Costco Travel Packages: How to Use Your Membership to Save on Vacation

Posted on April 5, 2024

by Lexi Wyckoff

Traveling is not only a great way to explore the world, but to spend time with friends, family, or even yourself. There are plenty of ways to vacation, but sometimes the price will limit your options. With Costco Travel, they search for the most affordable options, so you can worry less about price and focus more on the great vacation that lies ahead. Learn all about the Costco Travel packages offered by the warehouse and more below.

What Kind of Travel Packages Can You Buy?

Costco travel packages: cruise ship in water

There are several choices when booking your vacation with Costco. There are four main options you can choose from through Costco Travel, including vacation packages, specialty vacations, cruises, and theme parks.

Vacation Packages: Stay at a resort or hotel, and can use a combination of hotel, airfare, or car rentals.
Specialty Vacations: Guided vacations or safaris booked with an outside provider.
Cruises: Available through twelve different cruise lines with the best value and rebates.
Theme Parks: Discounted stays and tickets to Disney or Universal Parks.

Within these four vacation plans, there are four packages to choose from to get the best value for your stay. These packages are hotel and flight; hotel, flight, and car; hotel and car; and hotel only. Your choice of package will depend on where you want to vacation, and where that location is compared to where you live.

How Do Costco Travel Packages Work?

Costco Travel packages are available to members who reside in the United States. Costco uses its buying authority to negotiate the best value for that specific vacation package, and then pass on the savings and information to Costco members. These can be as small as a weekend getaway or as big as a whole week of excursions. They operate similar to any other vacation agency in the world.

You will work with a trained Costco employee or trained travel professional to put your dream vacation together. This can be through their website or on the phone. Since the vacation packages are created and managed by Costco, you do have to be a Costco member to get all of the travel benefits listed here.

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Value Labels of Costco Travel Packages

While Costco offers several travel packages, some of these get assigned a value label. This label comes with three options.

Kirkland Signature: The most extras and best rooms for the lowest prices.
Buyer’s Choice: Usually one tier below the Kirkland Signature label.
Limited-Time Deals: Members book these trips on a set date to take advantage of limited-time deal perks.

Travel Companies That Costco Works With

Since Costco Travel does not have its own hotels and airlines, they outsource to several companies to find the best values for their members. These are the hotels, cars, airlines, and cruise companies Costco uses.

Hotels

IHG Hotels & Resorts (includes 15 different hotel brands)
Hyatt (including 11 Hyatt brands in North and South America)
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Swissotel Hotels & Resorts

Car Rentals

Alamo
Avis
Budget
Enterprise

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Airlines

Aegean Airlines
Aer Lingus
Air Canada
Air Europa
Air France
Air New Zealand
Air Tahiti
Air Tahiti Nui
Air Transat
Alaska Airlines
Alitalia
American Airlines
Bahamas Air
British Airways
Cayman Airways
Delta Air Lines
Fiji Airways
Hawaiian Airlines
Iberia
Lufthansa
Olympic Air
Sky Express
United Airlines
WestJet
Virgin Atlantic

Cruise Lines

Azamara
Carnival Cruise Line
Celebrity Cruises
Cunard
Disney Cruise Line
Holland America Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Princess Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Royal Caribbean
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises

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Locations of Costco Vacations

Costco vacations are scattered all over the world, with locations in both popular U.S. cities and states as well as international countries. Listed below are some of the options offered in the Costco travel packages:

U.S. – Hawaii, California, Disneyland, Las Vegas, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New York
Canada – Whistler, British Columbia, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal
Pacific – Fiji, Cook Islands, Tahiti
Mexico – Los Cabos, Riviera Nayarit, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Riviera Maya, Coszumel
Atlantic – Caribbean, Costa Rica
Europe – Ireland, Scotland, England, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Greece
Africa – Africa

Perks of Your Costco Anywhere Visa Card

Not only can you get cheaper vacation packages through Costco, but you can earn cash back too. With the Costco Anywhere Visa Card, you can get 3% cash back while paying for your vacation. And if you are an Executive Member, the rewards continue to roll in with a 2% reward on purchases through Costco. There are always ways to save additional money while traveling with Costco.

Read More: Is There a Costco Guest Pass?

Pros and Cons of Traveling with Costco

There are pros and cons to any travel agency, and these are just a few concerning Costco Travel.

Pros

Prices: Costco Travel provides the most competitive prices for vacations, even before the additional rebates and rewards you can earn.
Rebates: Some packages will include a complimentary Costco Shop Card or gift card, valued at up to 5-8% of the lodging value. This reward is given four to six weeks after the trip is scheduled.
No Surprises: Costco Travel packages include all fees and taxes, except for any local taxes and fees. This allows you to spend the money you want, and stay within your proposed budget.

Cons

Limited Selection: Whether it’s for cruises, airlines, hotels, or car rentals, Costco Travel only works with certain companies. As a result, you will have fewer choices when you book a vacation.
Price Drops: Costco does not track certain price drops, so it is up to you to track prices and share them with your Costco travel agent. After you notify them, Costco will adjust the payment.

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Are Costco Travel Packages Worth It?

Going on vacation can get expensive quickly, so it is advantageous to find all discounts and the best pricing available when you do go. Costco takes out some of the pressure by offering several Costco Travel packages for you to explore the world with, all at a manageable price. If you do have a Costco membership and are thinking about traveling, reach out to their Travel section. Who knows? You might find out that your Costco membership can help you with both groceries and traveling to new and exciting destinations.