This is not a sponsored post, I just really love Costco. But it may contain affiliate links. If you click through and sign up or make a purchase, I could earn a small commission or points bonus at no extra cost to you.
Costco is my happy place. I love setting aside 3 hours to wander up and down each aisle of my local warehouse, searching for markdowns and picking up fresh organic produce. But when traveling, I use my Costco membership differently. Costco offers unsurpassed travel savings, if you know how to use it right.
Let’s talk about all the ways Costco saves me money when I travel.
Why a Costco membership is the ultimate travel savings hack
From the trip planning stage to the travel days to the time at our destination, we find ourselves using our Costco membership to save money. To pay for all the things we purhcase from Costco while traveling, we use our Citi Anywhere Visa card to get cash back. (The Costco credit card has no annual fee except for your Costco membership fee.)
Costco saves money on car travel
On a road trip taking the kids to college or anywhere else, I try to organize my stops from Costco to Costco to take advantage of cheap gas and food.
Save on gas at the Costco pumps
If you’re a Costco member, do you plan your road trips around gassing up at Costco? I do!
Upfront cost savings: Costco gas costs about 25 cents less per gallon than other stations.
Cash back: Gas is excluded from the 2% cashback Costco Executive members get on most purchases. But if you have the Costco Visa, you get 5% cashback on Costco gas. (The card also gives you 4% cashback if you buy gas elsewhere, and 4% on EV charging.)
On a roadtrip, I search for Costco gas stations on my route using Google Maps. If I can reach a Costco without adding more than 10 minutes to my route, I will get my gas there. Of course, gassing up at Costco can take a little longer than other stations. There might be a line, and if you have to go to the bathroom, you need to park and walk all the way to the back of the store.
Note! Make sure you search for Costco GAS when mapping. Occasionally I have gone out of my way to stop at a Costco only to find myself at one of the few warehouses without a gas station.
Cheap meals on the road
If you do gas up at Costco, you might also want to stop at the food court for their famous $1.49 hot dog + soda deal, or a $1.99 slice of pizza. You’re not going to beat those prices at a fast food drive in! If you have time to shop, a giant bag of chips or a case of sparkling water isn’t going to go amiss with a car full of kids.
I especially love stopping at Costco en route to destinations where the food is expensive. For instance, the Costco food court is one of our favorite ways to save money on ski lunches! When we fill up on $1.99 pizza in the car on the way to a ski resort where pizza costs $12.99 a slice, that’s winning.
Get the best price on car rentals through Costco Travel
My husband recently needed a rental car while visiting our daughter at college. Like always, I used Costco Travel to book the rental car. Why?
- Price: Costco Travel nearly always has the lowest rental car price.
- Second driver: free.
- Cash back: Executive Costco members get 2% cash back on the rental fee. If you pay with a Costco Visa, you get an additional 3% back, bringing the total cash back to 5%.
- Insurance: Paying with the Costco Visa provides secondary coverage in case your rental car is damaged or stolen.
The process: Booking through Costco Travel is the same as booking it through Expedia or any other third-party site:
You choose the company you rent through and pick up the car at that company’s airport rental office. (You don’t have to go to Costco to pick up your rental car!)
When booking, you can enter your loyalty number for the rental car company, so if you are a preferred member (like we are with Budget and Avis) you can still enjoy those perks.
Note: I don’t personally pay for my rental cars using the Costco Visa. Why? My Chase Sapphire card provides primary coverage if the car is damaged or stolen, but the Costco Visa only provides secondary coverage. With secondary coverage, you have to go through your personal car insurance first.
Costco saves money on air travel
Costco periodically offers airline gift cards at a discount. Then they will go on sale for an even steeper discount. When I was taking a group of 10 to New York City for Girl Scouts last year, I bought multiple $500 Southwest gift cards at a discount at Costco and used those to pay for our flights. Between the gift cards and my Southwest Companion Pass, we saved a lot of money on that trip!
Unfortunately, I’ve read that Costco discontinued its partnership with Southwest and won’t be selling those any more. (Now, if I need a Southwest gift card, I buy it on DoorDash, 10% off with a DashPass membership.) But keep an eye out for other airlines’ discounted gift cards.
Costco vacation packages
I have to admit I don’t have a ton of experience buying vacation packages from Costco Travel. However, I did price an Alaska cruise once and the Costco package beat the price directly from the cruise line or through an agent.
Other ways Costco saves on travel
- Attraction gift cards. Always check the Travel Gift Cards section of the Costco website to see what’s on offer. Sometimes Costco sells discounted Disney three-day passes. I’ve also seen other theme park passes, ski lift tickets, baseball game tickets, etc.
- Great deals on travel gear. Luggage, backpacks, sunglasses, camping gear, bathing suits — check Costco for all this stuff when getting ready for a trip.
- Local food and gear while on your trip. Costco is an essential first stop for many Hawaii travelers, for good reason. You can get your snorkel gear. Your poke and other local food. Your pog juice and local rum. Your beach towels and Aloha shirts.
Some people buy a bunch of gear at Costco to use on vacation, then return it all before heading home. Pool floats, beach chairs — all back for a 100% refund. I wouldn’t do that. But it happens!
I have also had fun visiting Costco in Mexico and seeing the local stuff they had there. I’m looking forward to checking out more international Costcos when I can! - When you get home, make a photo book through Costco.com. Costco doesn’t have photo centers any more, but members can get a discount at Shutterfly!
Finally, when traveling overseas, Costco’s Anywhere Visa card can save you on general purchases, because it has no foreign transaction fees.
What did I miss? I’d love to hear how Costco saves you money while traveling!