3 little-known benefits of booking your trip at Costco

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Why not take a trip while stocking up on your bulk pantry staples?

Main points

• Costco members are entitled to more benefits than bulk products at a discount.
• The Warehouse Club has an itinerary that pays to see.
• Cash back, customer service while you travel, and special vacation packages are just a few of the benefits you get when you book a trip through Costco.

When I started shopping at Costco regularly, I usually used it for things like bulk purchases of paper towels, cleaning supplies, and giant bags of snacks. These days, I still buy those things (especially snacks), but I only use Costco for groceries and household essentials.

Over the past few years, my family has done home improvement projects through Costco, gotten eyeglasses through Costco, and booked travel through Costco. And the latter was actually a great experience even though the trip we signed up for ended up getting canceled (more on that in a bit).

If you’re thinking of going on vacation and have a Costco membership, it’s worth checking out the itinerary and seeing if it’s right for you. Here are a few little-known benefits you can enjoy in the process.

1. Support in hiccups

If you book yourself to travel and things go wrong — say, your flight gets canceled before your trip — you’ll have to sort things out yourself. This means that spending hours on the phone will get worse over time.

When you book travel through Costco, you get access to a dedicated customer service team that acts as your personal travel agent. If you need help with anything related to your trip, they will intervene on your behalf.

Years ago, my family booked a cruise to Alaska through Costco that was scheduled for August 2020. Needless to say, this journey didn’t end thanks to Covid. But Costco took care of everything and made sure our refund hit our credit card at the appropriate time.

2. A lot of money is returned

Costco travel purchases count toward the cash back you can earn through the Executive Membership Program. If you book a $4,000 trip, you’re entitled to 2% cash back, or $80.

Meanwhile, if you have the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card with CitiCard, you can earn even more cash back on your travel purchases — 3%, to boot. We used this card when we booked a trip to Alaska that was ruined, and if the trip had been done right, it would have earned us great rewards.

3. Special vacation packages

The vacation packages you book through Costco are often packages you can’t book anywhere else. For example, you can book a seven-day trip to Mexico through a travel agent or on your own. But you can’t be privy to the same lodging, transportation options, and benefits by booking a Costco trip.

Moreover, while Costco’s vacation package options are more limited, the company has expanded its offerings over the years. So you’ll be surprised how many destinations you can book with the travel program.

Not only does Costco make travel affordable, but it takes a lot of the stress out of planning. It’s worth checking out if any of Costco’s vacation packages fit your travel goals. They can be used in more than one way.