Update: Is Sam’s Club Plus Worth It?
A few weeks ago I wrote about if the Sam’s Club Advantage Plus membership is worth it. To recap, a plus account adds “eValues”, which are digital coupons, to your account. You log into your Sam’s Club account online (or at an in-store kiosk) to see what’s available. From there, you are able to email or print the items on the list. All you need to do is buy the items and the discounts appear at the register. According to Sam’s Club eValue FAQs, “eValues means $300 in guaranteed savings. With eValues, you have the opportunity to save an additional $200 a year on top of the savings you already enjoy.”
Checking back on the eValues page, I now have $378 in “savings”. Unlike last month, I am noticing a few useful items that I would actually buy. This would include $2 off paper towels and $3 off toiletry products; none of which I would have bought during my next trip.
I guess a $5 savings is a start. I only $15 more in eValues to go before I recoup my costs and two more months until I renew my membership. Will I choose the Advantage Plus membership again? If the eValues do not become more relevant to my shopping; probably not.
Here’s a PDF of the eValues page. Keep in mind, a lot of the items listed have restrictions such as “you may choose 1 of the following 5 eValues”. An example of this would be the Pampers Cruisers diapers. You can choose sizes 1-6 and save $3 on any one. However, you cannot buy size 5 and 6 and expect to save $6.
I will be posting another update after I obtain some more eValues. Have you found savings with Sam’s Club eValues?
Tags: coupons, Sam's Club, Savings, Worth it?
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August 10th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
[...] posted an update to this topic in another blog post: “Update: Is Sam’s Club Plus Worth It?” Please check it [...]
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Has anyone else noticed that the price of the items goes up to cover the evalue discount? For instance, today my evalue was $1.00 off chips–normally two bags for $4.98, but today they were 2 bags for $5.98. I’m waiting to see if the price goes back down when the evalue discount is over…
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:01 pm
That’s a very interesting observation Jill. When I was trying out eValues, I did not notice any price fluctuations. I joined the program in the early stages, so I’m sure they were still ironing out any “problems”.
However, after a few months into the program, I noticed the prices going up everywhere else. My gallon of OJ went up by $1 and the same went for the cat litter. As of right now, I’m browsing the weekly flyers to see what’s on sale. I’ve really limited my visits to Sam’s Club to once every two or three months. Hands down, they still hold the key when buying large canned goods. Where else can I get 6 pounds of tomatoes in a can for roughly $3?
March 8th, 2011 at 8:08 am
I love your articles. For the past two weeks I’ve been debating about signing up for a Sam’s Club membership. I’m a mother of two, soon-to-be three, and I have pets, so of course the answer is yes, but which one? Your articles have helped a bit. Right now I could pay $100 for one year of a plus membership or $40 for a year of a normal membership. I can’t see these eValues being worth $60, or at least, not for a while. That’s 20 packs of those 12 ct. paper towels, for example. That is almost 2 packs a month, and I surely don’t use THAT many paper towels. The big box of diapers will be nice, but my sons are potty trained and my daughter is not a twin, so I’ll only need one occasionally. Thank you for your insight and providing the pdf. I really wanted to see the inside stuff before I signed up! Using the logic I’ve formed thus far, I think a normal account will be just fine for this family
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Thanks, I owe you $60
March 11th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
I’m glad I was able to help you make an informed decision, Evi!
April 26th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
We found that a subscription with “Amazon mom” was significantly cheaper than buying diapers from Sam’s, under $30 for the big boxes and it gives you a free Amazon Prime subscription.
Like Evi I was considering the Plus membership and this page, unlike the actual Sam’s club page, actually shows something of what the savings are like, so thanks.
October 10th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
i found it’s impossible to save enough with evalue to offset the extra cost to upgrade. eValue is supposed to be tailor made based on one’s shopping habits, personally i don’t see that. wondering if other eValue members feel the same?
i went to Sams Club today and ask to cancel my Plus Member and asked if I’d get a full refund and was told that the Plus membership was charged to my Discover Card and i’d have to deal with Discover Card for the membership refund?? I’d think that the membership and membership charges are with Sams Club!! Frustrating, for sure I will not continue with the Plus membership and forget about those eValue savings that will never make up the extra cost.
November 12th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
the membership charges are with sams club but Discover (GE) issues the refund.