Do You Need a Membership to Shop at Sam’s Club?

Do you need a membership to shop at Sam’s Club? For almost everything in the club, yes. Only members can buy in a club, but the pharmacy, eye exams and alcohol are open to anyone, and non-members can order online as guests for a 10% surcharge.

A Club membership costs $60 a year. For a few shoppers, the workarounds below cost less than that.

Who can buy inside a club

Inside the club, the card is the rule. Sam’s Club’s guest policy lets a member bring up to two guests, but only the member can buy anything.

So a guest can walk the aisles and fill the cart, and the member pays at checkout. The member is also responsible for anything a guest opens or damages.

Self-checkout is no workaround either. Sam’s Club’s Scan & Go help page says guest memberships can’t use Scan & Go at all.

An expired card doesn’t count either. Sam’s Club’s terms, updated October 20, 2026, say members who don’t renew by their renewal date can’t shop in clubs, online or in the app, and a 10% non-member surcharge may apply to purchases after the expiration date.

Where no card is needed

A few counters serve everyone, membership or not.

• The Sam’s Club pharmacy fills prescriptions for non-members. Only the online digital pharmacy needs an active membership.
• The independent optometrists next to the optical centers see non-members. Buying the glasses or contacts afterward takes a membership, as the Sam’s Club optical guide explains.
• Beer, wine and liquor are open to everyone where the club sells them.
• A small number of fuel stations sell to the public, either because they sit next to a Walmart or because local law requires it.

The alcohol rule comes straight from Sam’s Club’s alcohol page, which carries this disclaimer.

The Cafe is a gray area. GOBankingRates noted in 2025 that the Sam’s Club food court is open to everyone, but ordering it in the app takes a membership.

Everything with a service bay is members only. The tire and battery center requires an active membership for any service, and most fuel stations do too.

Shopping online as a guest

Non-members can order on samsclub.com with a guest membership, which Sam’s Club calls a free trial of online shopping. You create a guest account at checkout.

The fine print adds up. Every guest order carries a 10% surcharge and misses member-only savings, guests can’t use Curbside Pickup, and guest orders aren’t covered by Sam’s Club’s 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Some products, services and promotions are also reserved for paid members.

Here’s where the membership wins. By my math, $600 of guest orders in a year costs $60 in surcharges, the same as a Club membership, and that’s before the member-only prices you’d also miss.

Instacart without a membership

Instacart is the other back door. Sam’s Club’s Instacart page says customers can shop a local club through Instacart without a membership.

You pay for the convenience twice. Sam’s Club says Instacart prices run higher than in the club, and that members who add their membership number pay less than non-members.

Instacart does take Apple Pay and Android Pay for these orders, according to the same page, which club registers are only now starting to accept.

Sharing one membership

The easiest legitimate way to shop without your own membership is to be someone’s household cardholder. Every Sam’s Club membership, Club or Plus, includes a second card for a person in the same household.

Beyond that, members can buy add-on memberships for $55 a year each, and each add-on gets its own complimentary card, according to Sam’s Club’s terms. On a Plus account, add-on members still carry Club-level cards, so they don’t get Plus perks.

Getting in for less

If you’d rather just join, there are cheaper ways in than the regular $60 Club fee.

• People on SNAP, TANF, SSI, Medicaid and other assistance programs can get a discounted first year after verifying through ID.me. The window that ended October 19, 2026, priced it at $20 for Club or $50 for Plus, so check whether a new one is open before you join.
• Seniors, teachers, students, first responders and military members get similar ID.me offers in windows, covered in the current membership deals.
• A member can give you a year of membership with a “Gift of Membership” gift card, or refer you through Sam’s Club’s referral program.

Joining is also low risk. Sam’s Club’s terms promise a refund of the current year’s fee at any time if you’re not satisfied, so you can try a year and ask for the money back if the club doesn’t earn its place.

Prices, fees and policies were checked when this guide was last updated and can change without notice. Sam’s Club Tips is an independent site and is not affiliated with Sam’s Club or Walmart Inc.