Sam’s Club is a discount warehouse retailer owned by
If you’re curious if getting gas at Sam’s Club is worth it, we’re here to answer your most pressing questions.
Sam’s Club has over 600 locations across the United States (and Puerto Rico), many of which have their own fuel stations. They offer quality gas at a lower price for their members.
In this article, we will discuss the prices and quality of Sam’s Club gas, their hours of operation, quality, gas center locations, and other commonly asked questions.
Table of Contents
Where Can I Find A Sam’s Club Fuel Center?
Sam’s Club has locations in 44 states, the states that Sam’s Club does NOT operate in include:
- Alaska,
- Massachusetts,
- Oregon,
- Rhode Island
- Vermont, and
- Washington.
However, if you live in any of the other 44 states, it is possible there is a Sam’s Club near you.
Many of these locations have their own fuel center! However, every location doesn’t have a fuel center, but you can check this information online through the Sam’s Club “Club Finder.”
Simply go onto the website, click the filter for “Fuel Center,” and enter in your location to see if there is a Sam’s Club near you that has a fuel center.
This is the best way to see if there is a fuel center near you, otherwise you would need to drive around to all of the Sam’s Club in your area.
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What Hours Are Sam’s Club Fuel Stations Open?
While many fuel stations are open 24 hours or close to that, this isn’t true for Sam’s Club fuel centers. They have select hours of operation. The standard fuel center hours are:
- 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Saturday, and
- 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
While these are the standard hours, some fuel centers may have unique hours that differ from this rule. You can check the hours for your closest fuel center by visiting the “Club Finder.”
Once you find your club you can find information about the fuel center hours for your specific location.
It is also important to note that these hours don’t reflect Holiday hours.
While the fuel centers are open longer than most of the Sam’s Club stores, their hours are still more limited than other fuel centers you may frequent. If having a 24 hour station is important to you then Sam’s Club may not be the best choice, but if you generally get gas between these times anyways, then this limitation may not be a big deciding factor.
Are Sam’s Club Fuel Centers Only Open To Members?
Most of the Sam’s Club fuel centers are only open to members. Every individual purchasing gas is required to present their valid membership card in order to purchase from the center.
This means each fuel center must have an attendant onsite to check for valid memberships, even in States where you pump your own gas.
However, while this is true for the vast majority of the Sam’s Club fuel centers, there is a select number that is open to the public. Generally, these stations are located in a parking lot shared with a
However, if the station is open to the public there are still benefits to being a member. Members of Sam’s Club getting gas from a fuel center open to the public will be given $0.05 off per gallon of their gas price.
The only exception to this discount is for stores located in New Jersey where the state has laws against discounting fuel due to membership status.
How Do You Become A Sam’s Club Member?
It is fairly easy to become a member at Sam’s Club and they offer two different memberships.
They offer their basic membership for $45 a year and a premium membership for $100 a year.
A basic Club membership includes the following benefits:
- Curbside Pickup,
- Instant Savings,
- Sam’s Club Mastercard,
- Members-only fuel savings,
- Tire and battery center,
- Complimentary membership, and
- Add-on memberships.
The Sam’s Club Plus membership offers:
- Sam’s Cash™ for Plus,
- Free Shipping,
- Curbside Pickup,
- Pharmacy Savings,
- Optical Savings,
- Instant Savings,
- Sam’s Club Mastercard,
- Members-only fuel savings,
- Tire and battery center,
- Complimentary membership, and
- Add-on memberships.
So, as far as these relate to gas, you can get fuel-savings with both the basic and premium membership, however, you get more cashback using the plus membership.
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What Methods of Payment Are Accepted At Sam’s Club Fuel Centers?
Sam’s Club accepts most methods of payment for their gas, including:
- Sam’s Club Mastercards,
- Walmart gift cards,
- Sam’s Club gift cards,
- Cash,
- Checks,
- Debit cards,
- Walmart rewards cards, and
- Most major credit cards.
You shouldn’t face any issues with your payment method of choice being rejected at a sam’s Club. However, if you face an error when attempting to pay for your gas, you can notify the Fuel Station Attendant and see if they can assist with the issue.
If the card still doesn’t go through then you may need to discuss the issue with your financial institution as this would point to an issue with your card or account, rather than an issue with Sam’s Club.
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Why Do I See A Hold On My Card After Purchasing Gas From A Sam’s Club Fuel Station?
If you use a credit or debit card to make your purchase from a Sam’s Club fuel station you will likely see a hold placed on your card for a small amount, generally $1-$5.
This hold will go away and be replaced by the actual price of the gas within 24-36 hours.
This is an industry standard not unique to Sam’s Club, but rather it is used at all gas stations whenever the purchaser uses a credit or debit card.
Generally, credit cards and debit cards have a $75-$100 pre-authorization that occurs to ensure that the card has enough funds available to cover the fuel purchase.
This is important because it is impossible to know the exact amount of fuel that will be dispensed to fill the car, and the fuel is impossible to return once it has been pumped.
If the hold amount isn’t replaced with the actual purchase amount within 36 hours you should likely contact your financial institution to ask about the hold or request its removal from your card.
However, this situation isn’t likely as most of the time the hold is auto-replaced with the actual purchase price without issue.
While this may be confusing when you first look at your card, it is simply a safety practice to ensure that the gas station receives their funds for their gas.
Generally, Sam’s Club gas stations will only allow a purchase of $100 of fuel at one time.
If you want to purchase more fuel than this at once you will need to use a Sam’s Club or
How Expensive Is Sam’s Club Gas?
While it would be impossible to give a set price for the cost of Sam’s Club gas considering the price depends heavily on the location of the store, it is less than the average cost of gas.
According to consumer reports, gas from Sam’s Club is on average between $0.05 and $0.25 less per gallon than gas from a typical, non-warehouse, station.
This can offer significant savings for members, especially during times of high gas prices.
If you’re curious about the exact prices at your local Sam’s Club fuel center you can also check this using the Club Finder.
Once you locate your club you can scroll down past the club information until you see gas prices. This will give you a current gas price for your local club.
Does Sam’s Club Offer Any Other Gas Perks?
While the Sam’s Club membership will save you money when purchasing gas from a Sam’s Club fuel center, there is one more way to get more bang for your buck.
If you apply for a Sam’s Club credit card you can get rewards every time you purchase gas from their fuel center.
These rewards can be redeemed for cashback on the credit card.
You can also purchase a Pls membership from Sam’s Club and get even more savings on gas, generally up to 5% cashback.
Does Sam’s Club Offer The Cheapest Gas?
While Sam’s Club does offer cheaper gas than most competitors, there is one that always seems to beat them as far as low gas prices.
This is Costco. Costco is known for their unbelievably low prices in their warehouse, and their gas prices are no different.
They are often much cheaper than Sam’s Club, and in fact, at times they can even be $0.20 cheaper per gallon.
However, besides Costco, Sam’s Club does offer some of the cheapest gas prices out there. A great way to compare gas prices around you is to use the app called “GasBuddy.” GasBuddy is a company with the goal of helping everyone save money on their fuel.
They have helped drivers in North America save more than $3 billion through their app, which provides real-time gas prices for more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.
You would simply search up the gas price of your Sam’s Club and use GasBuddy to compare that price to other stations in your area.
This helpful tool can help you make an informed decision when you are looking for the cheapest gas.
How Does Sam’s Club Gas Compare To Costco Gas?
Besides the fact that Sam’s Club gas is considered to be more expensive than Costco gas, there is one other fairly large distinction which is that Costco sells higher quality gas than Sam’s Club.
Although we will get into the specifics of this later, Costco sells what is known as Top Tier gas, whereas Sam’s Club does not.
Another factor that plays into the value of Sam’s Club Gas versus Costco gas is the actual price of their membership. A Sam’s Club basic membership is only $45 a year, whereas a Costco basic membership is $60 a year.
So, although the gas prices are lower at Costco, it does cost more to purchase your membership. It is arguable that the cost of the membership will be worth it for the amount of savings you get, but these savings depend on more than just the gas prices offered by these warehouse chains.
What Gas Options Does Sam’s Club Have?
Sam’s Club offers regular, premium, and diesel gas at their fuel stations. They offer all three options at all of their locations, which isn’t always the norm for private-label gas stations.
For instance, even Costco doesn’t offer diesel at all of their locations, they only offer diesel at select fuel centers.
Sam’s Club also doesn’t source their fuel from only one company, which is the practice of many competitors. For instance, gas from Chevron is only Chevron gas. But, Sam’s Club opens the door to many other fuel sellers.
They offer their own private label gas, which means they source their fuel from many different companies.
Although they have not explicitly stated where they get their gas, there are reports it comes from Shell, Murphy Oil, Chevron, and Mobil. This gas is then labeled as “Sam’s Club” fuel and sold accordingly.
However, don’t assume that just because they source from multiple gas suppliers that their gas is low quality.
Is Sam’s Club Gas High Quality?
Sam’s Club gas is considered to be high quality and they offer a Satisfaction Guaranteed on their gas products. This means that if you are unsatisfied with your gas purchase you can generally get your money back.
Some speculate that they utilize their own additives and testing methods to ensure that their gas is of high quality. They are required to at least hit basic guidelines set by various agencies.
In fact, all gas stations are required to follow regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), state governments, and other regulatory bodies.
This means that while you may not get to know exactly where Sam’s Club gas comes from, you can at least be assured that they follow the minimum standards put in place for all gas stations.
However, we will note that Sam’s Club gas is NOT Top Tier certified.
What Does It Mean To Be Top Tier Certified?
While the EPA set their minimum standards for commercial gasoline in 1995 that suppliers were forced to comply with, in 2004 a group of automakers created even higher standards.
Top Tier gas is in compliance with these higher standards and includes a specific level and specific formula of deposit control additives that are more strict than the EPA standards.
Top Tier gas reduced the engine carbon deposits from cars by 19 times. This means that drivers using Top Tier gas may experience a variety of different benefits including better drivability, better fuel economy, and emitting fewer emissions.
However, these benefits do generally come at a higher price point. Top Tier gas will generally cost about $0.03 more per gallon than other brands. But, it is considered the highest-quality gas that can be offered.
Sam’s Club doesn’t sell Top Tier gas, which is part of why they are able to offer a lower price point than their competitors.
However, if you’re looking for the highest quality gas for your vehicle, then this distinction may put you off purchasing gas from Sam’s Club fuel centers.
Sam’s Club gas has more depository additives and doesn’t meet the octave standards required for Top Tier certification.
Which Sam’s Club Locations Include Car Washes At Their Fuel Center?
Sam’s Club offers car wash services at 41 different locations including:
- Fit. Smith, Arkansas;
- Fayetteville, Arkansas;
- Chandler, Arizona;
- Flagstaff, Arizona;
- Kissimmee, Florida;
- Wesley Chapel, Florida;
- Port St. Lucie (W), Florida;
- Lady Lake, Florida;
- Jacksonville, Florida;
- Naples, Florida;
- Gainesville, Georgia;
- Alpharetta, Georgia;
- Columbus, Indiana;
- Lenexa, Kansas;
- Slidell, Louisiana;
- Baton Rouge (S), Louisiana;
- Lafayette, Louisiana;
- Kentwood, Michigan;
- Battlecreek, Michigan;
- Maplegrove, Minnesota;
- Springfield, Missouri;
- Ferguson, Missouri;
- St. Charles, Missouri;
- St. Louis, Missouri;
- Kansas City, Missouri;
- Tupelo, Mississippi;
- Wilmington, North Carolina;
- Las Vegas, Nevada (3 locations);
- Zanesville, Ohio;
- Temple, Pennsylvania;
- Grapevine, Texas;
- Temple, Texas;
- Dallas, Texas;
- El Paso, Texas;
- South Jordan, Utah;
- Danville, Virginia;
- Richmond, Virginia;
- Somers, Wisconsin; and
- Wasua, Wisconsin.
Final Thoughts
If you’re already a member at Sam’s Club and haven’t yet visited their gas stations it is well worth it to see how much you can save with your member discount.
And, if you’re considering a membership, the gas savings may just be the perk that pushes you to purchase it.
Sam’s Club has high quality gas for discounted prices and since they offer satisfaction guaranteed, you really can’t go wrong by giving them a try!
References
https://help.samsclub.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/380/~/sams-club-fuel-center-details
https://www.samsclub.com/locator
Lindsey
Lindsey graduated with an MBA in 2009. Since then, Lindsey has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Lindsey is also the head writer and Co-founder of Rvandplaya.com. Lindsey is based in Morgantown, West Virginia.
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