Costco vs Sam’s Club: The Membership Rules People Get Wrong
I’ve already covered whether the membership fee pays for itself and which club is cheaper on eggs, milk, and meat. This one is about the rules themselves, because two of the most-searched questions about these memberships have answers that surprise most people.
Do seniors get free membership at Costco?
No, and this trips people up constantly. Costco does not offer a senior discount on membership at all, at any age. Gold Star runs $65 a year and Executive runs $130, the same for a 25 year old and a 75 year old (Chowhound, 2025).
Do seniors get free membership at Sam’s Club?
Not free, but genuinely discounted, and this is almost certainly what people searching “Costco senior discount” actually meant to look up. Adults 50 and older who are new members (meaning no active Sam’s Club membership in the past six months) can get a Club membership for $20 in the first year and a Plus membership for $60, verified through Sam’s Club’s ID.me portal. Sam’s Club raised its standard prices in May 2026, to $60 for Club and $120 for Plus, and kept the senior first-year price unchanged, which means the discount actually got bigger, not smaller (Budget Seniors, 2026). Active military members and spouses qualify for the same rate.
One warning worth repeating: ads on social media offering a $10 or $15 senior membership are not real. The verified minimum has been $20 for years, available only through Sam’s Club’s own site (Budget Seniors, 2026).
So where does the “$20 Costco membership” search come from?
It’s almost certainly a mix-up. Costco has never offered a $20 membership, senior or otherwise. The $20 price people are finding online belongs to Sam’s Club’s senior discount above. If a page or ad promises a $20 Costco membership specifically, treat it the way you’d treat the $10 Sam’s Club ads: as bait, not a real offer.
Can I use my spouse’s Costco card if they’re not there?
Only if you’re the second cardholder on the account. Each Costco membership comes with one free household card for a second person living at the same address, and that person can shop alone with their own card. What you can’t do is hand your card to a spouse, roommate, or anyone else who isn’t the named second cardholder and let them shop as you (The Motley Fool via The Globe and Mail, 2024). Since 2024, Costco has been scanning membership cards at the entrance and checking photo ID at checkout specifically to catch this (NBC News, 2024).
What actually happens if you get caught using someone else’s Costco card?
Nothing criminal, but it’s more than a slap on the wrist. Costco’s stated policy is that membership is non-transferable and that they “reserve the right to refuse, decline or cancel a membership at any time” (Reader’s Digest, 2025). In practice, reported consequences range from being asked to show ID and stopped at checkout, to the card being confiscated on the spot, to the account being flagged and the membership canceled outright. Some members have reported the block applying system-wide, not just at their home warehouse, after repeated violations.
Costco vs Sam’s Club: which is actually stricter about this?
Costco, clearly. Its entrance scanning and checkout ID verification rolled out specifically as an anti-sharing measure and is now standard across locations. Sam’s Club relies more on its Scan & Go mobile app for checkout, which several members describe as a smoother experience with less friction at the door, though Sam’s Club membership is technically non-transferable too. If avoiding a card check is a priority, that’s a real difference between the two, though not one worth building a decision around.
The short version
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Costco senior discount | Doesn’t exist |
| Sam’s Club senior discount | $20 Club / $60 Plus, first year, new members 50+ |
| “$20 Costco membership” | Doesn’t exist; people mean Sam’s Club’s senior rate |
| Sharing your card | Against the rules at both, enforced far more strictly at Costco |
If you’re 50 or older and shopping for the first time in six months, Sam’s Club’s senior rate is the one legitimate “cheap membership” deal in this whole category. Everything else claiming $10, $15, or a Costco version of it is either outdated or fake. And if you’re tempted to hand your card to someone else at the door, know that Costco specifically built its entrance scanning to catch exactly that.
