Sam’s Club drops its hot dog combo to $1.38 to beat Costco at its own game

If the current costs of your favorite foods is hard to stomach, just head to Sam’s Club, which is actually lowering the price on one of its most popular cafe items.

Previously priced at $1.50, the Sam’s Club hot dog combo is now only $1.38. The combo includes a hot dog and 32-ounce drink with free refills. That means you can start your shopping trip with a hot dog and soda, grab all of your essentials, then get a refill for your drive home.

The hot dogs served in the cafe are Member’s Mark Beef Franks and are the best-selling hot dog in the club. A Sam’s Club spokesperson tells Don’t Waste Your Money that each hot dog weighs 1/4 pound and is made with high-quality beef with no by-products, MSG, or artificial colors or flavors.

While you do have to be a member to shop at Sam’s Club, you actually don’t need to a membership to eat at the cafe. Just head to your local Sam’s Club and you can enjoy the deal even without shopping or making any other purchase.

The lower price comes a few months after, according to MarketWatch, competing warehouse club Costco said its plans to keep its $1.50 price tag for its own popular hot-dog-and-soda combo for “a little longer – forever.”

Costco’s combo has been priced at $1.50 since the 1980s, even as food prices have risen consistently since then.

“I know it sounds crazy making a big deal about a hot dog, but we spend a lot of time on it,” Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal told The Seattle Times in 2009. “We’re known for that hot dog. That’s something you don’t mess with.”

According to CNN, in order to keep the $1.50 price tag, Costco has found ways to save money on other items in the food court, like switching from 12-ounce soda cans to cheaper 20-ounce fountain drinks.

Have you ever purchased a hot dog combo at Sam’s Club or Costco?