Can You Get Cheaper Flights Through Costco? What To Know

There’s a widely held belief that you can find cheap flights on Costco Travel. While there is some truth to this statement, it’s important to know that you can’t buy a flight on its own through the platform, much less a “cheaper” on than you’d find on another meta-search engine.

Costco Travel doesn't sell standalone airfare. Flights only come inside a vacation package, and the fare itself usually runs pretty average. Where Costco Travel actually helps you save is on cruises, full vacation packages, and rental cars. 

Here's how it works and when it's worth using.

Key takeaways

• Costco Travel doesn't sell standalone flights. Airfare is only available as part of a vacation package. 
• The savings come from the bundle, not the flight.
• Flights booked through Costco are standard airline tickets with a record locator. 
• You can add your frequent flyer number, but you can't pay with miles.
• You must be a Costco member. A Gold Star membership costs $65 a year, and Executive costs $130. 
• Many bookings include a bonus Digital Costco Shop Card. It's kind of like a reward (or rebate) provided for booking with Costco Travel. It’s typically sent after your trip, not something applied at checkout, and it comes with some spending restrictions.
• The best combo for savings: Use Going for flights, and Costco for cruises, cars, and other packages non-inclusive of flights. 

Can you book flights through Costco Travel?

Does Costco offer flight discounts?

First thing’s first: Costco does not sell flights on their own, only as part of packages.

As part of larger packages, once you break the cost of the flights out on their own, a Costco flight purchased as part of a package is usually the same as booking directly with the airline. On a simple domestic route, the fare difference is often negligible to the fare on the airline's website. The discount comes with the packages. Bundle the flight with a hotel or car, and the total can beat booking each piece separately.

How to book a flight with Costco Travel

Members cannot log in and buy just an airline ticket. Flights only appear when you build a package that includes airfare. Once you do, Costco collects your details and issues a ticket through its airline partner, complete with a record locator you can use on the airline's site.

You can add a frequent flyer number to earn miles per the airline's rules, but you cannot redeem miles to pay for a Costco Travel flight.

What airlines does Costco Travel use?

Costco works with a curated set of partners, not every carrier. As of late 2025, its published partners included Alaska, American, Delta, United, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Hawaiian, WestJet, and Fiji Airways, among more than twenty full-service airlines. Notably, it doesn't include Southwest.

The list shifts, so check Costco Travel's help center for your route.

Is Costco Travel worth it? (And is it cheaper?)

Costco's strength is bundling, where it layers in perks that standalone bookings rarely match: a Digital Costco Shop Card on many bookings, delivered after you travel and spendable like cash at any warehouse.

Reviews are strongest for cruises, resort packages, and vacation bundles, and weaker on flexibility. Even on car rentals, it’s smart to compare prices elsewhere first, as Costco isn’t always the cheapest.

How to get cheaper flights: Pair Costco with Going

The winning strategy is to stop asking Costco to do the one thing it doesn’t do well. Use each tool for its strength: Going for flights, Costco for packages.

Going watches fares on your routes and alerts you to deals, sales, and mistake fares, the standalone airfare savings Costco simply doesn't offer.

Going Elite members get the rarest deals, including premium-cabin fares near economy prices. Here’s how it works in practice:

1. With Going’s alerts, identify your dream flight, then book directly with the airline for full flexibility and miles.
2. Use Costco Travel for the parts it does well: cruises, resort packages, and car rentals.

→ See how Going works. For more expert tips, check out our guides on flight hacks and how to save money on flights.

How much does a Costco membership cost?

You need a membership to use Costco Travel. A Gold Star membership costs $65 a year, and Executive costs $130.

Executive members earn a 2% annual reward on eligible purchases, including Costco Travel, capped at $1,000, and Costco refunds the upgrade if the reward falls short of the extra $65 you’d pay upgrading from Gold Start to Executive.

If you travel through Costco often, the Executive tier can pay for itself.

How does Costco Travel work?

Costco Travel is a members-only agency that bundles flights, hotels, cruises, and rental cars (only available to US members). Most bookings include a Digital Costco Shop Card whose value is shown upfront, and in 2026 the platform added tours and activities through a partnership with Viator.

Everything is prepaid through Costco, and the negotiated package rate, plus the Shop Card and Executive reward, is where the value comes from.

Costco Travel car rentals

Car rentals are one of Costco Travel's most popular products, often bundling extras like a free additional driver or no young-renter fees.

Which car rental companies work with Costco?

Costco Travel books through major agencies such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise, among others. Availability varies by location, so the same city may show different companies on different dates.

How to book a car rental with Costco

1. Log in at CostcoTravel.com
2. Enter your pickup and drop-off details
3. Compare the quotes

Because car prices vary greatly by provider and time frame, check a couple of other sites before you book to confirm Costco is actually the better deal.

Costco Travel packages

Packages are Costco Travel's flagship. Popular bundles cover Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, and Disney destinations, combining flights, hotels, transfers, and sometimes resort credits into one prepaid price.

The Shop Card and included perks frequently make the bundle cheaper than assembling the same trip yourself, especially for beach and resort vacations.

Costco Travel cruises

Cruises are another strong category, spanning the major lines. Every cruise sailing comes with a Digital Costco Shop Card, and bookings often add onboard credits or extras on top of the cruise line's own price.

For travelers who’d book the cruise anyway, going through Costco is a low-effort way to get extras at no added cost.

Costco travel insurance: Is it worth it?

Costco offers travel protection, but it has some downsides. The plan is one-size-fits-all with little customization, and you only get the low price by adding it while booking a Costco vacation package. Costco doesn’t sell it directly. It’s provided through Cover-More, a Zurich company that underwrites the policies and handles claims, and runs roughly 5% of your trip cost.

It can make sense for protecting a large, nonrefundable cruise or package, but travelers report frustrating claims experiences with heavy documentation requirements, so it’s worth comparing against a dedicated travel insurer before you commit.

Costco Travel vs. booking direct (and other sites)

Costco can win on total cost for packages and cruises, but booking direct is easier to change and better for earning status. This table breaks it down.

Costco Travel vs. booking direct vs. other travel sites