Warehouse club weekly ads: Sam's Club vs BJ's savings books

Warehouse club weekly ads aren’t really weekly. BJ’s runs savings books that last about a month, and its books overlap: in early October 2026, one ran from September 8 to October 11 and the next from September 29 to November 1. Sam’s Club runs on a shorter cycle with its own start day. If you shop a club like a grocery store, checking once a week, you either miss deals or see the same ones twice.

This guide compares how Sam’s Club and BJ’s publish their deals, which coupons each one accepts, and how to plan a club trip around them.

1. Compare the two clubs at a glance

Sam’s Club and BJ’s both sell in bulk to paying members, but their footprints and their deal calendars differ.

	Sam’s Club	BJ’s Wholesale Club
Clubs	About 600	About 260
Where	44 states and Puerto Rico	21 states, mostly the East Coast
Deal calendar	New ad on Thursday	Savings books of about a month
Coupons	Instant Savings, applied at checkout	BJ’s coupons plus manufacturer coupons

Club counts from each company’s latest published figures. Ad timing from the valid dates on each club’s flyer, as collected on USA Weekly Ads.

Sam’s Club is owned by Walmart. BJ’s is a public company based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and its clubs reach from New England down the East Coast and into the Southeast and Texas. If you live in the Northeast, you may have both within a short drive.

2. Read a BJ’s savings book

BJ’s doesn’t change its ad every week. It runs Smart Saver books that last about a month, and a new one often starts before the old one ends. That overlap is easy to miss.

BJ’s book	Runs
Smart Saver book	Sep 8 to Oct 11, 2026
Smart Saver book	Sep 29 to Nov 1, 2026

From the valid dates on BJ’s flyers in fall 2026.

For the first two weeks of October, both books were valid at once. That’s good news: you get two sets of deals for the same trip. It also means the ad on the club’s front door may not be the only one you can use.

3. Know which coupons each club takes

This is the biggest difference between the two clubs, and it changes how much you can save.

BJ’s accepts manufacturer coupons, including newspaper inserts, on top of its own coupons. According to the BJ’s coupon policy, you can combine a BJ’s coupon with a manufacturer coupon on the same item. BJ’s digital coupons load to your membership in the app or on bjs.com and apply automatically at checkout, in the club or online.

Sam’s Club works differently. Its discounts, called Instant Savings, come off automatically when your membership is scanned. There’s nothing to clip. For its policy on outside coupons, check Sam’s Club’s own help pages before you bring a stack of inserts.

Here is an example of how a BJ’s stack can add up on one item.

Regular shelf price

$24.99

Smart Saver book price

−$4.00

BJ's digital coupon

−$2.00

Manufacturer coupon

−$2.00

You pay

$16.99

You save 32%

The numbers are an example, not a current price. The point is that a club that takes manufacturer coupons gives you one more layer than a club that doesn’t. The combined discount can’t be more than the item’s price, and rules can change, so read the current policy once.

4. Plan one trip per book

Warehouse club trips are big. Bulk packs, a long drive, and a cart that fills fast. The goal is fewer, better-planned trips that line up with the deal calendar.

The unit math step matters more than it looks. A club price is not always the lowest price. A front-page loss leader at a grocery store can beat a club’s bulk price for that week. Compare the price per ounce, per count, or per pound before you load the cart.

5. Decide where Costco fits

Costco does not publish a traditional weekly ad. Its member savings come in a coupon book that changes about monthly, and you can see the current one on our Costco page. If you have a Costco membership too, the same habits apply: read the end date of each deal, compare unit prices with your grocery store, and plan one trip per savings period.

Bonus: what to buy at the club, and what to skip

Bulk only saves money if you use it all. A few rules of thumb:

• Good club buys: paper goods, laundry and cleaning supplies, and pantry staples you use every week.
• Freezer-friendly buys: meat you can split and freeze, if you have the space.
• Careful buys: fresh produce, dairy, and bread, unless your household will finish them before they spoil.
• Skip: anything you’re trying for the first time. A giant pack of something you don’t like is no deal.

Where to start

Open your club’s current ad and note its end date. If you shop BJ’s, check whether a second book is running at the same time.