August 11 Warehouse Club Scorecard: Costco Keeps the Snack Lead, Sam’s Wins Paper
For Aug. 10–16, Costco is cheaper on the cleanest snack comparisons, Sam’s leads normalized paper prices, and BJ’s is worth a fuel stop only when your local pump confirms it.
For the Aug. 10–16, 2026 shopping week. These are public member-sale prices I could verify at publication time; warehouse, state, online, and account-level availability can differ.
Costco has the cleanest snack wins this week. Sam’s Club takes the paper comparison. BJ’s has a defensible fuel case, but not a merchandise win I can audit from its public coupon surface. That is a narrower result than a full three-chain catalog, and it is the honest one: the filter is an explicit sale or Instant Savings offer active during this week, not a regular shelf price wearing a deal headline.
Costco’s current Warehouse Savings book runs July 27 through Aug. 23, while the readable Sam’s Club Instant Savings roundup puts its current book at July 22 through Aug. 16. 12
Five decisions before you leave
- Facial tissue: Sam’s on normalized price. Costco’s Kleenex bundle is 10 boxes of 230 tissues for $17.99, or 78.2 cents per 100 tissues. Sam’s has 12 boxes of 160 for $14.44, or 75.2 cents per 100. Sam’s is ahead by about 3 cents per 100 tissues, though the box count and household fit are different. 12
- Toilet paper: Sam’s on square-foot price, not brand loyalty. Costco’s Charmin Ultra Soft is $23.99 for 775 square feet. Sam’s Quilted Northern is $20.98 for 824 square feet. That is about 3.10 cents per square foot at Costco versus 2.55 cents at Sam’s. Different brands mean this is a price reference, not proof that one paper feels better. 12
- Baby wipes: Costco on cost per wipe, with a brand warning. Costco lists Kirkland Signature wipes at $15.99 for 900. Sam’s lists Pampers Sensitive wipes at $21.48 for 896. Costco is about 1.78 cents per wipe versus 2.40 cents at Sam’s, but these are not the same brand or formulation. Treat this as a category proxy only. 12
The pattern is the useful part: Costco is cheaper where the comparison is an identical frozen product or a normalized snack pack. Sam’s wins the two paper lanes because its sale prices are lower after adjusting for contents. The “Costco is always cheapest” meme does not survive this week’s tissue and toilet-paper arithmetic.
Category scorecard
| Category | Verified live sale evidence | Call |
|---|---|---|
| Food | OREO 24 ct: Costco $6.59; Sam’s $7.66. Frito-Lay: Costco 54 ct at $14.89; Sam’s 50 ct at $16.48. | Costco for the same-count OREO and lower normalized chip price. 12 |
| Household | Kleenex: Costco $17.99 for 2,300 tissues; Sam’s $14.44 for 1,920. Toilet paper: Costco Charmin $23.99 for 775 sq. ft.; Sam’s Quilted Northern $20.98 for 824 sq. ft. | Sam’s on both normalized paper measures, with different pack and brand caveats. 12 |
| Electronics | Costco lists Bose Solo Soundbar Series II at $139.99 after $40 off and several Samsung U8000H TVs on sale. Sam’s late-summer event lists $300 off a Samsung 65-inch QN70FD TV through Aug. 16. | No same-SKU winner. The Samsung models differ; compare the exact model number and warranty before calling Sam’s cheaper. 13 |
| Tires | Costco advertises $80 off any set of four eligible Bridgestone tires, including installation. Sam’s public membership page confirms Tire & Battery Center benefits for Plus members but does not expose a comparable week-specific tire markdown. | Costco-only documented offer; no three-way winner. Get a local quote before treating the $80 as the lowest installed price. 14 |
| Travel | Costco Travel shows limited-time offers with book-by dates of Aug. 20 for a Maui package, Aug. 26 for Fiji, Aug. 30 for Disney Cruise Line, and Aug. 31 for general limited-time deals. | Costco deadline alert, not a three-way winner. No comparable public Sam’s or BJ’s member price and booking deadline was auditable for this week. 5 |
| Gas | BJ’s chain-average regular price was $3.714 per gallon across 202 stations in 22 states, with prices collected Aug. 11. AAA’s national regular average was $4.0116 the same day. | BJ’s route check, not a national three-way proof. Your station’s sign beats a chain average. 67 |
What the table leaves out
BJ’s public coupon and Smart Saver pages did not return a readable current item row with all four fields needed here: product, savings, net price, and expiration. I am not turning a category tile or a search snippet into a BJ’s winner. The same rule applies to warehouse-price photos: a Reddit Costco savings-book post surfaced in search but did not return auditable post data when opened, so no claim in this table rests on a photo-only confirmation.
That leaves BJ’s product coverage short of the channel’s normal three-way promise this week. It is a source gap, not evidence that BJ’s has no good coupon in your account. Check the BJ’s app before driving for merchandise, and treat any visible local coupon as account- or warehouse-specific until you can see its net price and expiration.
The cherry-picker’s route
One store: Choose Costco if the list is frozen snacks, packaged chips, Just Bare chicken, the Bose soundbar, Bridgestone tires, or an imminent Costco Travel booking. The frozen OREO deal is the cleanest identical-SKU win. The 54-bag Frito-Lay pack is cheaper per bag, but only buy it if your household actually goes through that much snack food.
Two stores: Add Sam’s for tissues and toilet paper, or if you want the lower-priced OREO alternative without making a separate Costco stop. Its book ends Sunday, Aug. 16, so this is the week to use the household deals rather than assume they will roll over.
BJ’s add-on: Make it a fuel stop when the station is already on your route and the pump confirms the advantage. The $3.714 chain average is a useful benchmark, not a promise for your ZIP code. I would not make a BJ’s merchandise detour on the public evidence available today.
For one- and two-person households, the cheapest pack is the one you can finish. A 54-bag snack mix, 24 frozen desserts, 900 wipes, or 2,300 tissues can be a good unit-price buy and still be a bad household purchase if it occupies the only freezer or sits unused for months. Perishables and bulky paper need a storage check before the checkout math.
Membership math: use the current fee, not last year’s
Costco Executive is $130 per year versus $65 for Gold Star, with a 2% reward on qualified purchases. The upgrade spread is $65, so the simple break-even is $3,250 in eligible annual spend. Fuel and excluded categories do not belong in that calculation. 8
Sam’s Plus is currently $120 per year versus $60 for Club and includes 2% Sam’s Cash on eligible in-club purchases. That makes the simple upgrade hurdle $3,000 in eligible annual spend. New members can currently see $55 for the first year of Plus and $25 for Club through Sept. 30, but that is an acquisition offer, not the renewal price. 49
BJ’s regular Club+ fee is reported at $120 versus $60 for Club, with 2% back on most purchases and 5 cents off each gallon at BJ’s Gas. On merchandise alone, the simple break-even is also $3,000. If you tried to recover the $60 upgrade spread through the 5-cent fuel discount alone, you would need about 1,200 gallons in a membership year. A current BJ’s opening-club offer shows a $65 Club+ promo, so check the price attached to your account before doing the calculation. 910
Next week’s expiration watch
The first cliff is Sam’s Instant Savings book: most of the rows above expire Aug. 16. Costco’s book continues through Aug. 23, so next Tuesday’s scorecard should lean harder on Costco unless Sam’s launches a new readable book. Costco Travel has separate booking cliffs on Aug. 20, Aug. 26, Aug. 30, and Aug. 31. BJ’s needs another check for an auditable merchandise coupon cycle.
For this week, the route is simple: Costco for frozen snacks and chips, Sam’s for paper, BJ’s for fuel only when the local pump agrees. The best deal is still the one your household can use before the bulk pack becomes clutter.
References
- 1Costco Warehouse Savings
costco.com
- 2Sam’s Club Instant Savings Book
thekrazycouponlady.com
- 3Sam’s late-summer electronics offers
usatoday.com
- 4Sam’s Club membership benefits
samsclub.com
- 5Costco Travel limited-time deals
costcotravel.com
- 6BJ’s gas price tracker
bjsgasprice.com
- 7AAA Fuel Prices
gasprices.aaa.com
- 8Costco membership fee and reward calculation
20somethingfinance.com
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