Amex Platinum Card Walmart+ Membership Is Shot Across Bow of Amazon Prime

To boost membership and consumer spending beyond groceries, Walmart’s subsidizing at least some of the cost of its memberships.

To that end, and as detailed in emails seen by PYMNTS promoting the chance to “save on Spring shopping,” American Express Platinum Card holders can get a complimentary Walmart+ membership.

In terms of the mechanics described on Walmart’s site, when Amex members charge their Walmart+ monthly membership to those cards, they earn a statement credit covering the $12.95 fee. The deal’s been around since the fall of 2021. But amid the current promotion that’s landing in email inboxes at this very writing, there’s the reminder that, in the post-pandemic world, cementing customer loyalty through partnership models can and will pay dividends.

The cross-pollination efforts would benefit both companies: Amex cardholders shop at Walmart and become members; Amex enjoys repeated usage of the cards. 

Younger Consumers with Spending Power

Amex detailed in its most recent earnings call, per commentary from CEO Stephen Squeri, “we acquired 3 million new card members in the fourth quarter, even as we increased our already high credit thresholds through the year for the full year.” The cardmember rosters are growing and have more financial firepower at their fingertips. There’s been marked spending by younger consumers, as millennials and Gen Z cohorts’ billed business (a definition that includes transactions) were up at least 30% year on year. These are members that would have relatively longer lifetime values for a retailer like Walmart. As noted here, Walmart has been busy expanding its ecosystem to sell more third-party merchandise, which would give revenues additional tailwinds.

As for the impetus to leverage card spending into a broad range of categories beyond groceries (which has been a notably strong category in an inflationary environment), as Karen Webster noted in a recent column, Walmart’s got to counter Amazon’s threats in categories such as health and beauty, apparel, too. Growing the membership ranks is one way to ensure dedicated shoppers will travel the brick-and-mortar locations and the online shelves and be pre-disposed to buy things other than dinner ingredients and staples that fill the pantry. The chart below details the respective shares that Walmart and Amazon have regarding overall discretionary spending.

PYMNTS data show that 20% of U.S. adults, some 59 million adult consumers, have a Walmart+ membership. As management has pointed out, the company has also been capturing some share of $100,000+ earners and younger consumers, which dovetails with the Amex profile.  

Against that backdrop, the $155 Walmart+ credit seems to pale against the potential of the incremental spend that might accrue to Walmart’s coffers. And the potential to see the cards wielded more often for everyday purchases might help Walmart give Amazon more of a run for its money in several key categories in the months and the years ahead.  

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