If you were hunting for a bargain back in the day, you probably remember that 2019 was a weirdly aggressive year for warehouse clubs. Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart, was in the middle of a massive identity shift. They were trying to out-tech Costco and lure in a younger, more mobile-savvy crowd. This wasn't just about cheap rotisserie chickens anymore. It was a digital arms race.
Looking back at Sam's Club membership deals 2019, the strategy was clear: give the membership away for basically nothing to pad the subscriber numbers. Honestly, it worked. People who had never stepped foot in a warehouse club were suddenly flash-mobbing the aisles for bulk paper towels.
The Year of the "Free" Membership
The most famous deal that year—the one everyone was texting their friends about—was the $45 membership offer that came with a $45 gift card. You’ve gotta love the math on that. You pay forty-five bucks upfront, and they hand you a plastic card worth exactly that much to spend on groceries. It was essentially a net-zero entry fee.
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But Sam’s Club didn’t stop there. They started layering on the perks. Frequently, that 2019 promotion included a "free" rotisserie chicken and a pack of gourmet cupcakes. If you timed it right, you weren't just getting a free membership; the store was technically paying you in poultry and sugar to shop there.
Why would a multi-billion dollar entity do this? It's all about the ecosystem. Once you have the card in your wallet, or more importantly, the app on your phone, you’re part of their data set. 2019 was the year Sam’s Club leaned hard into "Scan & Go." They realized that if they could get you into the store with a "free" deal, they could hook you on the convenience of skipping the checkout line. It's a classic loss-leader strategy, but applied to the entire membership structure rather than just a gallon of milk.
Stackable Savings and the Groupon Factor
Groupon and LivingSocial were the unsung heroes of the Sam's Club membership deals 2019 era. You could almost always find a "bundle" there. Usually, it looked something like this: a $35 or $45 price point, but it included a $20 e-gift card and vouchers for specific items like a 1.5lb tray of Member's Mark Beef Franks.
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The complexity of these deals was actually a bit of a hurdle for some folks. You had to buy the Groupon, wait for the email, click a specific activation link, and then—this was the kicker—visit the membership desk in person to get your physical card. It wasn't the seamless digital experience we have now in 2026. It was a bridge between the old-school warehouse model and the digital-first approach.
How 2019 Changed the Warehouse Club Wars
Back then, the rivalry between Sam’s and Costco was peaking. Costco has always had the "treasure hunt" vibe and a die-hard fan base. Sam’s Club knew they couldn't beat Costco on prestige, so they beat them on tech and entry price.
By flooding the market with Sam's Club membership deals 2019, they forced a lot of Costco loyalists to at least carry both cards. I remember talking to a retail analyst around that time who pointed out that Sam's was focusing heavily on the "last mile." They were testing grocery delivery through Instacart and improving their curbside pickup, which, let's be real, was a lifesaver when the world changed just a few months later in early 2020.
The 2019 deals weren't just random discounts. They were an acquisition campaign for a digital platform. If you look at the fine print of those 2019 vouchers, they almost always required you to turn on "Auto-Renew." That’s the secret sauce. They give you the first year for free, hoping you’ll forget to cancel when the $45 or $50 hit comes twelve months later.
What People Got Wrong About the Deals
A lot of people thought these deals were a sign of desperation. They weren't. Sam's Club was actually seeing some of its best comparable-store sales growth in years during 2019. The "deals" were an investment. By sacrificing the $45 membership fee, they gained a customer who would spend, on average, several thousand dollars a year on high-margin private label goods like Member’s Mark.
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- The "Plus" Membership Upsell: Most of the 2019 deals were for the "Club" level (the basic tier). Once you were at the desk, the employees were trained to pivot you to the "Plus" membership.
- Cash Back: The Plus tier offered 2% back on qualifying purchases. For a family spending $500 a month on groceries and gas, the math started to favor the higher tier, even without a "deal."
- Early Shopping Hours: This was a huge 2019 perk. Plus members could get in at 8:00 AM, while the "deal" hunters had to wait until 10:00 AM.
The Legacy of the 2019 Pricing Model
If you're looking for similar savings today, you have to understand that the landscape has shifted. We don't see the "$45 for $45" deals as often because the brand doesn't need to give it away anymore. They’ve proven the value of the Scan & Go app.
However, the DNA of those 2019 promos lives on in the "Instant Savings" books. Back in 2019, these were literal paper booklets. Now, they're baked into the app. But the philosophy is the same: aggressive, rotating discounts on bulk items that make the membership fee feel irrelevant.
I've spent a lot of time analyzing retail trends, and 2019 stands out as the last "normal" year before the supply chain went haywire. The deals were simpler. The shelves were full. And the membership wars were fought with gift cards and rotisserie chickens. It was a golden age for the budget-conscious shopper who didn't mind jumping through a few digital hoops.
Actionable Steps for the Modern Deal Hunter
If you're trying to replicate the value of those Sam's Club membership deals 2019 in the current market, you have to be a bit more surgical. The "free" entry is rare, but the "effectively free" entry still exists if you know where to look.
- Check Secondary Platforms: While Groupon still carries Sam's deals, check your credit card's "Merchant Offers" section (like Chase Offers or Amex Offers). It’s common to see a $20 or $25 statement credit for a new Sam’s Club membership.
- The "Cancel and Wait" Strategy: Sam's Club is very aggressive with "Win-Back" offers. If you let your membership lapse, you’ll often see an email within 30 to 60 days offering a discounted rate to return—sometimes as low as $25.
- Utilize the App Exclusives: In 2019, Scan & Go was a luxury. Now, it often features "App Only" savings. If you aren't using the app while walking the aisles, you're literally leaving money on the table.
- Watch for "Teacher and Military" Promos: Sam's Club consistently offers specialized deals for these groups that often mirror the deep discounts of the 2019 era, usually involving a $20 or $30 gift card upon joining.
- Evaluate the "Plus" Math: Don't just take the basic deal because it's cheap. If you spend more than $250 a month, the 2% cash back on the Plus membership will usually pay for the membership itself, making every "deal" you get after that pure profit.
The 2019 membership blitz taught us that the "price" of entry is always negotiable in the warehouse world. Whether it's through a gift card, a free chicken, or a statement credit, you should almost never pay the full sticker price for a membership.