The Surprising Way Becoming a Sam's Plus Member Saved Me Money

Sam's Club offers two different membership tiers. The Club membership costs $50 annually and the Plus membership costs $110 annually. The Plus membership comes with lots of added perks including 2% cash back on qualifying purchases (up to a maximum of $500 annually) as well as early shopping and extra pharmacy savings.

Not too long ago, we upgraded our Club membership to a Plus one to score a better deal on eyeglasses. But, this upgrade also came with another major benefit -- and it's one that's made a big impact in making saving money even easier.

Here's what it is.

The Plus membership at Sam's Club has saved me a fortune

When I upgraded to the Plus membership, one of the perks that I was most excited about is that I now get access to free shipping on most online orders. That wasn't the case before.

As the Sam's website indicates, regular Club members get no-cost delivery only on items with a special "Free Shipping" badge. But, Plus members get free shipping on pretty much everything they buy, with no order minimums either. I've been able to order everything from paper towels to cereal to televisions and more -- and have everything sent directly to my door.

This is a huge benefit because, unlike Costco, Sam's Club sells items at the same price whether they are purchased online or in-store. So I don't hesitate to order pretty much everything online now.

Why is free shipping from Sam's Club such a good thing?

Shopping online and getting everything shipped for free has an obvious benefit of course, I don't have to pay to get products sent to my door. But there are actually a few specific ways this feature has saved me money, beyond just not having to pay for shipping.

1. It's more convenient to order from Sam's so I can take better advantage of the available deals. When I had to drive to the club before, sometimes I'd just end up purchasing things from Amazon or while I was already at the grocery store, even if I knew they were cheaper at Sam's. I'm not tempted to do that anymore since I can just log onto the website and have the items sent to me.
2. I don't have to visit the club in person so I'm not tempted by impulse buys. It's hard to resist throwing a few extra items into my cart in the store, but this isn't an issue online when I can just search for exactly what I want to buy.
3. I don't have to pay for gas money to drive to Sam's. I've cut down on my visits to the warehouse club, which is about a 15-minute drive from my house, so I'm spending less on the gas to get there.

For these reasons, upgrading to the Plus membership was worth it to me. I've noticed that since upgrading to the Plus membership, my credit card bills for groceries and household items have consistently been around $20 to $30 per month lower compared to what they were before -- and that adds up over time.

If you're on the fence about becoming a Plus member, think about whether the free shipping could also come with other money-saving benefits for you. Those benefits, plus the cash back and other special perks you get, may be enough to more than justify the added costs.