Costco Travel | Top Tips To Get Best Travel Deals

Costco Travel

Costco is a member warehouse club dedicated to providing our members with the best possible prices on quality branded merchandise. With hundreds of locations worldwide, Costco offers a wide variety of merchandise along with the convenience of specialized departments and exclusive member services, all designed to make your shopping experience enjoyable.

Costco Travel sells only to Costco members residing in the United States. We use our purchasing expertise to negotiate the best value on the market, then pass the savings on to Costco members.

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Costco Travel

What does Costco know about travel? A lot is missing. They have been in the travel business for over 20 years, since 2000, and bring to vacation the same highly selective group shopping practice that they deliver to their warehouse aisles.

Think of Costco Travel as an easy-to-use online travel agency that offers a limited selection of quality travel options with enviable discounts and perks – based on your membership level.

While it’s not typically the best deal for independent travelers, those looking for one-click package tour booking will benefit. And it’s hard to beat Costco’s rental car rates.

Costco Travel Packages

Costco travel packages typically include lodging and can also include airline tickets, airport transfers and car rentals, and activities — depending on the trip — at some of the best prices in the industry.

Costco divides travel packages into four main categories. They are:

There are many benefits to booking a travel package with Costco Travel. They are:

Pricing. Costco Travel’s package bundling can save hundreds of dollars on your vacation.

Time Saving. By shopping with pre-vetted vacation providers and entering all your travel details in one place, you simplify your travel planning and save time.

Travel Advisories. Costco Travel provides members with travel advisories and important visitor information during the booking process.

Partial Payments. To secure your booking, Costco may only require a partial payment.

Price Reduction. If you see a discount on the land portion of your vacation package, you can call Costco Travel Customer Service and ask them to pass the savings on.

Rebates. Earn discounts on many packages in the form of a Costco Shop Card worth 5-8% of the lodging cost.

Rewards and Extras. In addition to a 2% bonus on all non-taxable travel expenses, Executive Members are eligible for benefits such as room upgrades or resort credits – depending on the trip.

Are Costco Travel Deals A Good Option?

As with booking flights or car rentals, it’s best to research prices to ensure your Costco Travel package offers the best deal.

Let’s consider the same Xcaret package we used above. The total cost for this package, which includes round-trip airfare for a family of four at an all-inclusive resort, is $4,968.

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Looking at the price for the same trip without airfare, we found that tickets cost around $1,900 when purchased from the airline at an average price. Add this to the room purchased directly from the resort, which costs $2,422.

How does this stack up? The total for our independently booked trip is $4,336, or $622 less than the Costco Travel package. Even considering the resort offers free airport transfers for stays longer than six days, there’s no value for this extra in the Costco package.

However, when you add the $229 Costco store card that comes with this package and the 2% Executive Member Rewards, higher-ranking members can expect a return of over $300, so the price difference is only $300 amounts to.

Being able to book everything at once can be worthwhile for some travelers. For the more budget-conscious traveler, it’s wiser to book everything yourself when booking separately – especially when you get a Scott’s Cheap Flights deal that cuts your airport in half.

How Much Does A Costco Membership Cost?

Costco has two membership tiers, each with two tiers of benefits and prices.

The first membership type is a personal membership. Anyone can purchase either the Gold Star Personal Membership ($60) or the Executive Personal Membership ($120) at a 2% annual premium.

The second type of membership is a business membership. The two levels within Business membership are Business ($60) and Business Executive ($120).

Which membership should you buy? The one that best suits your budget. However, the Executive Membership, with its 2% premium capped at $1000 per year, could save you a lot of money.

Imagine a $3,000 trip booked with Costco Travel with a 2% Executive membership generates a $60 reward. In addition, Executive Members are eligible for additional travel benefits and upgrades depending on the trip.

And remember, the 2% reward applies to all Costco purchases — except for Costco gasoline and a handful of other items.

See a sample income table for the 2% Executive Membership Bonus below to see how your savings might stack up.

Monthly Purchases	Yearly Purchases	Annual Reward (Approximate)
$250	$3,000	$60
$500	$6,000	$120
$800	$9,600	$192
$1,250	$15,000	$300
$2,500	$30,000	$600
$4,170	$50,040	$1,000

Advantages Of Costco Travel Car Rental

Costco Travel regularly offers some of the best car rental deals around. Expect better models at lower prices from the most reputable car rental companies in the industry.

There are many advantages to renting a car from Costco Travel. They include:

Are Costco Travel Rental Car A Good Deal?

How do Costco car rentals compare to other booking sites? Let’s compare a week-long spring car rental in Honolulu to find out.

The cheapest car available from Costco Travel from the Honolulu Airport is $610 for a week, including all taxes and an additional driver. This price and the same vehicle type are available on both Alamo and Enterprise.

A quick search on CarRentals.com tells us that the cheapest car in Honolulu for the same period is from ACE Rent a Car and costs $577 including taxes.

On the surface, the ACE rental looks like a better deal.

However, the ACE fare does not include an additional driver. The fine print on the ACE Rules and Restrictions page tells us that adding a driver is $11 per day. Over eight days, this fee adds $88 to the ACE fare, making Costco rentals a better deal for those planning to have more than one person drive.

Car Rental Partners With Costco

Costco Travel only works with four rental car companies. They are:

How To Book Costco Travel Rental Cars?

Start a rental car booking from one of two places on the Costco Travel home page – the “Car Rentals” tab in the main search box or from “Car Rentals” in the main menu.

To search for rental cars, enter your pickup and drop-off locations, dates, and times. For round-trip rentals, your pick-up and drop-off locations are the same. For one-way rentals, click Return to alternate location to enter a different drop-off location.

After you’ve set your search details, click Find My Car to view your rental options. Below is a table of search results for a one-way rental from LA to San Diego in April. The cheapest rental is $621.

Click any rate in the search results grid to see more details for the rental car as shown above.

Once you see a price and vehicle you like, click Next to book it. You now have the ability to select optional amenities for your rental such as: E.g. booster seats, WiFi and more. After making your selection, click Next at the bottom of the screen.

You now have another chance to upgrade your vehicle. If you like your original price and vehicle, skip the upgrade and click Next.

After this step you need to log in to book the rental. After signing up, enter the contact information and accept the terms and conditions. Then click on complete booking.

How To Book A With Costco Travel Flights?

To book a flight with Costco Travel, go to the Costco Travel homepage to use the main search form.

If you are using the form to search for a vacation package, enter the destination and region you wish to travel for your dates. Alternatively, you can also search for a flight with a hotel stay or a cruise. Remember, you can only purchase a flight from Costco Travel deals if it is bundled with a travel package.

Then on the form, select your departure airport in the From field, as well as your flight class. Plus, if you’re traveling with children, enter the ages of all children to get the exact package price. Click Find My Vacation to view your travel options.

Based on the search terms in this example, there are 16 matching packages. The lowest price is Occidental at Xcaret ($4,968). This package includes four round-trip flights from Chicago to Cancun, accommodations and other extras.

To book the package, click View Details & Customize. And then review, tick and click I understand on the travel advisory.

You can now see your flight options. You’ll see the included flights at the top of the page. These are the flights that Costco Travel has selected as the most convenient and affordable for your package.

Scroll down to view additional available flights or use the filter to refine your search. For this trip, there are more than 200 matching flights.

If you’re interested in a cheaper flight, click Select, then Accept when Costco Travel displays a notification screen confirming the price change and your new flight selection.

However, if you wish to keep the flight included, click Continue to Hotel in the upper right corner of the screen to complete your booking.

What Airlines Does Costco Travel Use?

How To Book Costco Travel Cruises?

Some of the most seasoned travelers who love cruises say that Costco Travel Cruises are their first and last stop when planning a cruise because of its hard-to-beat prices, discounts, and rewards.

For example, the cost of a five-night Western Caribbean Disney cruise for a family of four in Costco Travel’s most affordable room is $7,303 including tax and a Costco Shop Card. of $595.

That same trip costs $7,358 on the Disney Cruise website. Considering the discount and 2% rewards for executive members, Costco Travel has a better deal.

Costco Travel works with 12 cruise lines. They are:

Advantages Of Booking Costco Travel Cruises

Disadvantages Of Booking Costco Travel Cruises

Costco Travel Hotels For You

Costco Travel works with a limited number of pre-screened hotel brands, so expect only a few accommodation choices for any given destination.

However, if Costco Travel happens to have accommodations you like for a place you plan to go, expect to get a better price, plus benefits, discounts, or rewards unavailable elsewhere.

Benefits of booking a hotel through Costco Travel include:

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The disadvantages of booking a hotel through Costco Travel are:

Hotel Companies Work With Costco

Costco Travel works with four major hotel brands. They are:

You Can Book Costco Travel Disneyland

For example, a week-long trip for a family of four that includes five-day Park Hopper tickets staying at The Art Of Animation at Walt Disney World costs $5,139 on Costco Travel. This same package booked directly through Disney’s Art Of Animation website costs $6,985. The Costco Travel savings here are huge.

The two main benefits of booking a theme park package with Costco Travel are better prices and rewards for executive members.

The major downside of buying from Costco Travel is that visiting theme parks can be confusing. Inexperienced or first-time visitors may find it helpful to book through a dedicated theme park travel agent who can answer questions, such as how to book rides, make dinner reservations, or obtain tickets to special events.

Costco works with the following theme parks:

How Does Costco Travel Insurance Work?

Costco Travel does not sell travel insurance directly. Instead, it offers members-only rates through its preferred travel partner, Zurich Travel Insurance.

Members have the option of purchasing plans through Zurich which could include any of the following coverages:

Costco Phone Number And Contact Information

FAQs On Costco Travel

Get Best Travel Deal With Costco Travel.