Sam's Club froze earned cashback when the Plus card lapsed, and never told members

Sam's Club China's Plus membership costs ¥680 a year and returns 2% of store and app purchases as 山姆回馈金 (reward gold) — the pitch of a standing discount on the annual fee. The small print ties the reward to the membership itself: when the Plus card lapses without renewal, the cashback already earned is frozen, displayed but unusable.

The rule sat hidden. Members said they were not told at signup or upgrade; the clause lives deep inside the app under 我的 → 回馈金中心 → 规则详情, reached only after several taps. Paying for twelve months of Plus delivered eleven months of usable cashback.

Reporting began in October 2025. Shanghai Morning Post covered a Shanghai couple: the wife had upgraded in October 2024, the September-2025 cashback was due to land around October 5, but the card expired October 1 — renew, or lose the reward. They renewed rather than forfeit, and complained to Shenzhen's consumer-protection body. Sam's service said the charter required the freeze.

The dispute kept running into 2026. A 315 Cheicheng report cited a member whose ¥83.19 was frozen, another whose ¥517 was cleared, and one who had spent in store 42 times in 47 days and was told to return the card. Lawyers called the clause an unfair standard term and the hidden notice a breach of the right to know, breaching the 2025 prepaid-consumption judicial interpretation.