What it is best to know earlier than buying

• Costco Travel affords members offers on trip packages, cruises, and rental vehicles.
• Travelers will need to have an lively Costco membership to e-book via the service.
• The service has a restricted number of companions, resembling particular automotive rental firms and resort manufacturers.

For many patrons, Costco is usually a one-stop retailer. Customers can purchase a worth pack of paper towels, AirPods, a jumbo bag of frozen fruit and a mattress multi function go to (amongst tons of different gadgets). That extensive number of stock extends nicely past the warehouse partitions: the corporate sells journeys, too.

Costco Travel can supply buyers offers on all the pieces from cruises to rental vehicles. However, relying on the kind of journey they plan, they could discover the service has limitations as nicely.

Here’s what to learn about reserving a visit via Costco.

How does Costco Travel work?

Costco Travel affords a spread of choices for vacationers trying to e-book a visit. “We use our buying authority to negotiate the best value in the marketplace, and then pass on the savings to Costco members,” the service stated on its website.

Those embody curated trip packages to locations around the globe, which can embody mixtures of flights, resort stays, automotive leases and extra, in line with Assistant Vice President and General Merchandise Manager Chris Hendrix.

“In these bundled packages, our buyers vet and hand-pick each resort and component. … We limit our selection to ensure the best quality and value,” he advised USA TODAY in an e mail.

What are you able to e-book via Costco Travel?

Travelers may also e-book cruises, rental vehicles and construct their very own journeys to varied cities, reserving resort stays or bundling them with flights and automotive leases, in line with Hendrix. The firm additionally sells journey insurance coverage. Those making bookings can achieve this on-line or by cellphone, and the service has reservation brokers that may help vacationers earlier than, throughout and after their journey, he stated.

However, Kerry Mooneyham, proprietor of Midwest Travel Solutions, beforehand advised USA TODAY that reserving via Costco Travel just isn’t the identical as working with a journey agent that can supply extra personalised steering.

“You’re going to have the same cruise whether you book it directly with Carnival, you book it with Costco, or you book it with me,” she stated. “The cruise is exactly the same. … It’s behind the scenes that we do things to make it better.”

Booking with Costco Travel could make extra sense for some journeys than others, she added.

These individuals love Costco greater than you: They have the tattoos to show it.

“I think maybe when you’re not exactly sure what is the best option for you, it’s really a time when you should be reaching out to an expert who understands the differences between cruise A and cruise B,” Mooneyham stated. “But if you know exactly what you want, that’s a time where you might only be looking at, you know, ‘What’s the best value for me?'”

Hendrix stated the corporate has greater than 1,500 Costco Travel workers with consultants in varied focus areas, together with cruises, Hawaii and Europe.

But vacationers could not all the time discover what they’re searching for. Hendrix famous Costco solely affords automotive leases with Avis, Alamo, Budget and Enterprise, for instance, and it has a restricted number of accommodations and resort manufacturers. Certain locations may not be accessible for his or her trip package deal and build-your-own-trip choices (although the corporate is frequently including to its portfolio).

Can you e-book flights with Costco Travel?

“Flights are available as part of our vacation packages or our build-your-own options,” Hendrix stated. However, vacationers can’t at present buy flights alone via Costco Travel.

Do you should be a Costco member to make use of Costco Travel?

Yes. Travelers should be lively Costco members to make use of the service. Depending on the tier, Costco memberships value between $65 and $130 per yr – earlier than any relevant gross sales tax – in line with its website.

Costco Executive members additionally get an annual 2% reward on qualifying purchases made via Costco Travel.

“Many of our programs offer Costco Travel members an exclusive Costco Shop Card for their travel purchase, which they receive once their travel is completed, and can be used in the warehouse or online at Costco.com,” Hendrix added.

Nathan Diller is a client journey reporter for USA TODAY primarily based in Nashville. You can attain him at ndiller@usatoday.com.