I succumbed to an offer for the Sam's Club Mastercard. The selling point is 5% cash back on purchases at the store. In addition, it offers 5% cash back for gas station purchases, 3% cash back on dining, and 1% back on all other shopping. I mainly intend to use the card for shopping at the store the same way I use the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa to shop on Amazon.
The value of the card became apparent on a recent visit when we cashed in some Sam's Cash for our shopping. It was not insignificant. It had accumulated as I never paid attention to it.
I know 5% cash back is not going to make us wealthy. However, consider that Sam's Club sells products in bulk at lower unit costs than you can find at the grocer. Yes, you do spend more as you are buying more. But, this also means that the 5% rewards add up faster. So, in addition to lower unit cost, there's an additional 5% discount.
I used to hate going to Sam's Club as it's always packed to the gills. Checkout usually has long lines. As it turns out, if you use the mobile app, then you can Scan n Go. As you are shopping, you scan the products. Then you can check out on the app and walk out of the store. Of course, there's a quick audit at the door. Shopping at Sam's is no longer such a nuisance.
Unfortunately, my credit card acquisition spree impacts my credit score negatively. The average age of my accounts is low. The only thing that fixes this is to wait and allow time to increase the average. There are a couple of credit card accounts I intend to close. That should help, somewhat.
I think I'm done getting new cards for a while. Sam's Club has turned out to be a useful membership, which makes having the card an added convenience.