The
Sam's Club® Credit Card is a good credit card for Sam’s Club members with
good credit (
700+ credit score) who want to earn great rewards on gas and dining, including takeout. The card is worth getting, considering its rewards and
$0 annual fee. You just need to be sure to pay the bill in full each month, as the card’s high APR won’t affect you in that case.
5 Key Things to Know About the Sam's Club® Credit Card
You can enjoy great rewards in popular purchase categories.
Your Sam’s Mastercard will earn you 5% cash back on the first $6,000 that you spend on gas each year, plus 3% cash back on all dining purchases, and 1% back on everything else. So this Sam’s Club credit card is best when used only for those bonus categories. After all, 1% is just the
market average for a cash back card.
You can earn modest initial bonus.
You get
$30 statement credit when you open an account and spend $30 on Sam’s Club purchases within the first 30 days. That’s nowhere near the hundreds of dollars you’d get from the
market’s best credit card deals, but it’s better than nothing for frequent Sam’s Club shoppers.
You don’t have to pay an annual fee.
This saves you
$27.85 per year relative to the average credit card offer. But those savings will quickly go down the drain if you carry a balance from month to month.
You need to avoid interest charges.
Sam’s Club credit cardshave high interest rates. The exact APR you’re assigned depends on your creditworthiness, but you’re unlikely to get a rate that’s lower than average for your credit score.
For context, the average credit card for people with good credit charges
23.46%. Furthermore, Sam’s Club credit cards don’t come with a reduced introductory interest rate for new cardholders, but plenty of other credit cards have
0% APR promotions if you’re interested.
You need good credit to join the club.
The Sam’s Club Mastercard requires good or excellent credit for approval, which means you’d be wise to
check your credit score for free on WalletHub before applying. You need a 700+ credit score to have good odds of getting approved for the Mastercard. You aren’t necessarily out of luck if your credit’s not quite up to snuff, though.
The
Sam's Club® Store Card is available to people with fair credit or better, which means you have a good shot at getting approved if your credit score is 640 or higher. If you don’t get approved for the Mastercard when you apply, you’ll automatically get considered for the store card. It doesn’t have a separate application.
You have better options for most Sam’s Club purchases.
The Sam’s Club Credit Card only gives you 1% cash back on non-gas Sam’s Club purchases. You can easily earn twice as much by using a
credit card that gives a flat 2% rewards rate.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
