Almost every time I go to Sam’s Club I’m either asked by an
employee or prompted by the checkout monitor to upgrade to the Plus
membership. I always say no, mostly
because I’m cheap, but I decided to take a closer look online to see if the
extra $55 was worth it.
Here’s what you get for the extra money:
Extra Protection plan – You get an extra year of coverage
but only if you purchase a protection care plan. I don’t know how much that costs, but I
always say no to protection plans.
Early Shopping Hours – I don’t think I need to pay extra to
get in the store before 9am. Plus there
are no sample people in there then.
Optical Plus Benefit - $50 off your first pair of glasses,
if you buy a year supply of contact lenses.
I don’t wear contacts.
Extra Value Drug List – Receive extra discount on select
prescription drugs. I’m pretty healthy
and may only take a prescription drug once every other year.
Cash Rewards – 2% cash back, up to $500 per year. If I spent $2750 or approximately $53/week at
Sam’s club, then that would give me enough cash back to cover the extra $55
upgrade cost to get the Plus Membership.
I don’t think I buy that much in protein bars, bananas, and toilet paper
in a year.
Verdict: Stick
with the $45 Sam’s Club membership. I
don’t think that the average family would benefit financially from upgrading to
the $100 Plus membership. The only
reason I’d upgrade would be if I had the need to purchase a very expensive item
during the year where I’d be sure that I’d spend more than $2750 throughout the
year.
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