Sam’s Club Plus now comes with Walmart+ at no extra cost, and the combined membership costs $120 a year. That puts it $10 below Costco’s $130 Executive membership, giving grocery shoppers a new way to compare the two warehouse clubs ahead of the holiday stock-up season.
Walmart rolled out the bundle in late October, folding its delivery-focused Walmart+ program into the top tier of its warehouse club. Delish reported on Oct. 21 that the pairing gives Sam’s Club a notable edge in the long-running price battle with Costco.
A Warehouse Price Fight Years in the Making
Costco and Sam’s Club have spent years trying to out-price each other on the items shoppers notice most. Delish pointed out that the two chains’ food court hot dog combos cost the same and that a Sam’s Club rotisserie chicken costs just one cent less than Costco’s, which leaves membership perks as one of the few places left to stand apart.
Sam’s Club was founded on April 7, 1983, in Midwest City, Oklahoma, as Sam’s Wholesale Club and was named after Walmart founder Sam Walton, according to Wikipedia’s entry on the chain, which lists about 600 clubs in the United States. Its parent company is now using Walmart+ as the lever in that rivalry, just as many households start planning holiday menus and bulk grocery runs.
The timing suits people who finish holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, and bulk buyers weighing a chest freezer for the extra food can check which home appliances are worth buying new rather than from a thrift store.
What the $120 Membership Includes
According to Supermarket News, the new Walmart+ with Sam’s Club Plus package includes access to Sam’s Club and its Member’s Mark private-label products, free delivery from both Walmart and Sam’s Club, a choice of Peacock or Paramount+, savings of 10 cents a gallon at more than 17,000 participating fuel stations, and 2% Sam’s Cash on eligible purchases.
Existing Sam’s Club Plus perks are not changing, Delish reported. Plus members can shop two hours earlier than other members, get early access to online deals and receive free shipping and delivery on qualifying orders over $50. They also earn 2 percent Sam’s Cash on qualifying in-club purchases, capped at $750 a year.
Early shopping hours matter most for families who buy in bulk, since a big warehouse run fills a cart fast and the pantry even faster. Shoppers who plan for that tend to lean on clever storage hacks that maximize every inch of space and on freezing fresh green beans and other produce so large packs do not go to waste.
The Walmart+ Side of the Bundle
Walmart+, which launched on Sept. 15, 2020, according to Wikipedia’s entry on the service, was built as a competitor to Amazon Prime and other delivery programs. Delish reported that it includes free shipping and delivery, cash back on select purchases and at-home returns, along with discounts on Burger King orders, online pet care, streaming and auto-related perks. Walmart has never disclosed how many people subscribe to the service, according to Wikipedia.
For grocery shoppers, the delivery piece carries the most weight. Weekly essentials can come from Walmart while bulk staples come from Sam’s Club, all under one fee. Shoppers curious about the other end of that supply chain can read about what a big chain actually does with its unsold produce.
How the Price Compares
The Sam’s Club membership page lists the Plus tier at $120 a year and the basic Club tier at $60 a year. At Costco, the membership page lists the Gold Star membership at $65 a year and the Executive membership at $130 a year plus applicable sales tax, with a 2% Reward of up to $1,250 on qualified Costco purchases.
That leaves the top tiers $10 apart. Sam’s Club’s cap on its 2% cash back is lower, at $750 a year, while Costco’s higher cap only comes into play for households spending heavily at the warehouse. The difference is that the Sam’s Club price now also covers a full Walmart+ membership. For shoppers who only want warehouse access, the basic tiers sit even closer together, at $60 for Sam’s Club and $65 for Costco.
Supermarket News put the separate prices at $98 a year for Walmart+ and $110 a year for Sam’s Club Plus, or $208 combined, so the $120 package represents $88 in annual savings for anyone who would have paid for both. The retailer described the bundle as nearly $100 less than buying the two memberships separately.
How Current Members Can Switch
New members can join the bundle for $120 a year. Existing Walmart+ annual members can add Sam’s Club Plus for $22 more a year, and Sam’s Club members can upgrade to Plus for an extra $60 a year and get Walmart+ included, Supermarket News reported. Current Sam’s Club Plus members can turn on Walmart+ at no additional cost.
Shoppers who already pay for both programs can link their Walmart+ and Sam’s Club accounts, and most are eligible for a prorated Walmart+ refund, the company said. Walmart and Sam’s Club field associates in the United States also receive both memberships as part of their benefits, according to the announcement.
Supermarket News cautioned that the package’s value depends on how often members use the services and whether the perks fit their shopping habits, since delivery availability and eligible purchases can vary. For a household that already shops at both Walmart and Sam’s Club, the bundle mostly trims a bill it was paying anyway; for a Costco loyalist, it is a $10 question about where the weekly grocery run happens.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Caldorwards4 – Public domain/Wikimedia Commons
