Layout:
Home > BJ's. Not what you think... or is it?

BJ's. Not what you think... or is it?

September 8th, 2024 at 02:22 am

Ok, I just want to gripe real quick about the membership wholesale warehouse retail box store place thingie that is BJ's.

Whenever I go there, which isn't frequent, but when I do, it always shows at the check-out that my membership expires on the end of September.

However, the linked membership card / credit card shows that the annual renewal fee is at the beginning of September.

Wait, let me make sure I have this straight: The membership renewal portion is due on the end of September.   The annual fee portion for the credit card is due on the beginning of September.  I think.

The whole thing is just confusing enough that I even had to re-type some of the sentences above.  And that's what I find annoying here.  I just don't go to BJ's enough to have to worry about all this.  I'm going to cancel soon, even though it costed me $55 in renewal fee... but is that for the credit card, the warehouse membership, or both???

12 Responses to “BJ's. Not what you think... or is it?”

  1. Lots of ideas Says:
    1725832195

    Do you have a BJs credit card with an annual fee of $55 that includes a BJs membership?

    What does a standalone BJs membership cost?

    Do you get other benefits from the BJs credit card? Like 2% cask back on what you buy there, 1% if you use it somewhere else?

    It makes sense that if you are paying a credit card annual fee that it would renew in early September and an associated BJs membership would have started after you opened the card and be later in the month.

    There are plenty of no fee credit cards so if you are paying a fee you need to examine whether the benefits outweigh the cost. Depending on your spending habits, they might.

    Also if you have had the card for a while, or have balances on other cards, cancelling the credit card might affect your credit score so take that into account before canceling.

  2. Tabs Says:
    1725876905

    Excellent points! Yes, the card does actually have cash back, but so does my regular credit card and that one is not limited to just BJ purchases. That is why I haven't been using BJ's credit card.

    When I first signed up, they were running a 50% promotion for membership fees, but I had to sign up for their credit card as well. Uh, maybe I didn't fully understand what they were explaining to me at the time, but I think two are tied together? Regardless, I'm just ready to drop both to save on the annual fees and simplify my financial life. I just don't go to BJ's enough to warrant paying for it.

  3. disneysteve Says:
    1725929444

    The credit card and the club membership are two totally separate things so I wouldn't expect them to expire on the same date.

    If you don't go to BJs regularly, it sounds like it's not worth maintaining the membership or the CC.

    Personally, we shop there regularly so we get great value from our membership. I also try to get gas there whenever I can as they are always about 10 cents cheaper than the cheapest station around. I won't go out of my way for it but if I'm in that area when I need gas, I'll go there.

  4. Tabs Says:
    1726075144

    Hey Steve, how is life? Doing well I hope, but I am sure you are.

    Yeah, I've been trying it for a year, and so far, all I have really done is stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, and water occasionally. Their rotisserie chicken is nice too though, but overall, that's about it.

  5. disneysteve Says:
    1726082447

    "Hey Steve, how is life? Doing well I hope, but I am sure you are.

    Yeah, I've been trying it for a year, and so far, all I have really done is stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, and water occasionally. Their rotisserie chicken is nice too though, but overall, that's about it."

    I'm doing well. I retired in June and am spending my time doing a lot more reselling on ebay and more.

    A number of years ago, we used Groupons to join both Costco and BJs for a year. We visited each multiple times to check out their products and see how we liked them. We quickly realized that Costco wasn't for us but BJs was. They sell a lot more products that we use and in sizes that make sense for us. My wife was on an OTC medicine for quite a while and just the savings on that alone more than covered the cost of membership. She no longer takes it but we get enough other stuff there to still be worth it. We don't go weekly but at least once a month we go and stock up on the items that we like from there.

  6. Tabs Says:
    1726084902

    Congrats on retirement, Steve! Hope you are enjoying it. How was the adjustment to retirement, by the way?

  7. disneysteve Says:
    1726097901

    Thanks. Yes, I am enjoying it. My adjustment was very easy but I was fortunate to have a job that allowed me to gradually cut back. I dropped from FT (36 hrs/4 days) to PT (24 hrs/3 days) in August 2021. Then in fall 2022 I dropped to Per Diem where I had no set schedule. I just picked shifts I wanted. I mostly did 8 hrs/wk, sometimes 12, sometimes 4 or 0 when there weren't any shifts I wanted or we were traveling. In January 2024 I tried cutting back to 4 hrs/wk and after doing that for a little while I realized it was silly to continue so I gave notice in February at my annual review to retire in June (we were required to give 120 days notice).

  8. Tabs Says:
    1726186137

    Really glad to hear your transition was very easy. I hear it isn't always so for everyone, and it wasn't easy for my dad either. I am hoping to smooth land mine eventually as well.

  9. PatientSaver Says:
    1726877781

    I've been a BJs member for probably 4 or 5 yeas now but I refuse to pay full price ($55) for their membership fee. So I stock up on the few items I do like to buy there in the month leading up to my expiring membership, so I can go 3 months fairly easily.

    Then I'll watch for their half-price deals on facebook or elsewhere. I do like their gas prices, which are always the lowest in my area. I don't have their credit card though.

  10. Tabs Says:
    1726882003

    Patient: I cancelled their credit card, but my membership status is still good until next year. I only got the credit card because, at the time the "sales rep" told me it was the only way to get the membership discount. I think I paid $25 that time? The gas discount is certainly nice.

  11. patientsaver Says:
    1726918493

    Oh, that credit card is not the only way to get the membership discount! I considered the credit card, too, but I did some quick calculations of how often I buy gas, at how many gallons, x a year, and it didn't add up to as much as I could save with, say, an upfront bonus credit card that paid you $200 after you charged up a given amount of purchases in the 1st 3 months.

  12. Tabs Says:
    1726924555

    Patient: See, I had a feeling that was the case. The way the sales lady explained it to me seemed a bit fishy, but ultimately, it didn't cost me anything to sign up, and now it's gone with no harm done.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]