While Costco is known for their bulk-buy deals and fan-favorite Kirkland Signature products, your Costco membership card can actually save you big bucks on travel, too.
As part of the Costco Wholesale brand, Costco Travel works much like a regular travel agency, offering travel packages to Costco members at a discounted rate. Because they’re buying in bulk on behalf of their 130 million members, they’re able to negotiate discounted rates and pass those savings on to you. Those savings generally show up in the form of a Costco Shop Card (their version of a gift card), resort credits, or free add-ons for your trip — and sometimes all three!
Access to travel discounts can be one of the most valuable Costco membership benefits out there, and the perk that makes a Costco membership worth it for many people. The perks get even better if you have the Costco Executive membership that earns you 2% back on travel purchases. But as we'll explain, certain types of Costco travel packages are a better value than others.
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Is Costco travel a good deal?
For vacation packages and rental cars, Costco Travel can save you some serious money. In our research, we've found that Costco Travel deals can save you up to 16% on vacation packages and up to 41% on rental cars when you compare their prices to competitors. But if you only need flights, you're better off looking elsewhere (Costco only offers flights as part of a bundled package).
To give you a quick peek at the savings, we priced out a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, from Kansas City for June 2024 and found that Costco Travel packages were 11% cheaper than if you were to book directly, 12% cheaper than Booking.com, and 16% cheaper than Expedia.
Here’s a full look at the price breakdown for a four-night stay at the Marquis Los Cabos All-Inclusive Resort for two travelers with economy flights from Kansas City, Missouri.
Four-night stay at Marquis Los Cabos (with flights)
Booking Method | Price | Added Value |
|---|---|---|
Costco Travel | $3,669.40 | Ground transportation included + 2% back for Executive members |
Direct | $4,078.90 | None |
Booking.com | $4,091.90 | None |
Expedia | $4,278.06 | Ground transportation included |
As you can see, Costco Travel is the best deal for this trip — especially when you consider that ground transportation is included in the price. And if you were to book the trip as an Executive member, you would earn an additional $73.38 back in the form of Costco rewards.
Best Deals To Book Through Costco Travel
Costco offers a variety of vacation packages, but some of the most popular deals are for all-inclusive resorts, family-friendly getaways, and rental cars.
Vacation packages
During our research, we’ve found several Costco Travel deals that always seem to pop up. Here are 10 vacation packages we frequently see available on CostcoTravel.com:
Cancun: Moon Palace (All-Inclusive)
Dominican Republic: Majestic Mirage (Family-Friendly)
England: London Your Way
Greece: Athens, Santorini, and Mykonos
Jamaica: Iberostar Grand Hotel Rose Hall (All-Inclusive)
Los Cabos: Paradisus (All-Inclusive)
Maui: The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua
Riviera Maya: Hotel Xcaret Mexico (All-Inclusive)
Tahiti: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
Turks & Caicos: The Ritz-Carlton, Turks & Caicos (Family Friendly)
Rental Cars
No matter where you travel, you should always book your rental car through Costco. You can score discounts of 12% - 41% off retail prices when you book a rental car through Costco Travel.
To show you what I mean, we compared rates on a car rental for a two-day trip from Miami International Airport in June 2024. Here are the car rental rates we found for a Toyota Corolla (or similar full-size car):
Costco Travel: $177.50
Alamo: $202.08
Enterprise: $212.82
Avis: $227.97
Hertz: $302.41
So booking through Costco Travel would save you $124.91 (or 41%) over the Hertz price. And with a Costco Executive membership, you'd get 2% cash back ($3.55). Not bad for just shopping around, and the savings more than make up for the cost of a basic Costco membership ($60/year).
Key Benefits of Costco Travel
Booking through Costco doesn’t just mean cheaper rates. You can also score cash back, freebies, and more. Here are the best perks of Costco Travel.
1. Extra perks for Executive members
The prices you see on CostcoTravel.com won’t change based on your Costco membership level. But Costco Executive membership does come with a handful of perks that’ll pop up on many vacation packages and cruises.
Perks exclusive to Executive Members could be things like a free 25-minute Swedish massage in Puerto Vallarta, a natural beach bag in Tahiti, or exclusive resort credits. And if you’re an Executive member, you’ll always earn 2% on your purchases, which is basically like getting paid to travel!
2. Freebies like ground transportation and resort credits
Vacation packages often include extra perks, so if you’re thinking about booking a trip, you should always check Costco Travel first to see what they throw into the mix.
Depending on the package and your room/cabin choice, the freebies could include free transportation to and from the airport, resort credits and perks, and Costco Shop Cards. If your package comes with a Costco Shop Card, you’ll get it in the mail two to four weeks after you return from your trip. The amount on the card will vary depending on how much you spend.
KCL TIP: Another freebie that comes with Costco Travel deals? Kids under two travel free. This is common for airlines (as long as the child sits on a parent’s lap), but it’s not always standard practice for resorts and all-inclusive resorts.
3. Support from their customer service agents
Another major benefit of booking travel through Costco is that you can call Costco Travel’s customer service agents if something goes wrong.
Because they serve a much smaller number of people, you can usually speak to a real person — and resolve any travel mishaps — much more quickly than if you were to request help from a major booking site.
Things To Know Before Booking Costco Travel
Even when you book through Costco, an all-inclusive resort or international trip is still a major expense. Before you commit to a stay, make sure you know exactly how the booking process works. Here are a few pointers.
You have to book online.
You won’t find your dream Hawaiian vacation on an aisle in the warehouse. Instead you’ll browse and book all your travel through CostcoTravel.com or in the Costco app (iOS / Android). Even if you’re not a Costco member, you can browse all the current deals and promotions. But in order to book anything, you’ll have to enter a valid Costco membership number and your last name as confirmation.
If you’re just in a browsing mood, you can pick up the latest Costco Travel booklet at your local warehouse or jump to these pages on their website, which is kind of like wandering the aisles at Costco:
You can book travel for someone who's not a member.
Even though you have to be a Costco member in order to book a trip through Costco Travel, those traveling don’t have to be. So if you’re a Costco member and want to send your nonmember parents on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise, you can definitely do that.
Keep in mind that this rule does not apply to rental cars. The driver of the rental car needs to be a Costco member, and you’ll need to reserve the car in their name and make them the primary driver on the reservation.
KCL TIP: If you're booking a trip for a nonmember, make sure you spell each traveler’s name correctly and get their birth date right (as it appears on their driver’s license or passport). If you mess up and need to make any changes, Costco Travel may charge you a fee.
Costco won't price match competitors, but they might price adjust.
Costco Travel doesn’t price match their competitors as a rule. However, if you find a better price on CostcoTravel.com after you’ve booked, you can call customer service at 866-921-7925 and ask for a price reduction.
Be cautious when doing this, though. If your price reduction requires Costco Travel to cancel and rebook your vacation, you may be charged a penalty fee.
KCL TIP: This is sorta like the Costco price adjustment policy, which gives you 30 days to get refunded if the price on something drops after you buy it.
Flights aren't always cheapest through Costco.
Some resort and travel packages include airfare, and the savings on the package as a whole are typically more than worth it. For travel packages that don’t come bundled with a flight, Costco members often report that you can find cheaper flights if you do your own research with a site like Google Flights.
If you do make your own flight arrangements, you’ll want to add your flight details to your reservation transfers to make sure your trip runs smoothly.
They offer payment plans if you book far enough in advance.
Once you pay your initial deposit, Costco Travel can help you set up a payment plan if you book your trip far enough in advance. Final payments for vacation packages are due 45 days before your departure, while final cruise payments are due 104 – 134 days before you sail. If you want to qualify for a payment plan, you’ll need to book in advance of these windows.
To set it up, call Costco Travel at 866-921-7925 once you’ve paid your deposit.
Trip insurance is a separate cost.
Costco Travel doesn’t sell any trip insurance to cover mishaps involving your baggage, health, or unexpected cancellations or delays. However, you can buy insurance for your trip through their partner Zurich Travel Insurance until 10 days before your departure. You can get a quote online or by calling 844-246-8470.
Pay attention to the cancellation and refund windows.
For vacation packages, you can cancel online through your Costco Travel account up to 48 hours in advance, according to their FAQ page. Any later than that and you’ll need to call them at 866-921-7925. You may get charged a cancellation fee depending on where you are in the Cancellation Timeline. Some airline fees are nonrefundable or you may receive credit for future travel.
For hotel reservations, you can cancel online up to 24 hours in advance, and the time it’ll take to get your refund will depend on the hotel’s policy. If you want to cancel a cruise, the amount of your refund will get smaller the closer you are to your departure date. Cruise refunds will come from the cruise line and may take up to 90 days to process.
Rental cars are the easiest to cancel, as there are no cancellation fees and a credit card is not required during the booking process.
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