Costco Vacation Deals: Should You Buy One?
Thinking of trying a vacation package? Costco vacation deals, along with deals from BJ's and Sam's Club, are convenient and save you money. But what about the downsides?
Costco doesn’t just sell cheap hot dogs, rotisserie chicken, and 30-roll boxes of toilet paper to its legions of customers. The big-box retailer also offers vacation packages to destinations around the globe, from 5-star hotels in New York City and Las Vegas to all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, to cruises in Asia and Australia.
Costco isn’t the only wholesale club offering vacation deals. BJ’s and Sam’s Club also sell travel packages to their members. But should you buy a bundled vacation deal from a warehouse club?
Here is a look at the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a vacation package from Costco and other wholesale clubs.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Pro: Convenience
Not a fan of planning your own vacations? A wholesale club offers one-stop-shopping for travelers — with just the click of a button, you can purchase a ready-made trip, including hotels, airfare, and rental cars. This takes the guesswork out of planning a trip.
“Booking a travel package through a wholesale club can mean cutting down on the endless planning and searching process that a lot of travelers face,” says Katy Nastro, a travel expert at flight deals site Going (formerly Scott's Cheap Flights). “Busybodies who hate the endless searching and just want a selection of options to choose from can find shopping through a wholesale just as satisfying as the in-person store samples.”
Con: A limited selection
Wholesale clubs don’t offer as many options when it comes to hotels, flights, cruises, and rental cars as travel sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, and Travelocity, nor can they match the unlimited selection you get when planning a trip yourself. As a result, “Not every airline, hotel, or car rental company you prefer may be included” when you buy a vacation from a wholesale club, Nastro says. For example, Costco doesn’t offer rental cars through Hertz, and Sam’s Club doesn’t offer flights.
Pro: Savings
Vacation packages from wholesale clubs are often less expensive than booking with hotels, airlines, and rental car companies directly, a 2021 Consumer Reports study found. For example, a recent Costco package for a four-night stay at the all-inclusive Riu Palace Antillas in Aruba, including flights, cost $1,454 per person, a 15% savings.
Some wholesale clubs also offer extra rotating promotions. BJ’s, for instance, currently offers customers a BJ’s gift card of up to a $500 value on qualifying cruises.
Con: Limited travel assistance
Purchasing a vacation package from a wholesale club means you’re cutting out the middleman, but that also means that you must work with the company’s customer service if a problem arises during your trip. That could prove cumbersome if you encounter an issue.
Nastro offered this example: “Say you booked your package through Costco Travel, yet you missed your connecting flight. Instead of working with the airline on this issue, you must work first with Costco Travel, which can sometimes be a pain, especially if the wholesale club travel provider's customer service wait times are lengthy."
Pro: Better cancellation policies
According to a recent study by Consumer Reports, warehouse clubs may have more lenient cancellation policies and fewer fees for rental vehicles than those offered when booking directly with a car rental company. For example, Costco car rentals have no cancellation fees, including rentals from Enterprise; however, if you were to book a prepaid rental car with Enterprise directly and cancel the reservation more than 24 hours in advance of the scheduled pickup time, the company would charge a $50 cancellation fee.
Con: You need to have a club membership
You need to be a member to take advantage of travel deals from Costco, BJ’s, or Sam’s Club. Membership prices vary by store, with some offering cheaper entry-level memberships and more costly, higher-tier memberships.
That said, you can receive deals that offset some of these initial costs, if you know when to buy one. Places like Costco often offer deals around Black Friday, where you can receive a digital gift card when you sign up.
Stack Social is offering a Gold Star Membership + $45 Digital Shop Card for the price of a $65 Gold Star membership. It is also offering an Executive Gold Star Membership + $45 Shop Card for the price of a $130 Executive Gold Star membership, both deals effectively save you $45 on your membership fee.
Bottom line
If you don’t mind having a limited selection of travel options and limited customer service, you might save a significant amount of money on your next vacation and enjoy the convenience of one-stop shopping by purchasing a travel package from a wholesale club.
Related Content
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Daniel Bortz is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Va. His work has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Consumer Reports, Newsweek, and Money magazine, among others.
-
How to Organize Your Financial Life (and Paperwork)
To simplify the future for yourself and your heirs, put a financial contingency plan in place. The peace of mind you'll get is well worth the effort.
By Leslie Gillin Bohner Published
-
Financial Confidence? It's Just Good Planning, Boomers Say
Baby Boomers may have hit the jackpot money-wise, but many attribute their wealth to financial planning and professional advice rather than good timing.
By Joe Vietri, Charles Schwab Published
-
How to Organize Your Financial Life (and Paperwork)
To simplify the future for yourself and your heirs, put a financial contingency plan in place. The peace of mind you'll get is well worth the effort.
By Leslie Gillin Bohner Published
-
Saving for Your Emergency Fund: As Easy as 1-3-6
An emergency fund that can cover six months' worth of expenses is far easier to build if you focus on smaller goals at first.
By Anthony Martin Published
-
Blowout December Jobs Report Puts Rate Cuts on Ice: What the Experts Are Saying
Jobs Report The strongest surge in hiring since March keeps the Fed on hold for now.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
The Wrong Money Question to Ask After Trump's Election
If you're wondering what moves to make with a new president moving into the White House, you're being dangerously shortsighted. Here's what to do instead.
By George Pikounis Published
-
All About Six Types of Auto Insurance Coverage
Do you know what your auto insurance policy covers? Here's a primer on some coverage categories, along with examples of how each type of coverage works.
By Karl Susman, CPCU, LUTCF, CIC, CSFP, CFS, CPIA, AAI-M, PLCS Published
-
Why You Should Check Your College's Financial Health
Colleges throughout the country are struggling financially as enrollment shrinks and expenses rise, making it important to check the financial health of the college your or your child is attending.
By Kimberly Lankford Published
-
Where to Store Your Cash in 2025
Take a fresh look at budgeting and savings opportunities for where to store your cash this year, to ensure you leave no stone unturned.
By Sean Jackson Published
-
Financial Planning: Sisters Should Be Doin' It for Themselves
More and more women are ringin' on their own financial bells (with apologies to Aretha Franklin and Eurythmics) — but that demands a robust financial plan.
By Laura Combs, CFP® Published