Why Reddit Says To Cancel Your Costco Membership & Do This Instead

Even Costco's biggest fans can get impatient with the crowds sometimes. The warehouse retail chain's reputation for good prices and friendly customer service have left many locations overcrowded at peak business hours, frustrating longtime customers. Some folks online are even considering dropping their Costco memberships and switching to Sam's Club.

Thinner crowds are undoubtedly a benefit for shoppers, but Sam's Club arguably makes checking out more convenient, too. In a Reddit thread comparing the two chains, several users pointed out the scan-and-go option at Sam's Club, which allows you to scan items with your phone as you pick them up, then pay quickly once you're done. Compared to Costco's famously long checkout lines, this sounds pretty appealing. As the Reddit poster wrote, "That alone makes Sam's miles better than Costco."

If you want to skip the aisles altogether and just collect your items from the store, Sam's Club offers curbside pickup, which only certain Costco locations do. Sam's Club also offers a major purchasing convenience for the credit card mavens among us: Costco only accepts Visa and most debit cards, but Sam's Club takes all major credit cards with U.S.-based addresses (excluding territories).

Shopping and checkout may arguably be easier at Sam's Club, but what about the quality of its store-label products? In another Reddit thread, one user wrote, "A lot of Members Mark items seem to have improved their quality and I would say that most items are at minimum equal to [Costco's] Kirkland Signature." Another Reddit post specifically noted that the fresh meat at Sam's Club is, in many cases, superior to Costco's beloved but hit-or-miss meat department.

Hot food is also an important part of the big-box shopping experience, and when it comes to rotisserie chickens, Sam's Club pulls ahead once again. Daily Meal ranked 12 grocery store rotisserie chickens, and the well-seasoned Sam's Club bird placed one slot ahead of Costco's version.

When we compared the food courts at Costco and Sam's Club, we found that the former was generally better, but the latter was more affordable. That's a matter of taste, however, and tastes can change. Several commenters in another Reddit thread expressed that they prefer the pizza at Sam's Club (especially its four-meat variety) over Costco's pepperoni slices. However, even though it's slightly more expensive, most people on Reddit seem to prefer Costco's $1.50 hot dog combo to the $1.38 version from Sam's Club.