People are obsessed with booking their vacations through Costco - and now there are even more benefits
Costco's travel site offers its members a selection of deals from flights to cruises and rental cars.
The first section of the site is hotels. You can search by a destination and find somewhere to stay, even if it's that same day. We checked out a weekend in New York City in April.
Prices started at $220.25 for two nights' accommodation, including taxes, in hotels outside of the city.
In central Manhattan, there was a selection of hotels that cost between $400 and $500 for the weekend.
We compared this hotel recommendation for the same dates on Booking.com. Initially, the prices looked much cheaper, but after tax was factored in, Costco came out $50 cheaper.
You can also buy vacation packages: flights, hotels, and transfers or trips to theme parks.
One downside of the website is that you can't just search for low-cost deals. You need to have a date and destination in mind, though there are a few recommended packages.
Once you select the option you want, it's very easy to navigate, and Costco allows you to customize your trip. This means that you aren't limited to flight times that don't work for you.
At that point, an alert popped up warning us about a new construction next to the hotel, so there are no surprises.
You then have the chance to change your transfers to and from the hotel and book a private transfer for an extra cost.
There is a big premium for wheelchair-accessible travel.
The retailer is upfront about its cancellation terms, which is refreshing. On some low-cost websites, you'll need to dig for these. There is an option to chat with a customer-service advisor if you need assistance.
There's another section for cruise travel. There are 12 cruise lines to choose from, which cover all continents except Africa. Realizing that cruising is a big commitment, Costco offers a guide for newbies.
The system of searching for a cruise is straightforward: you can search by any destination and month and sort them by price, rating, and duration.
We decided to put it to the test and compared the cost of booking a six-night Royal Caribbean cruise from Venice to Barcelona on Costco's website versus booking directly through Royal Caribbean.
We selected the same dates, room categories, and position on the ship. The total cost came out exactly the same. For two people, including tax, it was $2,408.40.
However, Costco added another perk by offering me a $165 gift card that could be spent on board.
Lastly, it offers car rental through four brands: Avis, Alamo, Budget, and Enterprise.
We searched for a 24-hour rental in April, and Alamo came out cheapest overall on Costco's site.
We compared this with booking directly on Alamo's website at the same time. It was $36 cheaper to book with Costco overall.
Verdict: Costco Travel was an easy system to use, and it was great to have the opportunity to tailor your trip in one place, exactly the way you want.
The biggest draw is that, unlike other low-cost platforms, it's transparent with pricing from the start, which means you aren't suddenly surprised by a bigger total cost when you go to book.
Overall, we would recommend.
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