Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Sam's Club Members - Ditch Those Discover Cards!

     Some friends of mine run a small business and purchase all of their business related items at Sam's Club. They asked me how they could save more by using my MaxCashBack methods.  I learned that they did have a Discover card, and were using this credit card (the only one accepted by Sam's Club) to make all of their purchases.  They thought that they were getting 2% cash back.
     I did a little research and learned that Discover has one of the least attractive cash back rewards systems of the major cards.  See my post earlier this month on Best Cash Back Rewards cards here.  To make a long story short, one does not even begin to earn 1% cash back on a Discover card until after $6000 in purchase have been made.
     So, what does a loyal Sam's Club member have to do to get the type of savings I routinely find with other merchants?  The light bulb finally went off in my head today.  USE A WALMART GIFT CARD!!  Because Sam's Club is owned by Walmart, all Walmart gift cards are honored by Sam's Club, both online and in stores.  These gift cards can be readily purchased at a discount (see how to do this and save 5-10% here). Better yet, these gift cards can be purchased using a good cash back rewards credit card like the Chase Freedom Visa card or the Fidelity American Express card through any of the gift card resellers.
     Now, Sam's Club members can realize big cash back savings like the rest of us, instead of settling for the 0.25-1% cash back rewards typically earned by Discover card holders.  Let me know in the comments below if you found this tidbit of information helpful.  Thanks!

2 comments:

  1. They don't accept wal-mart card at my sams club. Webster, TX.

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  2. Jonathan, I checked at Walmart's website and here is what it said:
    Where to Use a Walmart Gift Card

    Walmart Plastic Gift Card
    You can use a Walmart plastic Gift Card that has a PIN at any Walmart store and online at Walmart.com. Sam's Club members can also use a Walmart plastic Gift Card that has a PIN at any Sam's Club store location in the United States as well as online at Samsclub.com. If your card does not have a PIN, you can use it only in a Walmart store or Sam's Club.

    Walmart eGift Card
    You can use a Walmart eGift Card at Walmart.com, and Sam's Club members can also use it online at Samsclub.com.

    The website is at: http://www.walmart.com/cp/Using-a-Gift-Card/538428

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