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You might find a great deal and get a shop card to spend when you return home from vacation. Something else to consider when booking hotels through Costco Travel is loyalty program rewards and elite status. There are a lot of hotels available to book through Costco Travel that are part of major loyalty programs, from Hyatt Honors to Marriott Bonvoy to IHG One Rewards and more.
Award vs. cash calculator
I've actually been looking into using my most recent Digital Costco Shop Card on a new pair of AirPods and a new TV mount for my living room. The Digital Costco Shop Cards can be used for Costco warehouse purchases (a game changer with grocery prices so high due to inflation), but you can also use them toward future Costco Travel bookings. You could use a Digital Costco Shop Card to buy a new flat-screen TV for movie nights and game days, a new outdoor patio setup ahead of summer or even Costco Pharmacy prescriptions. Even without including the additional benefits, you're already saving more than $400 via the Costco deal. Trips booked through Costco Travel are often discounted and/or include perks and benefits you may not get by booking directly or through other booking portals. Usually, a trip booked through Costco Travel will also include a Digital Costco Shop Card (essentially a type of Costco gift card) of varying value.
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This is especially important when considering booking a vacation package that includes flights, given the higher potential for delays or cancellations. While Costco had a deal available for the same resort, we happened to be booking when the resort chain was having a Mother's Day sale for anyone booking directly. "We had already decided on where we were going, but we were flexible on the travel date and ship," said Ostrander. You can click on Kirkland Signature or Buyer's Choice deals to see featured offers, but they don't necessarily account for all of Costco's best deals. The main benefit of booking a cruise through Costco is that every booking comes with a Digital Costco Shop Card and/or onboard credit. Whether or not you currently have a Costco membership, you shouldn't dismiss Costco Travel as just another online travel agency.
Card Type
I noticed a few things as I road-tested Costco's booking tool and compared it to the cruise lines' versions. A six-night Mexico cruise on Carnival Miracle, departing from Los Angeles Oct. 8, was listed as $584 for a balcony cabin on Carnival and $564 on Costco. The difference before the perks was $348, plus you get roughly $200 in value from the perks alone. I was not surprised to see that you could book Disney cruises through Costco, but they are not eligible for either Kirkland Signature or Buyer's Choice deals. For me, the $60 annual membership fee to Costco has been more than worth it to utilize Costco Travel.
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Because the cruise industry aims to enforce pricing parity across all booking channels, discounts don't usually appear in the upfront cruise fare. "Costco is usually the best deal," says KirkNC, who is careful to compare multiple outlets before locking in a fare. "We get around 8 percent back in onboard credits, which are refundable, so if we don't use them we get a credit back on our credit card." Although we know (and love) Costco warehouses for their bulk bargains, not all categories at Costco require plus-sized buys. (Think jeans, mattresses and wine, which can be purchased individually.) Cruises are the same. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear.
However, comparing the prices and benefits at a few of the resorts proved my initial reaction wrong. You cannot get a rate reduction once you pay in full for the cruise, usually 90 to 160 days before departure. "Exceptions to this policy, if any, are at the full discretion of the cruise line and are outside of the control of Costco Travel," according to the online terms and conditions. If you need to change or cancel your Costco cruise, you may be subject to fees or forfeit your deposit or portion of your cruise fare, according to each cruise line's rules.
Final prices worked out to $1,478.40 on Carnival (for two people sharing a cabin) and $1,444.40 on Costco. The Costco cruise deal was slightly better, especially if it really did come with shipboard credit. Typically, Costco Travel offers competitive rates on cruises, so you can either find a discounted deal or at least pay a similar rate offered by other travel sellers. With a Costco Gold Star subscription, you'll get one membership card for your household. It allows you to shop at any Costco warehouse worldwide, as well as online at Costco.com.
It's not like you're paying more than you would by booking directly and getting the difference in Costco money. It's also worth reiterating that after you pay for membership through StackSocial, you'll have until June 16 to redeem the membership at Costco, or you may not be able to take advantage of the deal. At the time of writing, Costco is currently offering a hotel and rental car package for Hotel Wailea, a Relais & Chateaux affiliated property and one of TPG's favorite Maui hotels. Also, if you're an Executive Member, you earn 2% back on qualifying Costco purchases (up to $1,000), including many travel purchases. With cruises, you'd earn the 2% back on the cruise fare but not on the taxes, fees, auto-gratuities, other surcharges and trip protection. What are the benefits of booking a cruise through Costco, and how do Costco's cruise prices compare with cruise line pricing?
Finally, Costco offers "Buyer's Choice" and "Kirkland Signature" cruise deals, which offer "exclusive savings and included extras," according to the Costco Cruises website. The added-value perks vary by cruise line but may include shipboard credit, complimentary dinners and spa treatments on board and special wine and culinary theme cruise access with exclusive meals, tastings and demos. My quick search through these deals revealed that Costco's Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line cruises usually have the most added freebies.
Zeger explains that Kirkland Signature deals need to represent a value at least 20% better than offers you'd find elsewhere in the market; this applies to travel or anything you'd buy in the warehouse. " Typically these required values are achieved by negotiating exclusive amenities with the cruise lines such as specialty dining, spa treatments, private events, etc.," she says. That's been my experience when booking my own cruises, as well as sailings for family and friends.
After booking our fantastic stay at TRS Coral just north of Cancun through Costco, I looked at booking through Costco again in 2023 when planning our annual beach vacation. If you're on the hunt for a long weekend getaway, you may not be able to take advantage of some Costco Travel deals. Once you log in to Costco Travel, you can search for specific dates or destinations or browse through available deals and featured destinations. I personally love perusing the limited-time deals when I know I want to plan a getaway but don't have a specific destination in mind. When we checked, a Costco "savor and spa" cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas offered similar value.
Most of us are looking for ways to keep our budgets in check these days, and buying in bulk is a great way to save. Investing in a membership for a warehouse store like Costco can help you save big in the long run, and you don't even have to pay full price to do that. Right now when you sign up for Costco's Gold Star annual membership via StackSocial, you'll not only gain access to a ton of excellent member benefits, but you will also get $40 worth of Costco credit back. At $60, you're not paying anything extra to sign up this way versus directly at Costco and the gift card value means you're essentially getting the one-year membership for just $20. When I'm looking at booking a hotel stay at a brand like Hyatt or Marriott, I generally choose to book directly in order to earn elite night credits and points. However, when looking at properties not part of a major loyalty program, Costco Travel is often a go-to anytime I can find a deal.
"I think a first time cruiser would be better off using an agency that walks them through everything," says NoVa Mimi, who books all her cruises exclusively through Costco. While the disadvantage of a cash card over a shipboard credit is that Costco hangs onto your rebate for a month longer, the payoff is usually greater. And, as anyone who regularly shops at Costco knows, it doesn't take long to blow through a few hundred dollars in gas fill-ups alone. Savvy cruisers, including many Cruise Critic members, have saved big by booking cruises through Costco.
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