‘Sam’s Club Travel’ Takes Off With Best-in-Class Service, Selection and Savings

Sam’s Club announces the launch of Sam’s Club Travel, a savings-centered online booking service bringing industry-leading selection, value and 24/7 support to Sam’s Club members for all business and leisure travel needs.

'Sam's Club Travel' Takes Off With Best-in-Class Service, Selection and Savings (Photo: Business Wire)

The new digital service, available to members at SamsClub.com/travel, is a collaboration with Tourico Holidays, a worldwide leader in innovative wholesale travel services. Scaling Tourico’s proprietary technology to millions of warehouse club members, Sam’s Club Travel offers savings on 4,500 worldwide destinations, 90,000 hotels, more than 6,000 attractions in 800 cities, 150 airlines, 18 car rental brands and 13 cruise lines, available for a la carte purchase and vacation packages.

Unlike competing travel sites, Sam’s Club Travel is easy to navigate without interference from pop-up windows and the hassle of comparison shopping on external sites. Members will save time using the portal’s integrated TripAdvisor® reviews, real time price comparisons to leading competitors, “Click to Chat” instant member service and secure booking.

“Adding best-in-class travel savings to the portfolio of Sam’s Club membership benefits reinforces our commitment to be the most valuable card in our members’ wallets,” said Seong Ohm, senior vice president of merchandise business services at Sam’s Club. “The savings a member receives by booking just one family vacation will justify the cost of their annual membership. Our members deserve to be rewarded with savings and convenience for every life event, be it vacation, last-minute business trip or a night on the town. Tourico’s business model keeps travel affordable and accessible for our members at a time when costs of fuel, flights and accommodations are steadily rising.”

Sam’s Club Travel launches as U.S. demand rises for travel, despite increased prices on transportation and fuel. According to the U.S. Travel Association, domestic leisure travel is expected to rise 1.7 percent in 2014 to 1.6 billion trips, while working Americans are expected to take 452 million domestic business travel trips this year.

Industry-leading Value and Service

Sam’s Club Travel is the first retail-branded travel service to offer these member benefits:

• Easy-to-Use Portal: Simple filter and sort options, integrated TripAdvisor® reviews and secure booking without interference from external sites and pop-up windows.
• Unbeatable savings: Members could save up to 50 percent off select hotels; up to 10 percent off rental cars; up to 15 percent off cruises; and up to 25 percent off attractions and activities, as compared to average market prices.
• 24/7 Member Service: no matter what day or time, Sam’s Club Travel experts are on hand to offer multi-channel, U.S. based member support.
• More Sam’s PLUS Savings: Sam’s Plus members ($100 membership) receive exclusive access to additional discounts and select benefits on travel services. For example, Plus members could save up to 5 percent more on a three-night hotel stay in Times Square than Sam’s Savings members ($45 membership).

“Our industry-leading technology and global travel relationships provide Sam’s Club members with virtually unlimited trip possibilities at the best value available,” said Uri Argov, CEO of Tourico Holidays. “Our alliance also gives Sam’s Club the advantage of being the first warehouse club travel program to offer multi-channel member support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. As business and leisure travel expands globally, round-the-clock access is a vital member benefit.”

More Ways to Save on Sam’s Club Travel

Members that book through Sam’s Club Travel receive even more savings and security with every transaction using the 5-3-1 Sam’s Club MasterCard. Exclusive to Sam’s Club members, the 5-3-1 credit program provides:

• 5 percent cash back on fuel purchases*
• 3 percent cash back on travel and dining purchases*
• 1 percent cash back on all other purchases*
• No annual fee and global acceptance, Sam’s Club membership is required
• Chip-card technology and identity theft resolution support

Sam’s Club is the first retailer to offer broad-based chip card technology to the U.S. market. Chip-enabled credit cards are more difficult to duplicate, providing travelers with enhanced security from fraudulent activity, anytime and anywhere.

Editor’s Note: Non-member media seeking information about Sam’s Club Travel can contact Sam’s Club Media Relations to receive a temporary password to access SamsClub.com/travel.

*For information, terms and conditions for the 5-3-1 Sam’s Club MasterCard, available June 23 to qualifying members, visit SamsClub.com/credit.

About Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club®, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a leading membership warehouse club offering superior products, savings and services to millions of members in 636 clubs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. To learn more about Sam’s Club, visit the Sam’s Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com, and interact with Sam’s Club on Twitter and Facebook.

About Tourico Holidays

Tourico Holidays is a leading global travel distribution company that contracts directly with travel providers, such as hotels, cruise lines, attractions, vacation homes, ground transportation and more. Working on a high-volume, wholesale model, Tourico Holidays provides its business partners with unique growth opportunities that all start with a great travel deal. At the company’s core is in-house, proprietary technology and advanced business intelligence, which is essential to Tourico's exponential growth and its partner's success.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140624005206/en/