Some Sam's Club members quietly lose key benefit

There's lots to love about shopping at a warehouse club store like Sam's Club – the bulk discounts, the wide selection of items, and the fact that you can get your cardio workout for the week just by roaming the store. 

Sam's Club stores also tend to be less crowded than Costco stores. This isn't always the case. But generally speaking, crowds tend to be more of an issue at Costco, especially on weekends. 

Plus, if you don't want to deal with the hassle of shoving your way through a packed Sam's Club store, you don't have to.

Unlike Costco, Sam's Club makes curbside pickup available to its members. So if you're not in the mood to find parking and wait on what could be a long checkout line, you have another option.

Sam's Club members can retrieve their purchases curbside from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday. For even more convenience, Plus members can access curbside pickup an hour early each day.

Sam's Club offers shipping as an added perk

People who join a warehouse club store often do so because there's a location nearby with easy access. But for people who live in remote areas, it may not be feasible to get over to a store like Sam's Club on a regular basis.

That's where shipping comes in.

At Sam's Club, Plus members are eligible for free shipping on eligible orders of $50 or more. On orders below $50, Plus members pay a flat rate fee of $8, which is a pretty good deal.

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Regular club members, meanwhile, only get free shipping on items eligible for that promotion. Otherwise, there's a charge that can vary based on the items being purchased. But still, it's nice to know that the option exists.

Even when there's a cost to shipping, sometimes, the convenience factor makes it more than worth it. It's the same logic that makes platforms like DoorDash and UberEats so successful. 

A good 36% of Americans would rather pay more to have an item delivered instead of driving 10 minutes to get it, according to a recent Empower survey. So even though it may be less expensive to buy certain Sam's Club items in stores, in many cases, having them shipped makes sense.

Sam's Club has stopped shipping orders to certain states

Logic dictates that it's more of a challenge to ship items to Alaska and Hawaii than to the continental U.S. But now, Sam's Club members in Hawaii are losing out big time.

For many years, Sam's Club made shipping available to residents of Alaska and Hawaii. But more recently, members in those states have faced challenges ordering products online.

The Sam's Club's website explicitly states, "Shipping may not be available to Alaska, Hawaii, US territories (i.e. Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, etc.), and post office boxes."

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However, Hawaii members have noticed that the "may not be available" warning is putting things lightly. 

Earlier this year, Katelynn Gorton, a senior manager of corporate communications at Sam's Club, told KHON2, "We are no longer shipping items from SamsClub.com to members in Hawaii. Members can still access the most popular items ordered on SamsClub.com and enjoy a range of benefits and services at our Pearl City and Honolulu clubs."

Gorton said the company stopped shipping to Hawaii in mid-April of 2025.

Not surprisingly, many Sam's Club members took to Reddit to complain about the new policy.

"I understand a small company or some company that doesn’t do business here. But we are talking about Walmart," one frustrated user complained.

"Discriminating against Hawaii by restricting shipments is outrageous. We pay full membership but get treated like second-class customers. Even Walmart ships here! Sam’s club needs to fix this or lower our membership fees," said another. 

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The reason Sam's Club has stopped shipping to Hawaii most likely boils down to cost and logistical hurdles. Frustratingly for members, though, Sam's Club has yet to issue a statement on the exact of drivers of its decision. 

The end result, though, is that Sam's Club customers who reside in Hawaii may have to find a way to visit the store if they want to be able to use their memberships. Or, they may want to switch over to Costco, which does ship to Hawaii.

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