at $130 pays for itself when your 2% Reward clears the $65 fee difference over Gold Star. That is $3,250 a year at Costco, roughly $63 a week.
If you are not spending that much at either place, don’t pay for the upgrade tier. The 2% is a rebate on money you already spent. It is not free money.
Here’s what they don’t tell you. Neither club’s 2% counts everything. Costco Executive Reward excludes gas at most Costco stations, Costco Shop Cards, some services, and purchases separately rewarded through the Costco Anywhere Visa. Sam’s Cash tracks a lot but excludes tobacco, gift cards, most postage, and a set of other categories. Read the terms before you assume your grocery run counts.
Do this now. Pull your Costco or Sam’s Club purchase history for the last 12 months. Multiply by 2%. If that number is less than your upgrade fee ($65 Costco, $60 Sam’s), drop to the basic tier at renewal. If your total spend at either club is under $2,000 a year, cancel the membership. A neighborhood grocery run with a strong cashback card will beat it.
Which club? If a Costco is close and you use the pharmacy, the Kirkland brand, or the gas discount, Costco. If you want the lower fee, curbside without a special app, and Scan and Go checkout, Sam’s Club. The 5% fee gap is real but small. What kills or makes the membership is your yearly haul, not the plastic.
Renewing on autopilot without shopping either club much? That’s the club’s bet. A $60 to $130 annual fee for something you may not be using. Cancel this week.
How Candid Yak makes money. Some of the products we write about pay us if you apply or sign up through our links. That never changes our verdict, our rankings, or the numbers in this article. We call a bad deal a bad deal whether it pays us or not. Some brands shown in our comparison tools are placeholder examples while we finalize partner agreements, and we label them as such.