Why Costco Travel is My Go-To for Car Rentals (& How I Scored an Extra $150 Off My SUV Rental!)
Use a Costco Travel car rental discount or vacation package the next time you take a holiday! These travel deals can save you money on vacations!
Our experiences with Costco Travel Car Rental deals have been unmatched!
If you’re a Costco member, you’ve likely heard of Costco Travel. This service is free for all warehouse members and offers savings on various vacation packages, hotels, cruises, rental cars, and more. Personally, I’ve used this multiple times and have had amazing experiences with it!
Costco’s travel packages can include just about everything you’d need to take care of yourself, from hotels to car rentals and beyond. Before I get into my personal experience with the travel packages I’ve had (which always include the Costco car rentals), it’s important to note that even car rentals booked without a travel package are a massive benefit to Costco Travel.
We use Costco car rental for discount travel and you can too…
To score Costco car rental deals, all you have to do is be a member! With Costco Car Rentals, you can save well over 11% on rental cars, and the U.S. locations will waive any mandatory fees other car rental agencies tend to charge (as an idea, most agencies charge an extra ~$12 per day for additional drivers).
There are four car rental agencies to choose from:
I received a $150 Costco car rental discount by checking prices daily…
Whenever I book, I always set a calendar alert to check the car rental prices frequently, if not daily! More often than you’d think, the prices drop and Costco allows you to cancel the previous reservation for free and rebook at a lower price.
This is the easiest way to get a Costco car rental discount and it actually just happened to me!
I booked an SUV for a 7-day trip for just around $495. I set a daily reminder to check the price for the same reservation. Over the course of a few months, the price dropped to just $345 for the exact same SUV through Budget for Costco.
Following this tip is definitely worth your time! It took less than a minute each day to check the price and I ended up saving $150.
Costco Travel’s return policy also covers flight and hotel reservations which makes booking even more flexible!
Hip Tip: Not a Costco member? Here are other ways how to get the cheapest car rental!
Does a Costco Travel car rental include insurance?
If you do need coverage, you may add on insurance through the car rental onlinepany. You’ll need to contact the car onlinepany directly for any additional information. The price of insurance will be the same whether purchased in advance or added at pickup.
Your personal car insurance or your AAA membership may be enough to cover you driving your rental car so speak to your insurance agent or AAA representative before purchasing additional insurance.
The Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi also offers rental insurance and other credit card onlinepanies may too. Contact your credit card onlinepany to see if they provide coverage.
Costco has two non-business memberships. Here are the perks of each…
Before you book a trip or look for Costco car rental deals, it’s important to note the differences between Costco’s TWO non-business memberships so you know what the annual costs are per membership and what travel benefits are included.
The two non-business memberships you can get are:
- Gold Star Membership: $60/year
- Gold Star Executive Membership: $120/year
Both plans give you access to Costco Travel and car rental deals, but one perk that I LOVE is the fact that Executive Costco Members get a 2% reward for purchases made directly from Costco Travel! It is earned and applied after travel is onlinepleted.
While Costco Travel may seem like an obvious choice for Costco members when booking a vacay, it may not be the best option for every getaway.
However, in the past few years I’ve used Costco Travel to go to Hawaii and Arizona and I saved BIG. Check the Costco Travel website for car rental discounts, plane deals, and hotel offers that you can use too!
Don’t miss out on other Costco Travel deals like vacation packages and hotel offers…
Costco Travel has allowed me to have dream vacations! 🤩
In addition to Costco Travel car rental discounts, I’ve taken advantage of some vacation deals too. I’ve already used Costco Travel a few times and I am obsessed! I don’t know if I’ll ever book without them again. A few years ago, my hubby and I traveled to Maui, Hawaii, and we got an AMAZING deal to stay at the Ritz Carlton (I know, what?! 😱)!
Now normally, we would NEVER splurge on a hotel like this, but would you believe me if I told you it was the exact same price we would have paid if we stayed in a standard Maui hotel?! Well, it was! The craziest part is that this Costco Travel came with so many extra amenities we would’ve had to book separately, all included in one price.
We had such a great time at an affordable price, that we used Costco once again in 2024 to book another trip to Hawaii. This time we stayed on the Big Island at the Fairmont Orchid.
When you book a trip like this, you have to think about everything: transportation, meals, parking, etc. The Costco package, however, came with a full-size rental car, daily $100 resort credit, daily breakfast for two, waived mandatory daily resort fee, AND onlineplimentary daily valet parking. Talk about AWESOME!
Don’t think you have to go to a faraway, tropical destination to take advantage of Costco Travel and its savings; we used it in March 2021 for a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, and once again, it was incredible!
Similar to our experience in Maui, the package we booked for Arizona included a full-size car rental, a daily breakfast for two, and the waived mandatory daily resort fee, which added up to huge savings for our family.
I truly cannot say enough good things about my experiences! It feels like I hit the vacation lottery every time I use Costco Travel. I also love that if you book in advance, you only need to pay a small deposit to secure your reservation; it’s really convenient that you do not pay in full if you book early enough, and you can even schedule payments if you prefer, as long as it’s paid in full by the 45-day mark.
Searching for your next vacation spot? Try these Costco Travel deals…
Hilton Waikoloa Village: Price varies
- $200 resort credit
- Full-size rental car
- $30 reduced daily resort fee included
Las Vegas: The Cosmopolitan Package: Price varies
- $75 food and beverage credit
- Invited guest check-in
- onlineplimentary daily parking
Still not convinced? Here’s why some Hip2Savers are raving about Costco car rental deals & travel discounts:
“I booked a trip through Costco Travel to Kauai and saved over 1K for exactly the same flight, hotel, and rental car, plus received cashback. It was our first experience with them but definitely not our last.” – Wendy
“I book our rental car through Costco too and it’s always better than even my onlinepany’s corporate deals. I also check almost daily and rebook when it’s a better price and I always save a lot by doing this. When I book hotels I re-check them almost daily too.” – Shannon
“We have done Disney World twice over the past couple of years and booked through Costco. I honestly thought it made it so much less stressful because I knew everything (hotel, flight, rental car) was all taken care of. We even added an extra day at the beach for one trip, again through Costco. I tell everyone I know about it! We will definitely book through Costco again!” – Katie
There you have it! Have you scored a vacation package or Costco Travel car rental deal before? Let us know!
Here’s hoping that sharing my own personal experiences with Costco Travel will encourage you to save big on your next vacation. 🙌
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