The shop

Do I need mainland ID to join?

Updated 9 November 2026

Do you need a mainland ID card to join Sam's Club in Shenzhen, or will your Home Return Permit actually get you through the door? In practice a Hong Kong resident joins with a Home Return Permit or an HKSAR passport, but we could not find Sam's Club China stating which documents the desk accepts, so ask at the desk. Ask the desk for this year's price.

Home Return Permit, HKSAR passport, and a working phone number

Your Home Return Permit, officially the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, is the document Hong Kong residents commonly use to join. We could not confirm the desk's rule from Sam's Club China's own pages, and an HKSAR passport is also reported to work, so ask which the store prefers.

You'll want to bring the card itself, not a photo of it, plus a phone number that can receive an SMS verification code. That last part is where most Hong Kong applicants get tripped up, and it's worth planning around before you go.

The two membership tiers, and what they cost

Sam's Club China runs two paid tiers. There's no free tier and, as far as we found, no walk-in browsing without membership.

Annual fees move. Mainland press in 2026 reported RMB 260 a year for the individual tier and RMB 680 for Plus, each with a free companion card, but we could not confirm that on a Sam's Club page, so check the desk.

Unless you're planning to shop weekly and stock a household, Standard is the sensible starting tier. Each paid member gets a free companion card. Sam's Club China proposed limits on switching companion cards from 16 October 2026, so ask the desk before relying on one.

Why in person beats the app for most Hong Kong residents

Sam's Club's WeChat mini-program will let you select the Home Return Permit as your ID type when you register, so in theory you can sign up from your sofa in Hong Kong. We could not confirm what the mini-program requires from a Hong Kong applicant, so check it before you rely on the online route.

Going to the member service counter inside a Shenzhen store may sidestep that. You show your HRP and pay this year's fee on the spot with WeChat Pay or Alipay. We could not confirm whether you leave with a working card the same day, so ask. If you're already sorting out how you'll pay for anything else on the trip, it's worth reading our guide on how to pay in Shenzhen as a Hong Kong resident before you go, since Octopus won't help you here and you'll want WeChat Pay HK or Alipay HK loaded and working beforehand.

On the phone number: if you have no mainland number at all, ask the counter staff directly how they handle the SMS step.

Trial entry, if you're not ready to commit

We could not find an official one-day experience card, so ask the member desk what trial options exist.

Do not pay a third party for guest entry. Ask the desk what trial options exist before you spend money.

Getting there and picking your crossing

Once you've got the card sorted, the trip itself comes down to which crossing gets you closest to the store you want. Our tool for choosing a border crossing filters the five options by hours and crowding, which matters more than people expect on a Saturday when half of Hong Kong seems to have the same idea. For a fuller rundown of which Shenzhen store suits which crossing, our Sam's Club Shenzhen hub breaks down the store-by-store transport options in more detail than fits here.

A Home Return Permit is the usual ID a Hong Kong resident needs. The fee is whatever the desk charges that week.

Hours, fares, and rules move. Check ImmD, C&ED, or the operator the morning you travel.