13 Sam’s Club Perks North Carolina Members Forget They Have

You pay for your Sam’s Club membership every year, despite the price increase.

But odds are you’re using about half of what your membership gives you.

Here’s what North Carolina Sam’s Club members have been leaving on the table.

Scan and Go

The longest part of any Sam’s Club trip is the checkout line, and you can skip it entirely.

The Scan and Go feature in the Sam’s Club app lets you scan each item with your phone as you load your cart.

When you’re done, you pay right there in the app and walk out, flashing a code at the greeter on your way to the parking lot.

No belt, no cashier, no waiting behind a flatbed cart stacked with forty rolls of paper towels.

Once you’ve done it on a busy Saturday at the Concord or Cary club, you’ll never go back to the regular lanes.

Free Curbside Pickup

You don’t have to set foot inside Sam’s Club at all if you don’t want to.

Order online or in the app, pick a time, and pull into the curbside spot.

A Sam’s Club employee wheels your order out and loads it into your trunk while you sit in the air conditioning.

For Plus members, it’s free with no minimum. Club members get it free on orders over $50.

On a sticky July afternoon in Fayetteville, having somebody else haul your bulk order out to the car is worth its weight in gold.

The Hearing Aid Center

This is the one people walk past for years without noticing.

Most Sam’s Clubs have a hearing aid center staffed by licensed professionals, with free hearing tests for anyone 19 and up.

You don’t even need a membership for the test itself.

The hearing aids run far less than what you’d pay at a specialty shop, and cleanings and adjustments are free.

About one in eight Americans deals with meaningful hearing loss, so this matters to a lot of us.

The Sam’s Clubs in Charlotte, Greensboro, Hickory, and Mooresville all have centers, and there are more than 400 nationwide.

The Pharmacy

The Sam’s Club pharmacy is one of the better-kept money-savers in the building.

Plus members can fill more than 600 generic prescriptions starting at just $4.

The pharmacy also handles your flu shot, your shingles vaccine, and many of the other immunizations you need, often with no appointment.

You’re already walking past the pharmacy on your way to the bulk cereal.

Might as well let it save you money on your medications too.

The Optical Center

Right next to the pharmacy sits another perk people forget: the optical center.

You can get an eye exam, then use your Plus membership for 20% off a pair of eyeglasses and free shipping on contact lenses.

The frames cost a fraction of what the mall optical shops charge, and the exam gets you a current prescription while you’re at it.

Knock out your eyes, your medications, and your grocery run in one stop.

That’s a good Tuesday.

Members-Only Gas Prices

That fuel station out front of the club earns its keep.

Sam’s Club members pay less per gallon than the going rate around town, and with gas prices high, those savings add up quickly.

You can even pay at the pump straight through the Scan and Go app without digging out your card.

Fill up on your way out after a big shopping trip, and the gas savings alone can chip away at what a Sam’s Club membership costs you.

Instant Savings

Sam’s Club runs digital discounts called Instant Savings, and they get applied automatically.

These are manufacturer markdowns on items all over the store, from laundry detergent to patio furniture, and you don’t clip a thing.

The catch is that you have to know they’re there.

Browse the Instant Savings section in the app before you shop, and you’ll spot deals on stuff you were already going to buy.

It’s free money the store is handing you. Take it.

2% Sam’s Cash

If you’ve got a Plus membership, Sam’s Club pays you to shop there.

Plus members earn 2% back in Sam’s Cash on qualifying in-club purchases.

As of spring 2026, the yearly cap on that reward jumped from $500 to $750, so there’s even more to collect.

The money sits in your account waiting for you to use it on a future trip or your membership renewal.

A lot of folks forget to spend it. Don’t be one of them.

Free Shipping and Delivery

Your membership reaches well past the front doors of Sam’s Club.

Plus members get free shipping on eligible online orders and free same-day or next-day delivery from the local club on qualifying orders.

Club members can get that delivery, too, for a small fee.

So when you run out of something between trips, you don’t have to drive all the way out to the Winston-Salem club for one item.

The heavy stuff, the bulky stuff, the forgot-it stuff. Let them bring it to your door.

Early Shopping Hours

Plus members get to shop at Sam’s Club before the doors open to everybody else.

The early hours start around 8 a.m., a full hour ahead of the crowd.

The aisles are clear, the samples are fresh, and you can maneuver one of those oversized carts without a traffic jam.

For anyone who’d rather be in and out before the Saturday rush hits the Durham or Raleigh club, this perk alone can make the Plus upgrade worth it.

Early bird gets the parking spot, too.

The Free Household Card

Your membership covers two people, not just one.

Every Sam’s Club membership comes with a complimentary household card you can hand to your spouse, your grown kid, or whoever shares your roof.

It carries the same benefits as yours, gas savings and all.

A second card at no extra charge means two of you can run trips, earn the rewards, and fill up at the member price.

If that second card is still sitting unactivated in a drawer, you’re leaving value behind.

The Tire and Battery Center

Buying tires at Sam’s Club comes with more than just the tires.

Installation, balancing, rotation, flat repair, and road hazard coverage are bundled in, which is the kind of thing the corner tire shop charges extra for line by line.

Plus members save even more on the installation package.

Between the long hauls to the coast and the mountain drives up toward Asheville, North Carolinians put miles on a set of tires.

Letting Sam’s handle them is one less errand and one smaller bill.

The Cake and Flower Counter

Here’s the one that saves the day when you’ve got an event coming.

The Sam’s Club bakery turns out custom cakes and party trays for a fraction of what a dedicated bakery charges, and the floral department sells bulk flowers cheap enough that people plan whole weddings around them.

Graduation parties, church potlucks, a big Carolina cookout, a baby shower.