Costco is not simply the place the place you should purchase bathroom paper in bulk, cheap fuel, low cost scorching canines and present playing cards. You may also guide nice journeys through the corporate’s on-line journey company, Costco Journey.

I do know, I do know: At TPG, we’re typically staunchly in opposition to reserving journey via third-party websites, as there may be tradeoffs versus reserving immediately. However in recent times, I’ve turn out to be a giant fan of the journey offers I can discover through Costco Journey.

When planning our annual seashore journey again in 2022, my greatest good friend discovered a number of choices for Mexican all-inclusive resorts on Costco Journey and shared the hyperlinks with me. I promptly informed her we would most likely be higher off reserving immediately and dismissed the thought of reserving via Costco — neither of us even had a membership on the time.

Nonetheless, evaluating the costs and advantages at a number of of the resorts proved my preliminary response unsuitable.

I really received a Costco membership to guide the deal since the price of the membership was lower than what we would save by reserving via Costco. We saved round $300 on a three-night keep at TRS Coral close to Cancun (one in all TPG’s greatest all-inclusive resorts in Cancun), not together with the free hydrotherapy spa circuit and the $241 Digital Costco Store Card included within the bundle.

Our keep was implausible, and I formally grew to become a Costco Journey convert.

In the event you’re inquisitive about how you can use Costco Journey to search out offers, here is every thing you have to learn about Costco Journey — and why I adore it for saving cash on journey.

What’s Costco Journey?

All Costco members have entry to the Costco Journey reserving platform, the place yow will discover and guide a variety of journey — from trip packages to motels, cruises and rental vehicles. You possibly can even guide theme park trip packages to Disney and Common or specialty holidays equivalent to an African safari.

Associated: Costco cruise offers: How to economize reserving journey at a warehouse membership

Each day Publication

Reward your inbox with the TPG Each day e-newsletter

Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists

When you log in to Costco Journey, you possibly can seek for particular dates or locations or flick thru out there offers and featured locations. I personally love perusing the limited-time offers once I know I need to plan a getaway however do not have a particular vacation spot in thoughts.

Journeys booked via Costco Journey are sometimes discounted and/or embody perks and advantages you might not get by reserving immediately or via different reserving portals. Normally, a visit booked via Costco Journey can even embody a Digital Costco Store Card (basically a sort of Costco present card) of various worth.

What journey are you able to guide via Costco Journey?

You possibly can guide motels, cruises, rental vehicles and trip packages via Costco Journey. Trip packages vary from hotel-only presents to all-encompassing packages that embody airfare, resort stays and rental vehicles. You possibly can even construct your individual bundle.

Nonetheless, one factor to notice is you can’t guide stand-alone flights through Costco Journey. There’s an choice to guide flights via some trip packages, however in the event you’re solely on the lookout for airfare, you will need to head to Google Flights to take a look at your choices and guide.

You possibly can guide Costco Journey presents each on-line and by telephone.

Do you must be a Costco member to make use of Costco Journey?

Sure. Costco Journey is an unique service for Costco members.

There are two private membership ranges: Gold Star and Govt. Gold Star prices $60 per 12 months, whereas an Govt membership prices $120. The essential membership will provide you with entry to all of Costco’s companies, together with Costco Journey, whereas the Govt membership additionally comes with a 2% reward on all Costco (and Costco Journey) purchases.

I’ve discovered that the Costco Journey offers alone are value paying the $60 Gold Star annual membership payment, regardless that I do not frequently use Costco for my grocery retailer runs.

Examine websites like Groupon for low cost Costco memberships, as you possibly can generally save on that fee — or get an included present card that helps offset the fee.

For instance, let’s take a look at a five-night keep in Maui in early April. On the time of writing, Costco is at the moment providing a resort and rental automotive bundle for Resort Wailea, a Relais & Chateaux affiliated property and one in all TPG’s favourite Maui motels.

This is one value comparability breakdown of Costco Journey’s deal versus reserving immediately:

Even with out together with the extra advantages, you are already saving greater than $400 through the Costco deal. Add within the worth you get from the cardboard, day by day breakfast and resort credit score (which is greater than $1,000 in worth in the event you maximize all advantages), and also you’re taking a look at $1,442.45 in financial savings by reserving via Costco Journey versus immediately.

And since Resort Wailea is not a member of any main resort loyalty program, reserving via Costco Journey would not imply lacking out on elite evening credit or different loyalty program advantages.

This is one other instance — this time for a Common Orlando theme park journey from June 4-6 for one grownup and two kids from Houston. The entire value when reserving every half (resort, tickets and airfare) individually got here to $2,701.35, whereas reserving it as a bundle through Costco saved simply over $300.

That is a good quantity of financial savings you may use for some frozen butterbeer or perhaps a new wand contained in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

For one, you will not essentially discover the identical availability on Costco Journey. For instance, flights booked via Costco could have some seats blocked off, and sure dates for resort stays could also be unavailable. Moreover, not all rental automotive corporations are bookable via Costco Journey (equivalent to Hertz*, which is my most well-liked rental automotive firm because of the perks I get via my Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card).

Plus, some resort stays have a minimal keep requirement. In the event you’re on the hunt for a protracted weekend getaway, you might not have the ability to reap the benefits of some Costco Journey offers.

Even whenever you do discover availability, it’s best to all the time price-check what yow will discover by reserving immediately or via your bank card journey portal and resort applications.

After reserving our implausible keep at TRS Coral simply north of Cancun via Costco, I checked out reserving via Costco once more in 2023 when planning our annual seashore trip.

Whereas Costco had a deal out there for a similar resort, we occurred to be reserving when the resort chain was having a Mom’s Day sale for anybody reserving immediately. We had been capable of check out a brand new TRS resort nearer to Playa Del Carmen, TRS Yucatan; we saved greater than $100 on a fair nicer suite than Costco Journey supplied by reserving immediately (even when contemplating the Digital Store Card we might have gotten by reserving with Costco).

One thing else to think about when reserving motels via Costco Journey is loyalty program rewards and elite standing. There are a number of motels out there to guide via Costco Journey which can be a part of main loyalty applications, from Hyatt Honors to Marriott Bonvoy to IHG One Rewards and extra. However reserving via Costco Journey — identical to reserving via most different third-party companies equivalent to Expedia — means you doubtless will not earn loyalty rewards, elite evening credit or have any elite evening advantages honored.

You may even have to make use of Costco customer support in the event you run into any points relatively than going on to the model. That is particularly vital when contemplating reserving a trip bundle that features flights, given the upper potential for delays or cancellations.

Why I really like Costco Journey

I’m sometimes a staunch proponent of reserving immediately, however Costco Journey is an exception. I’ve discovered that the advantages I can get by reserving some journeys through Costco outweigh the cons (a few of which embody having to undergo Costco for any customer support assist or sometimes shedding out on elite evening credit).

Digital Costco Store Playing cards

My favourite factor about reserving journeys via Costco Journey is the Digital Costco Store Card I get after reserving. The cardboard’s worth varies from journey to journey (typically relying on how costly the bundle you guide), however you may get lots of of {dollars} again to make use of at Costco.

The Digital Costco Store Playing cards can be utilized for Costco warehouse purchases (a sport changer with grocery costs so excessive attributable to inflation), however you may also use them towards future Costco Journey bookings. And keep in mind — Costco does not simply carry bulk grocery objects. You would use a Digital Costco Store Card to purchase a brand new flat-screen TV for film nights and sport days, a brand new out of doors patio setup forward of summer season and even Costco Pharmacy prescriptions.

I admittedly do not use Costco for groceries typically (shopping for in bulk does not make a number of sense for somebody who lives alone), however I’ve used store playing cards to assist pay for Christmas presents and future Costco Journey journeys. I’ve really been wanting into utilizing my most up-to-date Digital Costco Store Card on a brand new pair of AirPods and a brand new TV mount for my lounge.

Offers on non-points resort stays and all-inclusive resorts

Once I’m taking a look at reserving a resort keep at a model like Hyatt or Marriott, I typically select to guide immediately to be able to earn elite evening credit and factors. Nonetheless, when taking a look at properties not a part of a serious loyalty program, Costco Journey is commonly a go-to anytime I can discover a deal.

Costco Journey has a pleasant offers part, and I normally look there first if I am not offered on a particular vacation spot for a getaway. Whereas offers discovered on Costco typically have a slender reserving window, I’ve discovered that many supply a number of flexibility for the precise journey dates.

A couple of examples of limited-time offers for January embody Resort Wailea from the instance earlier on this information, all-inclusive resorts in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, and Disney and Common theme park packages.

Simplifying group holidays

I am typically the journey planner in my good friend group (which is sensible, contemplating what I do for a residing), however not everyone seems to be an avid factors and miles consumer like myself. For group journeys the place we’re splitting the price of resort rooms amongst a number of individuals, it typically does not make sense to make use of factors and miles to guide.

Costco Journey trip packages supply a manner for all of us to economize, and it makes narrowing down potential locations and motels simpler. Somewhat than everybody having to spend hours researching concepts and costs from throughout the web — which could be my thought of a enjoyable Wednesday evening however is not for a few of my associates — I sometimes simply ship them to Costco Journey to see if any of the featured offers catch their eye.

Having reservation data for a number of features of a visit, equivalent to a resort and rental automotive bundle, makes sharing and saving the itineraries a breeze.