Can You Save Money Booking Summer Travel Through Costco?

Costco Travel is a benefit that many members of the warehouse club giant don't utilize or understand, but it can be rather valuable, especially for members who prefer all-in-one vacation packages over buying flights, hotels, and other trip components separately. While Costco isn't always the cheapest option, it often offers better prices than the competition, as well as unique benefits for travelers.

In this article, I'll give an overview of Costco Travel's products, pricing, and benefits, and tell you how to decide whether it could be a good fit for booking your next vacation.

Is Costco Travel cheaper than booking directly?

Costco allows members to book hotels as a stand-alone reservation (but not individual flights), although it clearly specializes in vacation packages. And according to many experts, Costco often beats travel packages you can find elsewhere, although this isn't always the case. 

For example, Costco doesn't partner with several budget airlines, so you might be able to fly to your destination for cheaper than what a Costco package offers. It also partners with just a few rental car companies, and not the budget brands. So, if you want to plan a trip as cheaply as possible, you may want to comparison shop by booking your flights and rental cars directly with the budget carrier of your choice.

When it comes to cruises, Costco typically offers its value in the form of onboard credit. According to an analysis by Fodor's, Costco generally charges similar prices to booking directly, but typically offers an onboard credit equal to about 8% of the fare paid. However, Costco Travel offers Kirkland Signature deals on certain cruises that can be much cheaper than the direct prices.

In fact, Fodor's analysis found that while Costco Travel generally had the same prices (or within $200) of other major travel sites like Travelocity and Expedia, the extra perks it offers -- such as room upgrades, credits, gift cards, etc. -- are typically the biggest differentiator.

Extra perks for Executive members

It's also important to point out that Costco Executive members get extra travel benefits, which can certainly justify the additional $60 you'll pay for the upgraded membership tier. These can come in the form of resort credits, spa credits, onboard spending credits for cruises, or other perks. Just to name a few examples, here are a few Executive member perks currently listed on Costco Travel:

• A $100 resort credit on a seven-night stay at a family friendly resort in Turks and Caicos.
• A $100 spa credit when booking a suite at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic.
• $100 in additional shipboard credit on a seven-night Alaska cruise.
• A private beach picnic lunch for two on stays of three nights or more at a resort in Fiji.

Plus, with an Executive membership, you get 2% back in Costco rewards on all purchases, including travel packages (capped at rewards of $1,000 per year).

What's more, regardless of which type of Costco membership you have, you can get 3% in additional Costco Rewards on travel purchases by using the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi. There are other travel credit cards with excellent perks and rewards as well that could help you maximize your travel dollars.

The bottom line on Costco Travel

Costco Travel can be a nice perk of your membership, especially if you want all-in-one vacation packages and like to travel often. Costco's travel packages aren't a great fit for everyone and aren't always cheaper than booking directly, so it is still important to shop around.