Costco Travel Vacation Packages, Benefits, Deals & Booking Guide

Costco Travel is the members-only booking service run by Costco Wholesale. It sells vacation packages, hotels, cruises, rental cars, theme park trips and guided tours. Whether it beats booking direct depends on what you buy, which membership you hold and which card you pay with.

This guide covers how Costco Travel works, what you can book, what the perks are worth, and where it falls short. It also covers insurance, cancellations and how to reach customer service. Details were checked against official Costco Travel and Costco pages in early November 2026, but offers change often, so confirm the current terms before you pay.

What Is Costco Travel?

Costco Travel is a travel agency division of Costco, open only to Costco members who live in the United States. According to its About page, it negotiates supplier rates using Costco’s buying power. It is staffed by Costco employees who are trained travel professionals, and the division is headquartered in Issaquah, Washington.

Packages often come with extras such as resort credits or a digital Costco Shop Card. Executive members also earn an annual 2% reward on eligible bookings.

Who Can Use Costco Travel (and What Membership Costs)

You need an active Costco membership to book. Costco’s current published prices are $65 a year for Gold Star and $130 a year for Executive, which is Gold Star plus a $65 upgrade fee. Each membership includes one free Household Card. Costco also says it will cancel and refund a membership if you are dissatisfied. That makes the entry cost a low-risk experiment if you are mainly curious about the travel deals.

Two details trip people up:

• Residency matters. The U.S. site sells to members residing in the United States. Canada and Australia have their own Costco Travel sites.
• Gold Star and Executive pay the same travel prices. The difference is the reward and a few member specials, not a cheaper base fare.

Costco Travel Benefits: What You Actually Get

Think of the benefits as layers. Some apply to everyone, and others depend on your membership or card.

For every member:

• Member-negotiated pricing on packages, cruises, hotels and rental cars
• Clear upfront pricing, with extra fees flagged during checkout
• Agents you can reach by phone seven days a week
• Frequent bonus offers, such as digital Costco Shop Cards, resort credits, breakfast credits or onboard cruise credit, depending on the promotion

For Executive members:

• A 2% reward on eligible Costco Travel purchases, applied after travel is completed
• You must hold an Executive membership when your travel starts
• The reward excludes taxes, fees, surcharges, gratuities, trip protection, resort and port charges, and anything bought through a third party, such as tours, activities, baggage fees, upgrades and rental car equipment
• Costco’s membership page caps the annual 2% reward at $1,250 across Costco and Costco Travel purchases

For Costco Anywhere Visa holders:

• Citi’s card earns 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel, and Costco Travel is named as qualifying
• Costco’s own travel page confirms the 3% stacks on top of the Executive 2% reward

Is the Executive upgrade worth it for travel?

The math is simple. The upgrade costs $65, and 2% of $3,250 is $65. If you expect to spend roughly $3,250 or more on eligible Costco purchases in a year, the upgrade pays for itself. For travel only, remember the exclusions above, so your eligible total will be lower than your trip total.

A quick example: you book a $4,000 package where the full amount qualifies. As an Executive member you would earn about $80 from the 2% reward. Pay with the Costco Anywhere Visa and you would add about $120 from the 3% card rate, for roughly $200 combined. Real packages rarely qualify in full, so treat that as a ceiling.

Costco Credit Card Travel Benefits

The Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi is the most common companion to Costco Travel. Its current rewards structure, per Costco and Citi, includes:

• 3% on restaurants and eligible travel, including Costco Travel
• 2% on other Costco and Costco.com purchases
• 1% on everything else
• Higher rates on gas and EV charging, up to an annual spending cap
• No foreign transaction fees, which helps on international trips
• Cash back paid yearly as a reward certificate redeemable at Costco warehouses

Do the Citi card’s travel protections still apply?

Check this before you rely on it. Citi’s own travel-benefits page lists worldwide travel accident insurance, rental car insurance and travel and emergency assistance. Some independent reviews note Citi has stopped promoting protections such as trip cancellation and interruption coverage. Terms can change, so read the current Guide to Benefits tied to your account. Rental car coverage on cards usually requires you to pay the full rental with that card and decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver.

A smaller point: if you pay with this card, your cash back arrives once a year, not at checkout. That is easy to forget when comparing totals.

What You Can Book Through Costco Travel

Vacation packages and hotels

Packages bundle a hotel with some combination of flights, a rental car, resort credits or breakfast credits. Destinations on the U.S. site include Hawaii, Florida, California, Las Vegas, New York, Nashville, Seattle, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Louisiana. International options include Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, Canada, Tahiti, Fiji and the Cook Islands.

There is also a “Build Your Own Trip” tool for hotel bundles with brands such as Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG, plus city packages for places like Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

One package analyzed by The Points Guy included a rental car, a $306 digital Shop Card, a daily $60 breakfast credit per suite and a $400 resort credit. That is an example of how extras can add up. It is not a price you can count on, because every offer is different.

One thing to know about loyalty programs: hotel stays booked through Costco Travel may not earn points or elite benefits. If you chase hotel status, price that trade-off in.

Costco Travel flights and airline tickets

This is the most common point of confusion. Costco Travel does not sell standalone airline tickets. Flights appear only inside a vacation package or a Build Your Own bundle.

Other practical points:

• The airline list is limited to Costco’s partners, so your preferred carrier may not be available.
• You can add a frequent flyer number, but you cannot pay with miles.
• Packages may be “land only,” meaning you book the flights yourself.
• If you just need airfare, compare prices on airline sites or a fare search tool. Costco is not designed for that.

Costco Travel cruises

Costco Travel lists dozens of itineraries from major lines, including Carnival, Celebrity, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn and Cunard. It also sells river cruises from Uniworld and Trafalgar and offers shore excursions.

You can browse by destination (Alaska, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Hawaii and others) or by home port, such as Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, Miami, Seattle or Port Canaveral. Promotions often add onboard credit or a Shop Card. Compare the cruise line’s direct price and perks against Costco’s total before booking. Both can run sales.

Cruise cancellation rules are generally stricter and tiered by how close you are to sailing. That makes the insurance section below worth reading.

Costco Travel rental cars

Rental cars are widely considered Costco Travel’s strongest product. The Low Price Finder searches Alamo, Avis, Budget and Enterprise and applies the best available Costco rate or coupon automatically.

Useful perks, per Costco’s own rental FAQs:

• No-penalty cancellation: Reservations made through the Low Price Finder can be canceled without a penalty fee any time before pickup, through your account.
• One additional driver included: At U.S. locations, reservations with all four brands include one free additional driver. Canada and international coverage differs by brand, so check the FAQ if you are traveling outside the U.S.
• Loyalty numbers: You can enter Avis, Budget and Enterprise loyalty numbers before finalizing.
• Age rule: The booking form asks you to confirm you are at least 25. Drivers under 25 may face extra fees or restrictions.

A tip on car seats: they are normally an add-on handled by the rental agency. Confirm availability and the price with the pickup location after booking, or bring your own seat if that is easier for your family.

Rental cars are also a good way to test Costco Travel without committing to a big trip. A free-cancellation booking takes about five minutes.

Costco Travel Hawaii, Disneyland and theme parks

Hawaii packages cover Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, and Costco also lists Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa on Oahu. If you are weighing islands, our Hawaii travel guide can help you narrow the choice. (Internal link 1: replace with your Hawaii or island-hopping guide URL.)

For Costco Travel Disneyland trips, there is a dedicated DISNEYLAND Resort page, along with Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney. Costco also lists Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and Great Wolf Lodge packages.

Theme park bundles are where the extras tend to matter most, since park tickets, hotel and car often come together. Verify what is included, such as park hopper options or ticket days, because those details vary by offer.

Safaris and luxury trips: the Angama Mara example

Costco Travel also sells African safaris through Lion World Travel. Its Costco-branded pages include a nine-day “Ultimate Kenya and Tanzania” itinerary featuring a stay at Angama Mara in Kenya’s Maasai Mara region, along with a hot air balloon safari option that depends on the weather.

Some practical notes for premium trips like this:

• The supplier’s site is operated by The Travel Corporation, not Costco, so its terms of use apply.
• Lion World Travel is based in Canada, so your bank may add a foreign currency fee to card payments.
• Pricing is subject to change because of currency and fuel factors, so confirm the current rate with an agent.

Costco Travel Deals, Promo Codes and Black Friday

The best deals are usually found on the site’s own pages: Limited-Time Deals, This Week’s Deals, Member Favorites, Hidden Gems and All-Inclusive Resorts & Cruises.

A few points on promo codes:

• Real promotions usually come with a specific code shown on the offer page, plus book-by and travel-through dates. For example, earlier in 2026 Costco ran a Citi cardholder promotion that offered a bonus Shop Card on certain Mexico and Costa Rica packages if you booked inside a short window. Check whether a similar offer is live now.
• Coupon-aggregator codes for Costco Travel are rarely valid. Use codes from Costco Travel pages or your member emails.
• A Shop Card bonus is not an instant discount. It is often issued after your travel, so it works like a future credit at Costco.

Black Friday timing (2026): Black Friday falls on November 27, and Costco warehouses are closed on Thanksgiving, November 26, although Costco.com stays up. Costco’s big sale event is mostly about merchandise, so don’t assume a travel discount. Watch the Limited-Time Deals page and your inbox, then compare against cruise lines and hotels, which often run their own Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers.

How to Book Costco Travel (Step by Step)

1. Confirm your membership. You’ll need your membership details at checkout. Use the Login link on the Costco Travel site to access your account and bookings.
2. Pick your product. Choose Packages, Hotels, Cruises or Rental Cars in the search tool.
3. Enter details accurately. Add travel dates, number of rooms, travelers and child ages, since these affect pricing.
4. Read what’s included. Check taxes, resort fees, airline details, transfers and Shop Card terms before you pay.
5. Compare to booking direct. Price the same hotel or cruise on the supplier’s site and note any perks you would lose.
6. Decide on insurance within the window that unlocks any pre-existing condition waiver (more below).
7. Save your confirmation and any booking reference. For flights, keep the airline record locator too.
8. Call if the trip is complicated. Multi-city trips, large families and special-needs requests usually go smoother with an agent.

Costco Travel Insurance

People often ask, “Does Costco offer travel insurance?” Yes. Costco Travel’s insurance page says the plans are offered by Cover-More Inc., a Zurich company, as made available through CWC Travel Inc. for Costco Travel. You can request a quote at costco.zurichcovermore.com.

What the official page says:

• Plans are designed to help with events like sudden illness before departure, medical emergencies during a trip, lost baggage and missed flights.
• The plan includes 24/7 travel and emergency assistance: 1-888-222-1382 within the U.S. and Canada, or 1-416-260-4501 worldwide (collect).
• The pre-existing medical condition exclusion can be waived only if you buy the plan within 21 days of your initial trip payment, insure the full trip cost, and are medically fit to travel when you buy.
• Plans are not available to New York residents at this time. The pre-existing exclusion does not apply to New Hampshire residents.

Costco’s page only gives brief summaries. The policy documents set the actual limits and exclusions, so read them. The 21-day clock matters most on expensive cruises and international trips, where one cancellation can cost thousands.

For Costco travel insurance reviews, look at the policy language and claim-handling experiences from several independent sources instead of one star rating. The same goes for cheaper alternatives. Compare coverage limits, not just price.

Costco Travel Cancellation Policy

There is no single rule, because cancellation terms depend on the product and the supplier. Costco’s cancellation page points to help-center instructions for packages, cruises, room-only hotel bookings and rental cars, plus cruise payment and change forms.

Here is what holds up across the official pages:

• Rental cars booked through the Low Price Finder can be canceled with no penalty fee any time before pickup.
• Packages, hotels and cruises follow the rules of the hotel, airline or cruise line plus Costco’s package terms, so deadlines and fees vary.
• Cruise fees generally rise as the sailing date gets closer.
• Shop Cards and credits may be reduced or lost if you cancel, so read the offer terms.

Before you pay for a package, find the cancellation deadline in the booking terms and put it in your calendar. If you need flexibility, choose refundable rates where offered and consider insurance.

Costco Travel Customer Service, Phone Number and Hours

The number shown across the official Costco Travel site is 1-866-921-7925. A Help Center is also linked at the top of the site, and the Contact Us page lists support by product type, so use the line that matches your booking.

Official support hours (Pacific Time) are:

Day	Hours (PT)
Monday–Friday	5 a.m.–7 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday	6 a.m.–5 p.m.

Costco Travel agents are not a 24-hour desk. If you search for a “24 hours” number, be aware that the only 24/7 line in the official materials is the insurance emergency assistance line for covered travelers.

A safety note: many scam-style web pages and PDFs list different “Costco Travel” phone numbers, some with odd formatting, to trick people into calling. Only use numbers from costcotravel.com, your confirmation email or your Costco account. Costco also keeps a fraud-prevention page for members who think they have been targeted.

If something goes wrong during travel, contact the airline, hotel or rental agency first when they can fix it on the spot. Then call Costco Travel to document the issue.

Is Costco Travel Worth It?

It can be, but only for certain trips.

It tends to shine for:

• Rental cars, thanks to free cancellation and an included additional driver
• Resort and theme park packages where credits, breakfast or extras are included
• Cruises, if the total beats the cruise line’s direct offer
• Executive members who can stack the 2% reward with the 3% card rate
• Travelers who like having a human agent to call

It tends to fall short for:

• Standalone flights, since they are not sold
• Travelers loyal to hotel or airline status programs
• Complex itineraries where you want total control
• Last-minute changes, especially during disruptions

What reviews say

Trustpilot shows Costco Travel with a low overall score, around 1.5 to 2 out of 5 across roughly 160 reviews as of this writing. That platform skews toward unhappy customers, and the reviews include some from outside the U.S. Still, the pattern is useful. Happy reviewers praise helpful agents and smooth trips, such as a Disney World family vacation. Unhappy ones focus on flight disruptions, changes after booking, refund disputes and hard-to-reach service.

The lesson is not “avoid it.” It is to understand that you are buying through an agency, so know the terms, keep records, and use insurance for expensive trips.

Quick comparison

Factor	Costco Travel	Booking direct	Big booking sites
Membership needed	Yes	No	No
Standalone flights	No	Yes	Yes
Package extras (credits, Shop Cards)	Often	Sometimes	Sometimes
Hotel/airline loyalty perks	Often limited	Yes	Varies
Phone agents	Yes	Varies	Varies
Free-cancel rental cars	Yes (before pickup)	Varies	Varies

Smart Tips and Common Mistakes

• Price-check every package. Add up the value of included credits only if you will actually use them.
• Read the exclusions. Resort fees, port charges and gratuities can sit outside the quoted price and outside the 2% reward.
• Don’t assume the Shop Card helps now. It may arrive after your trip.
• Book flights carefully. Make sure your passport names match your airline tickets, and save the airline record locator.
• Check the hotel’s real location. Packages list a destination region, and the hotel may be farther from what you want to see than the name suggests.
• Use free-cancel rentals as a test. Book early, then re-check the price closer to pickup.
• Watch the 21-day insurance window if pre-existing conditions are a concern.
• Compare once more before paying. Five minutes against the supplier’s own site can save real money.

Costco Travel Canada and Careers

Canadian members use costcotravel.ca, which has its own offers and rental car perks. The U.S. site does not sell to Canadian residents.

For careers, Costco Travel’s About page says it is hiring and describes a division headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, with offices in Oklahoma City and near Dallas, Texas. Current openings are listed through the link on that page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Costco Travel works best when you treat it as one tool among several, not an automatic discount. Rental cars, theme park trips and resort packages are the clearest wins, especially with an Executive membership and the Costco Anywhere Visa. Standalone airfare, loyalty-driven bookings and last-minute changes are where it is weaker.

Your practical next step: pick one upcoming trip, price it through Costco Travel and direct, and add up credits, cancellation terms and the loyalty points you would give up. If you want a low-risk start, book a free-cancel rental car. For a bigger trip, plan your timing and compare cruise options in our cruise planning guide

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