The latest on Sam's Club membership renewals

[bbodb1]

Now I know we are Costco-centric around these parts, but there are still some of us who live on the frontier (i.e. out of Costco range..) and have to depend on other means to replenish the cabinets.... (although I do want to note that like oxygen, Costco is coming to Arkansas - but it is taking FOREVER and a day...until then).

We have held Sam's Club membership for many years and most of them at the Plus level for two main reasons - the extra rebates one earns on purchases in the club AND the lower prescription drug prices. But it is interesting that this year, as annual memberhsip renewal time is here, there are NO promotions to reduce the cost for the PLUS level of membership. In the past few years, there were always promotions to help offset the $100 annual membership cost. This year - nothing.

I'll probably renew - at least for one more year - for the reasons mentioned above but I do find it odd that this year, Sam's seems to be foregoing any and all membership renewal promotions at the plus level. (There are some at the lower level, but none at the Plus level).

Is anyone finding any discounts for Plus level membership renewal?

 

[kwelty]

This isn't for the Plus membership but I thing you can upgrade from the basic which can be had for free(kinda). We usually do these deals by using my name one year on the membership and my wife the next as the main member.
From the Clark Howard website:

Get a new Sam's Club membership for $25

Right now at Groupon, you can save 50% on a new Sam’s Club membership, which drops the price to $25! Note that customer service is only available online if you order through Groupon. Here are the steps to redeem a Groupon voucher. In addition, at StackSocial, you can get up to $60 in rewards...

clarkdeals.com

Save big on a Sam’s Club membership!
For a limited time, Sam’s Club is offering big savings with a new Sam’s Club membership. Right now, you can get $45 off your first in-club purchase when you join for $45. The $45 savings will be loaded onto your new membership account within 72 hours of membership.

 

[controller1]

It's not necessarily a promotion but I enjoy the Sams.com free shipping that comes with the Plus membership.

 

[chellej]

When we lived in houston I had both costco and sams club. I preffered sams club and after one year dropped costco. Now we are in costco country and there are no sams club so costco is our only option.

 

[isisdave]

Ours renewed in November and there was no promotion, nor do I remember one in years past. We're in SoCal -- location might matter.

Costco renewed last week and was $120. Also no promotion. We might drop back to standard on that one as they've discontinued in-store photo service, which leaves only chickens and bagels that are better than Sam's.

 

[bbodb1]

It's not necessarily a promotion but I enjoy the Sams.com free shipping that comes with the Plus membership.

I am with you on that @controller1 - we have used the free shipping and taken advantage of the prescription discounts as well on many occasions.

 

[Beachclubmum]

We have both. Sam’s is nice for gas when travelling as there are more of them around. I joined with a half off discount then renewed with my mom...the $22. each is more than offset on gas savings for us. Plus I like the variety at Sam’s.

Costco is farther away for us but we get back way more than what we pay for membership with the 2 rebate checks each year.

 

[bbodb1]

I can see where holding membership in both clubs would be advantageous for us - especially as we retire and (hopefully) travel more and one club may be handier than the other. We will definitely get a Costco membership prior to our upcoming trips this summer as we are headed to Oregon.

 

[controller1]

We have both. Sam’s is nice for gas when travelling as there are more of them around. I joined with a half off discount then renewed with my mom...the $22. each is more than offset on gas savings for us. Plus I like the variety at Sam’s.

Costco is farther away for us but we get back way more than what we pay for membership with the 2 rebate checks each year.

Speaking of gasoline . . . not sure how many of you are familiar with Top Tier gasoline. Sam's Club/Murphy's is not Top Tier while Costco/Kirkland is Top Tier.

TOP TIER - High-quality Fuel Performance Standard - TOP TIER™

TOP TIER is developed and enforced by some of the leading automotive manufacturers and supplied by participating fuel retailers.

toptiergas.com

 

[dioxide45]

I suspect they have seen a banner year and since more people are shopping there in 2020/2021, they see no reason to offer any discounts. Especially without a viable nearby competitor.

 

[geist1223]

I can see where holding membership in both clubs would be advantageous for us - especially as we retire and (hopefully) travel more and one club may be handier than the other. We will definitely get a Costco membership prior to our upcoming trips this summer as we are headed to Oregon.

If you partake of Hard Liqour make sure you stop at a Costco before you get to Oregon. Oregon Costcos only sale Beer and Wine.

 

[dougp26364]

Speaking of gasoline . . . not sure how many of you are familiar with Top Tier gasoline. Sam's Club/Murphy's is not Top Tier while Costco/Kirkland is Top Tier.

TOP TIER - High-quality Fuel Performance Standard - TOP TIER™

TOP TIER is developed and enforced by some of the leading automotive manufacturers and supplied by participating fuel retailers.

toptiergas.com

I've heard/read this about Costco gas. However, we have 2 older Saturn's that have always been picky about gasoline quality. In short, the gas gauges don't work with lower quality gasoline. We've found we either have to buy regular gas at Stations Like Shell, Phillips 66 or, in our neck of the woods, a convenience store known as QuikTrip. Otherwise it needs to be premium grade gas.

To that end we were excited about Costco's "Top Tier" gasoline and the price discount. Guess what? Our gas gauges won't work unless we buy premium grade from Costco, just like all the other cheap gasoline spots like our grocery store. Needless to say, our feelings on their "Top Tier" is, in reality, "Same Tier" as all the other discount gasoline in town.

As for the difference between Costco and Sam's Club, our local Sam's Club ticked me off several years ago with their complete lack of service. It eventually came to a head when I was confronted by an over zealous employee when I was in need of a car battery. In the end I handed him my Sam's Club membership card, and when he asked me what I wanted him to do with it, I told him to shove it as far up his back side as he could (I was more graphic) and walked away. That's been over 20 years ago and I haven't stepped foot onto their property since nor do I have any intention of going back. That isn't the only reason but it was when it came to a boiling point. I refuse to put up with poor customer service at any price, which is why we've stopped shopping at Walmart, Sears and Kmart over the years, even though we use to spend thousands of dollars yearly with each of them at one point in time. Life is to short to be treated as if we're not at least slightly important to the business.

 

[controller1]

I've heard/read this about Costco gas. However, we have 2 older Saturn's that have always been picky about gasoline quality. In short, the gas gauges don't work with lower quality gasoline. We've found we either have to buy regular gas at Stations Like Shell, Phillips 66 or, in our neck of the woods, a convenience store known as QuikTrip. Otherwise it needs to be premium grade gas.

To that end we were excited about Costco's "Top Tier" gasoline and the price discount. Guess what? Our gas gauges won't work unless we buy premium grade from Costco, just like all the other cheap gasoline spots like our grocery store. Needless to say, our feelings our their "Top Tier" is, in reality, "Same Tier" as all the other discount gasoline in town.

As for the difference between Costco and Sam's Club, our local Sam's Club ticked me off several years ago with their complete lack of service. It eventually came to a head when I was confronted by an over zealous employee when I was in need of a car battery. In the end I handed him my Sam's Club membership card, and when he asked me what I wanted him to do with it, I told him to shove it as far up his back side as he could (I was more graphic) and walked away. That's been over 20 years ago and I haven't stepped foot onto their property since nor do I have any intention of going back. That isn't the only reason but it was when it came to a boiling point. I refuse to put up with poor customer service at any price, which is why we've stopped shopping at Walmart, Sears and Kmart over the years, even though we use to spend thousands of dollars yearly with each of them at one point in time. Life is to short to be treated as if we're not at least slightly important to the business.

As to poor customer service, if I stopped shopping at all places that had poor customer service I might as well stay home. Oh, wait . . .

I wish we had QuikTrip/QT in Louisiana! We loved those stores when we lived in Tulsa.

 

[dougp26364]

As to poor customer service, if I stopped shopping at all places that had poor customer service I might as well stay home. Oh, wait . . .

I wish we had QuikTrip/QT in Louisiana! We loved those stores when we lived in Tulsa.

Maybe I should have said exceptionally poor customer service.....

 

[Snazzylass]

As for the difference between Costco and Sam's Club, our local Sam's Club ticked me off several years ago with their complete lack of service. It eventually came to a head when I was confronted by an over zealous employee when I was in need of a car battery. In the end I handed him my Sam's Club membership card, and when he asked me what I wanted him to do with it, I told him to shove it as far up his back side as he could (I was more graphic) and walked away. That's been over 20 years ago and I haven't stepped foot onto their property since nor do I have any intention of going back. That isn't the only reason but it was when it came to a boiling point. I refuse to put up with poor customer service at any price, which is why we've stopped shopping at Walmart, Sears and Kmart over the years, even though we use to spend thousands of dollars yearly with each of them at one point in time. Life is to short to be treated as if we're not at least slightly important to the business.

Know that I am standing and cheering for all Walmart and any other places you no longer darken their doors. Hear my whistle and cheers loudly

No one gets paid enough to put up with your nonsense, especially no one working retail. Next time, save it for the Executive office or at least a manger (understanding I do not understand the details of any of these situations

 

[pittle]

We have has Sam's Membership since 1992 when they opened one in Topeka, KS. With Sam's, we have the Plus Membership and the CC that gives us cash back at the end of the year - we also get cash back on other things with just our Plus Membership that usually starts showing up at checkout in September. Since my membership renews in November, I usually use that to to renew. I love that as a Plus Member, I can go early in the morning and beat the crowds. Also, the Scan & Go is awesome - it does run my phone battery down if I am there for a long time, but I have learned to just do my things in batches or when I am done shopping. No going through the checkout line. Our Sam's also has great pick-up service and you can schedule when you want to pick it up. I also use the free shipping. The staff at our Sam's is very nice and most have been there for several years.

We got a Costco Membership when we moved to the Phoenix area in 2007. The Costco was 5 miles further up the same highway and we tended to use Sam's more because of convenience. There is now a new Costco about the same distance as Sam's in the opposite direction and we have gone a few times since it opened in October. We upgraded to the higher membership one year, but found that we did not save enough to justify the extra $, so cancelled it.

Costco has some things that I prefer as does Sam's.

Because of the location, we tend to buy gas at Sam's as it is near Lowes, Home Depot, and not far from other places we go regularly. Sam's also lets you use Scan & Go when you buy gas. Scan the QR code and start pumping.

We will keep both memberships just because. When we travel, we can pop into either and get what we need.

 

[geist1223]

If you do not buy enough to get back the difference between a regular Costco Membership and Executive then go to the customer Service Desk. One year that happened to us and the Customer Service Desk refunded the difference. So you can not lose money. Also with the Costco Visa you get back 4% on gas where ever you buy it. With the Executive Membership and Costco Visa you get back 2% on each for every Costco purchase so total of 4%

 

[dougp26364]

Know that I am standing and cheering for all Walmart and any other places you no longer darken their doors. Hear my whistle and cheers loudly

No one gets paid enough to put up with your nonsense, especially no one working retail. Next time, save it for the Executive office or at least a manger (understanding I do not understand the details of any of these situations

Speaking as the one of us that was there, the guy and his attitude had it coming. It was his attitude that directed my actions at him, not corporate. The guy had an overdeveloped sense of importance and used that in an attempt to push me. Had he spoken to me professionally, it would not have been as big of a deal. I’d have just stopped shopping with Sam’s the same way I stopped shopping at Sears and Kmart.

Be careful of passing judgement when you’re not there. You might not know what your talking about. As you have said, no one needs to put up with that, and certainly NOT the customer.

 

[Monykalyn]

(although I do want to note that like oxygen, Costco is coming to Arkansas - but it is taking FOREVER and a day...until then).

Made me LOL!
finally getting a Costco here in Springfield MO-and reminds me I need to drop the Sams membership-we save more with HyVee with sales (and can use the discount at Casey's).
With Amazon Prime I haven't been in a Sams club in a year-no sense paying for something I don't use. Used to use them to buy the occasional Annual Pass to Disney-would snatch up vouchers right after the usual price increase before it trickled down to sams club...

 

[mcsteve]

Back in Dec I got an email from Sam’s extending my membership for a year at NC. I only shop there when traveling and we all know that travel has been less for many of us this past year. I haven’t stepped foot in a Sam’s club since Nov 2019 so perhaps this was why. Also, being Canadian they may have done this for us northerners as the land boarders have been closed for almost a year.

“We know that COVID-19 has made it hard for you to shop at your nearest Sam’s Club in the U.S., so we’ve extended your membership for free for one year. Our members mean so much to us, and we hope this helps make things a bit easier.

Next time you log into your membership account online or in the Sam’s Club app, you’ll see that your membership renewal date has been extended a year.”

 

[Beachclubmum]

In the past I’ve hated the horrible customer service at Sam’s too (we had a work provided account back then). I even refused to shop there for many years. But now, with scan and go, I’m such a happy camper! In and out and never a line to wait in. All I need to get gas at the pump is my phone...it automatically charges to my cc. I wish Costco would offer something similar.

 

[bbodb1]

In the past I’ve hated the horrible customer service at Sam’s too (we had a work provided account back then). I even refused to shop there for many years. But now, with scan and go, I’m such a happy camper! In and out and never a line to wait in. All I need to get gas at the pump is my phone...it automatically charges to my cc. I wish Costco would offer something similar.

I agree on Scan and Go - it was indeed an experience changer for me as well. Now I did not know you could use the Scan and Go function for gas purchases too but I have found better deals on gas at some of the local stations. However, I will keep this in mind on future trips - thanks for the info @Beachclubmum!