Sam’s Club Plus members now get Walmart+ at no added cost, and the $120 annual price of the higher Sam’s tier has not changed. Walmart announced the bundle on October 20 and made it effective the same day. Shoppers who paid for both memberships separately were out about $218 a year, so the change is a price cut for them.
What the $120 membership now includes
Walmart’s announcement says Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Plus together cost $120 a year, almost $100 less than members paid for the two separately. Walmart+ lists at $98 a year on its own. Sam’s Club Plus, at $120, was the more expensive of the two before the bundle.
The combined membership covers Sam’s Club access with member-only pricing, free delivery from Walmart and Sam’s Club, and a choice of Peacock or Paramount+, with one ad-supported service selectable every 90 days. It also gives 10 cents off per gallon at more than 17,000 participating gas stations, and 5 to 10 cents in Alabama.
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Plus members also earn 2 percent in Sam’s Cash on eligible purchases, up to $750 a year, according to Walmart. Delivery has order minimums: $35 at Walmart and $50 at Sam’s Club. Orders below those amounts fall outside the free-delivery benefit.
Who pays what to get it
The path depends on what a shopper already holds. Sam’s Club Plus members activate Walmart+ at no additional cost. Club members at the $60 tier upgrade to Plus for $60 more a year and get Walmart+ included, which brings them to the $120 price.
Walmart+ annual members can switch to the combined offer for $22 more a year. Members already paying for both can link their accounts, and Walmart says most are eligible for a prorated Walmart+ refund. Joining, upgrading or linking is done in the Walmart or Sam’s Club app or at walmart.com/plus/samsclub.
Doctor of Credit’s October 20 report adds a caution that Walmart’s release does not: the lower Sam’s Club tier at $60 a year does not include Walmart+. Only the Plus membership does. The report also says the bundle is not offered as a monthly Walmart+ subscription, so it is an annual commitment.
Doctor of Credit adds that holders of both memberships can merge them and receive a prorated refund for the remaining Walmart+ time, and that Walmart+ members can upgrade for a prorated fee to add Sam’s Club Plus. The report says the sign-up is processed as a Walmart+ sign-up rather than a Sam’s Club one, a detail Walmart’s release does not address.
The announcement also notes that U.S. field associates at Walmart and Sam’s Club receive both memberships as a benefit.
How the bundle compares with the separate prices
Walmart+ on its own costs $98 a year, or $8.17 a month on the annual plan, according to Walmart’s membership page, with a 30-day trial for $1. Students and recipients of qualifying government assistance pay $49 a year. The page lists free delivery on orders over $35 and says annual members save an average of $382 a year, a figure that excludes the fee.
Walmart’s own comparison sets the bundle against $139 for a retail membership with delivery, $130 for a warehouse club and $129.99 for a standalone streaming service. Those numbers describe what the company says shoppers would otherwise pay. They are not a promise of savings for any particular household.
Doctor of Credit’s author called the deal not especially strong unless a shopper values the higher Sam’s Club tier. The bundle is a better value for someone who would buy Sam’s Club Plus anyway, since Walmart+ becomes an add-on at no cost. For someone who only wants Walmart+, the $98 plan remains the cheaper way in.
Who should look twice before switching
Card perks can overlap with the new offer. Doctor of Credit notes that the bundle is of little help to people who already get Walmart+ free through an American Express Platinum or Business Gold card, since they would pay $120 for a membership where part of the value is already covered.
The same report floated the possibility that using an enrolled Amex card at Walmart might return $49, bringing the cost to $71, but the author labeled that unconfirmed. It is not a published Walmart or Amex term, and a shopper should not count on it when deciding whether to join.
Walmart’s CEO, John Furner, said the company is giving people “a reason to expect more from their memberships.” The company also said the change is not expected to materially affect its fiscal third-quarter or full-year guidance from August 20, so Walmart does not expect the extra value to move its results.
Whether the $120 is worth it comes down to one number: how often the household uses the two stores. Delivery, fuel savings and a streaming service add up only if they replace spending that would have happened anyway. A shopper who joins and then rarely shops pays $120 for perks left unused.
Is the $120 bundle covering costs a benefit already could?
A membership bundle saves money only if the household really uses it, and the savings stop at the checkout. Many retirees also have costs, such as groceries, heating and Medicare premiums, that opt-in programs can reduce without a yearly fee.
This story is about store memberships, and The Benefits Checklist finishes a related job: finding which household-cost programs a retiree can apply for. It scans 11 benefit programs, including SNAP and heating help, with the 2026 income limits and a 50-state phone directory.
Compare 11 household-cost programs with the Benefits Checklist →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 21 Ways Retirees Can Raise $1,000 Fast Without a Job
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
