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Walmart is taking shots at Amazon and Costco with a new membership bundle for Sam's Club

Walmart storefront exterior shows the spark logo above signs reading “Walmart” and “Outdoor.”
Walmart is now bundling memberships with Sam's Club.

Dominick Reuter/Business Insider

  • Walmart is offering a new membership bundle that combines Walmart Plus and Sam's Club Plus.
  • The new combo includes both memberships for less than the price of a Costco Executive membership.
  • A key feature of each membership is their increasingly fast delivery services.

Walmart rolled out a perk for its Plus membership programs, taking a shot at rivals Amazon and Costco.

The retail giant said Tuesday that it is offering a membership bundle that includes Walmart Plus and Sam's Club Plus for $120 per year.

That means existing Sam's Club Plus members now effectively get Walmart Plus included, and Walmart Plus members can add the premium-level club membership for an additional $22.

CEO John Furner took a not-so-subtle jab at Amazon and Costco in a statement announcing the news.

"Consider what people may be paying today: $139 for a retail membership with delivery. $130 for a warehouse club," he said, referring to their respective fees.

Walmart has been taking sharp aim at both retail competitors, with membership perks that overlap in several areas, like streaming entertainment, pharmacy services, and deals from partner businesses.

The biggest perk for Plus members — whether at Walmart or Sam's Club — is an increasingly fast delivery operation that fulfills orders from stores and clubs in as little as 30 minutes. Some orders have arrived in fewer than 10 minutes.

"The bundled offering screens as another signal of WMT pushing more value into its overall ecosystem, and highlighting its rapid delivery capabilities," Mizuho analyst David Bellinger said in a note.

Walmart doesn't disclose membership counts or fee revenue, but Mizuho estimates the chains have about 25 million Walmart Plus members and 30 million Sam's Club members. The bank also estimates an overlap of about 10% between Walmart and Sam's Club members.

Globally, Costco reported more than 150 million membership cardholders, and Amazon is estimated to have more than 220 million Prime members.

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I've been a Costco executive member for 11 years. I swear by these 7 freezer staples for quick, family-approved meals.

Freezers full of frozen fruit at Costco.
We swear by Costco's selection of frozen fruit.

Allison Lau

  • I'm a diehard Costco fan who's had an executive membership for 11 years.
  • My family swears by the store's freezer section for easy breakfasts, quick appetizers, and snacks.
  • Some of our favorite products include Kirkland Signature frozen fruit and Bibigio spring rolls.

With a busy schedule and a hungry family, I'd be a mess if it weren't for Costco's extensive frozen options.

I've been an executive member for 11 years, and I feed my family of four — my husband, my son, my mother-in-law, and myself — almost exclusively with Costco products.

We're diehard loyalists, thanks to the value, the store's wide selection, and our general trust in the products Costco stocks. We consider the store's freezers our cheat code to fast, balanced, and easy breakfasts, snacks, and dinner appetizers.

These are the staples we always have in the house and swear by.

Our days start with waffles.
Boxes of frozen Eggo waffles at Costco.
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Allison Lau

By far the most cherished meal of the day in our family is breakfast. In fact, I've somehow turned it into a DIY multi-course meal.

While I'm making a fruit smoothie — more on that soon — I toss Eggo's homestyle waffles in the toaster. They're a crowd-pleaser for kids and adults alike, and at Costco, I can buy a pack of 60 for about $11.

Frozen berries make smoothies an easy staple.
Packages of KIRKLAND Signature ORGANIC STRAWBERRIES are stacked in cardboard display boxes in a freezer case.
I always stock up on frozen strawberries.

Allison Lau

I love making smoothies with frozen fruit — and thankfully, Costco has tons of options.

I'm obsessed with Kirkland Signature's frozen organic blueberries. A bag costs $9.59, which works out to about $3.20 a pound. Blueberries have always felt like a luxury to me, so the fact that I can get them at such a great price will never not be exciting.

The frozen blueberries pair perfectly with Kirkland Signature's frozen organic strawberries. At my local store, these are even cheaper than the blueberries at $11.99 for a 4-pound bag, which works out to $3 a pound.

Fresh strawberries can fluctuate dramatically in price and availability in my area, so it's so reassuring to have consistent, delicious frozen options year-round.

I swear by frozen mangoes, too.
Nature's Touch Organic Mango bags sit in orange cardboard display boxes marked Peeled & Pitted.
mango tk

Allison Lau

This is our final frozen fruit fixation.

Our local Costco has been stocking organic frozen mangoes from Nature's Touch lately. I love that they're peeled and pitted, which takes so much of the work off my plate.

At $10.39 per bag, the mangoes work out to about $2.07 a pound. They're by far our cheapest frozen fruit in the freezer, and the most delightfully tropical.

We spice up the mornings with Annie's cinnamon rolls, usually as a weekend treat.
Stacks of purple Annie's organic cinnamon rolls multipack boxes are displayed on a store shelf.
cinnamon

Allison Lau

We discovered Annie's frozen cinnamon rolls when our two-year-old tried a free sample at our local store. His face lit up far too adorably for me to say no.

Now, whenever we feel like enjoying a fancier breakfast, I'll pull out a tube. Each tube comes with five reasonably-sized rolls, plus just the right amount of icing.

Our Costco sells packs of three tubes for $14.89, meaning each roll is under $1. Another free-sample success story!

Frozen appetizers like vegetable spring rolls are the fastest way to make our at-home dinners feel fancy.
Boxes of Bibigo vegetable spring rolls at Costco.
These spring rolls are a big hit with our vegetarian friends and family.

Allison Lau

I swear we eat meals other than breakfast. Bibigo's vegetable spring rolls are one of our favorite additions to any dinner. A box of 50 (yes, 50!) is $9.49 at my local store.

Appetizers have always felt like an indulgence in my family, so there's nothing better than pulling out a dozen spring rolls to snack on as we make dinner. Don't skip the sweet soy-ginger dipping sauce, either.

We also love Sukhi's Irresistible Indian Cuisine samosas.
Boxes of Sukhi's Irresistible Indian Cuisine samosas at Costco.
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Allison Lau

Samosas are delicious, but a food item I won't even try to make on my own. Luckily, I discovered Sukhi's Irresistible Indian Cuisine samosas at Costco. A box of 16 costs $15.99 at my nearest store.

These are a true crowd pleaser, especially when vegetarian family members are in town.

The potato-and-peas flavor, combined with the provided cilantro chutney, is truly divine.

Nothing's better than a Kirkland Signature ice-cream bar.
Boxes of Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars at Costco.
We're obsessed with Costco's ice-cream bars.

Allison Lau

Now I must wax poetic about my all-time favorite Costco freezer staple.

With creamy vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate, and a sprinkle of crushed almonds, Kirkland Signature's ice-cream bars are the perfect dessert, especially in the middle of California's perpetual summer heat wave.

I genuinely prefer these ice-cream bars over name-brand competitors. They're so coveted in our house that we have to take "Kirkland bar" shifts where each parent hides in the garage and enjoys their ice cream — or else we end up with an over-sugared, sticky toddler.

These usually cost $10.59 for 18 bars at my Costco, but they go on sale regularly. We always stock up.

Curious to know what other shoppers put in their carts? Check out our other Costco diaries here.

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