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How to save on travel with a Costco credit card

Yahoo Personal Finance· Getty Images
Kendall Little
·Senior Writer, Credit Cards
Updated 5 min read

If you’re a regular Costco shopper, the Costco Anywhere Visa? Card by Citi can make a lot of sense for your wallet. With savings both at the wholesale club and on additional everyday spending categories, it has a lot of savings potential.

Before you plan your next vacation, you should also consider its potential value as a travel credit card. Specifically, as a way to save more money when you book a trip through Costco Travel.

Whether you’re a Costco member already or considering joining the club, here’s what to know about saving on your next Costco Travel booking with a Costco credit card.

Costco Anywhere Visa? Card by Citi details

Annual fee: $0 (though you must be a Costco member, which costs $60-$120 annually)

Welcome offer: N/A

Rewards:

  • 4% cash back on eligible gas and electric vehicle charging purchases (up to the first $7,000 spent each year, then 1%)

  • 3% cash back at restaurants

  • 3% cash back on eligible travel purchases (including Costco Travel)

  • 2% cash back on all other Costco and Costco.com purchases

  • 1% back on everything else

More details: This card offers few added benefits beyond the cash rewards it offers. You’ll receive your cash-back rewards once per year as a rewards certificate, which you can redeem only at U.S. Costco warehouses in a single transaction.

Costco Travel is a service Costco members can use to book hotels, rental cars, cruises, and whole vacation packages at discounted rates. You can even find theme park tickets (including Disneyland and Walt Disney World) and all-inclusive resort packages.

While you must be a Costco member to use Costco Travel, there’s no option to book your trip in-store at a warehouse. You can either search travel options through the online Costco Travel portal or speak with an expert by phone at 1-866-921-7925.

If you have a Costco Executive membership (the $120/year tier), Costco Travel purchases also count toward your 2% annual rewards. You’ll earn 2% rewards on the bulk of your travel costs, though taxes, fees, surcharges, and some other parts of the transaction may not be included.

When you book through Costco Travel, your package often comes with additional credits or other benefits to add even more value to your vacation. You may also earn Digital Costco Shop Cards with your travel purchase. These are essentially Costco gift cards that you can use on future Costco spending with Costco Travel, on Costco.com, or at Costco warehouses.

When you search for deals through the Costco Travel site, the itinerary overviews will typically indicate whether the trip comes with a Digital Costco Shop Card (along with info about daily resort credits and other savings). These gift cards can offer you hundreds of dollars in value back on your vacation to put toward future everyday spending with Costco.

When you use your Costco Anywhere Visa to book a trip through Costco Travel, you’ll get 3% cash back on the purchase. These 3% rewards are in addition to the 2% you’ll earn as an Executive Member and any potential Digital Costco Shop Cards.

Plus, your Costco Anywhere Visa includes a few travel protections that can help keep you covered on your trip. These include travel accident insurance, car rental insurance, travel and emergency assistance, and more. Make sure you read your card’s terms to see what your exact protections are.

Finally, this card has no foreign transaction fees — so you can use your Costco card and earn more rewards when traveling abroad without taking on any extra charges.

With multiple ways to earn rewards, it’s possible to score a lot of potential savings on your Costco Travel booking.

Let’s take, for example, a family of four planning a vacation to an all-inclusive family resort in Cancun during the fall. They’ll leave from Dallas and want to book a room at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun from Oct. 6-11.

If they were to book this vacation through Costco Travel today — the all-inclusive resort, flights for four, and transportation to and from the airport — the cost would total $5,748.58. For comparison, we also looked up the price to book the same trip directly through the airline and hotel — today, that cost is about $5,700.

While, on the surface, the two bookings are almost exactly the same price, that doesn’t account for the extra Costco rewards.

Here’s the savings breakdown when we account for the Costco Travel rewards. The below amounts assume all costs are eligible for rewards and that our family has an Executive membership.

  • 3% cash back with the Costco Anywhere card: $172.46

  • 2% back with Executive membership: $114.97

  • Digital Costco Shop Card included with booking: $321

  • Total: $608.43

Of course, you can also save when you book directly with the airline and hotel if you’re a member of their loyalty programs. You could also use another travel credit card with rewards for travel bookings.

But there is a ton of value in the multiple ways to earn and save through Costco — if you’re already a regular Costco shopper and will get the full value of your rewards. In this case, you could essentially reduce your cost from $5,748.58 to $5,140.15, with those savings going toward your future Costco spending.

Note: These totals are just examples; the actual amount you’ll owe will change depending on when you’re looking to book and your specific travel details, as well as adding on fees and taxes not included here

If you’re not sure a Costco credit card is the best option for your travel savings, there are plenty of great travel rewards credit cards available today with a range of rewards programs, categories, and added benefits. Here are some of our top picks:

  • Annual fee
    $95
  • Welcome offer
    Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (that's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel?)
  • Card type(s)
    Travel
  • Ongoing Purchases APR
    21.49% - 28.49% Variable
  • Recommended credit score
    Excellent/Good
  • Rewards rate
    • 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
    • 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries
    • 2x points on all other travel purchases
    • 1x points on all other purchases
  • Benefits
    • Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel
    • Earn up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel
    • On every account anniversary, earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year

Why we like it: For a $95 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers travel rewards and great redemptions, along with a generous welcome bonus. Ongoing rewards include 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, and 1x points on all non-bonus category spending. You’ll also get an annual $50 statement credit each account year for hotel purchases through Chase Travel; travel you purchase through Chase Travel (excluding spending that qualifies for the hotel credit) earns 5x points and all other travel spending earns 2x points.

When you’re ready to redeem your Chase Sapphire Preferred points, you can get a 25% boost when you redeem for travel through Chase. That means that every point is worth 1.25 cents toward travel when booking through the issuer's portal. You’ll also get an annual points bonus on your account anniversary equal to 10% of your total purchases over the year prior.

  • Annual fee
    $95
  • Welcome offer
    Enjoy a $250 Capital One Travel credit, plus earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
  • Card type(s)
    Travel
  • Purchase APR
    19.99% - 29.99% variable
  • Recommended credit score
    Good, Excellent
  • Rewards rate
    • 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
    • 2x miles on all other purchases
  • Benefits
    • Receive up to a $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fees
    • Receive a $50 experience credit, room upgrades, and early check-in at eligible hotels
    • Access Hertz's Five Star membership tier, offering free upgrades, a wider selection of vehicles, and more

Why we like it: Solid travel rewards earnings don’t get more straightforward than the Capital One Venture. This card has an annual fee and generous welcome offer. For rewards, you’ll earn 5x miles when you book hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel and 2x miles on every other purchase.

To redeem your miles for travel, you’ll have the option to book a trip through Capital One Travel or to put the rewards value toward a travel purchase on your card statement. The Venture Card also offers a credit up to $100 toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and a $50 experience credit when you book a hotel stay through Capital One Travel’s Lifestyle Collection.

  • Annual fee
    $325
  • Welcome offer
    Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards? points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first 6 months, plus 20% back on restaurant spending worldwide (up to $100 in statement credits) for new cardmembers through November 6, 2024
  • Card type(s)
    Travel, Rewards
  • Ongoing Purchases APR
    See Pay Over Time APR
  • Recommended credit score
    Excellent/Good
  • Rewards rate
    • 4x Membership Rewards Points at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x)
    • 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x)
    • 3x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com
    • 2x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com
    • 1x Membership Rewards points on all other eligible purchases
  • Benefits
    • NEW: Five Guys is now eligible for $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits each month when you pay with your American Express Gold Card at Five Guys, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, and Wine.com (enrollment required)
    • NEW: Up to $100 in annual statement credits ($50 semi-annually) when you use your American Express Gold Card on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants on the Resy app or Resy.com
    • NEW: Up to $84 per year ($7/month) in statement credits after using your American Express Gold Card to pay at more than 9,000 Dunkin’? locations nationwide

Why we like it: The American Express Gold Card is another great travel option for earning rewards today to use on future travel. It carries a hefty annual fee (see rates and fees) but has a generous welcome offer and plenty of opportunities to recoup the fee back through rewards and annual credits.

This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken

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