Sam’s Club Credit Cards To Exclude Tobacco & Smoking Related Products From Cash Back

Sam’s Club has sent out an e-mail to Sam’s Club Mastercard & Sam’s Club Business Mastercard letting them know that effective 11/01/2017  tobacco and smoking related products (including electronic cigarettes) will no longer be used in calculating the amount of Year-to-Date Purchases under the Cash Back Rewards Program (and will no longer be eligible for Cash Back Rewards). These cards only earn 1% on Sam’s Club purchases anyway, so you’d be better off using another card that earns up to 3%. The only reason I can think of this change is because the cards are currently earning 3% via Scan & Go.

Thanks to reader Eric L

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Peter
Peter (@guest_493320)
October 13, 2017 12:12

Kudos to the large corporations that take a stance for the public good, however minor this move is. Compared to the rotating reward categories direct cash flow arbitrarily, these changes intended for direct and indirect health improvements are better to rally behind.

sam
sam (@guest_493216)
October 13, 2017 08:15

Buy Sam’s gift cards and go get your “immoral, harmful goods” from the morality store….

NinjaX
NinjaX (@guest_492898)
October 12, 2017 13:45

i guess there are different kind of churners out there abusing sams rewards for cheaper smoking items. i didnt know.

Dukie02
Dukie02 (@guest_492908)
October 12, 2017 14:08

+1. Marlboro Man was the original churner.

sam
sam (@guest_492890)
October 12, 2017 13:38

Thanks CVS! What’s next, certain sodas/foods or furniture/clothing (harm to environment)? Certain cards in certain places at certain times? This has nothing to do with public health, and everything to do with screwing consumers out of incentives and obfuscating terms/rewards/timelines to the point its “be thankful for whatever we decide to give you”. Never have, and never will smoke. Just calling it like it is.

sam
sam (@guest_492894)
October 12, 2017 13:41

Oh…and get ready for “bars and grills” not to get dining cashback. It starts with the smokers…..

Drivesabrowntruck
Drivesabrowntruck (@guest_492897)
October 12, 2017 13:44

They sure don’t have a problem selling the product however.

EmergDoc87
EmergDoc87 (@guest_492953)
October 12, 2017 15:59

It has little to do with screwing customers and everything to do with pleasing customers. The free market (CVS, now Sam’s Club) is reacting to the will of the public – they have decided it is in their best financial interest to move away from tobacco.

I reject the slippery slope argument. Although as an ER doctor cigarettes are wonderful for my business (COPD patients who come to the ED unable to breathe provide a hefty % of my salary) I am happy with corporate America’s movement away from cancer sticks.

sam
sam (@guest_493214)
October 13, 2017 08:14

Actually, I’m referring to CVS declining to fill prescriptions for opiates for the prescribed length of time as directed by doctors because they “know better” and want to “take a moral stance” on them. Of course, this also means the customer will simply pay 4x as much for a 30 day prescription week by week.

Coldaggluttanin
Coldaggluttanin (@guest_492851)
October 12, 2017 12:21

Im currently MSing 2ppd and liquidating them via my lungs. Purchased with Chase Ink Ive earned 200,000 UR points and metastatic lung cancer

Moose Cow
Moose Cow (@guest_492839)
October 12, 2017 12:06

You’re better off not using tobacco products at all. Smoking kills!

Josh m
Josh m (@guest_492854)
October 12, 2017 12:26

You are right but you can probably go across the street and buy your cancer sticks at the gas station and get 5%.

Electroman
Electroman (@guest_492954)
October 12, 2017 16:01

Indeed, at their prices you’ll be saving 5% of an even larger amount – so you’ll be saving more! *sly wink*

Stevil
Stevil (@guest_492879)
October 12, 2017 13:15

It’s 2017, everybody knows this. Quitting is incredibly difficult. Every time I see those ridiculous TV ads, I wonder how many Chantix scripts and nicotine patches that money could’ve bought. Scolding accomplishes very little; most smokers want to quit, and many can’t afford the tools to make it easier.

Ditched my 17 year, pack a day habit four years ago. Still have dreams about smoking a couple times a week, and driving past a gas station after particularly busy shifts, I have to make a direct, concerted effort to think about something else.

To the topic at hand: a lousy card gets a titch more restricted. Oh well.

Moose Cow
Moose Cow (@guest_492912)
October 12, 2017 14:10

You forget that those ads aren’t just to tell people to quit, but to prevent people from starting in the first place.

Stevil
Stevil (@guest_492984)
October 12, 2017 17:17

Oh please. Find a person who doesn’t know cigarettes are dangerous and addictive. In most states, the ad buys are mandated by the tobacco lawsuit settlements from the 90s and 00s.

Matt
Matt (@guest_493307)
October 13, 2017 11:53

I’ve always been surprised that there are folks born after 1985 who smoke, since like you said the anti-smoking ads and education in school are so pervasive. Unfortunately, they do still exist 🙁 I had several friends/acquaintances from childhood who smoked.

Anyway, congrats on quitting, and keep up fighting the urge when it arises!