Costco Travel can be a reliable choice for visitors seeking savings on Hawaii car rentals and perhaps vacation packages, with some caveats that we’ll tell you about. Our recent experience securing a 7-day midsize rental at HNL for well under $300 all-inclusive highlights Costco’s strong value for travelers who are their customers.
Costco Travel’s value for Hawaii car rentals includes special savings today only.
Travelers who book an Avis or Budget rental on January 21 for two or more days will receive a $25 Costco Cash Card. This limited but nice offer applies to rentals through mid-March, making it an opportunity for those planning upcoming trips to Hawaii. We just canceled and rebooked our rental (which took two minutes) and scored that deal ourselves. Go to Costco Travel.
Many travelers, including BOH’s seasoned editors, find that booking car rentals through Costco very often results in lower rates than either direct bookings or other discount providers. Advantages include the flexibility Costco provides, with no advance payment and free cancellations, a second driver included, and the ability to cancel and rebook at lower rates if prices drop before the rental period.
Some travelers have shared that regularly monitoring rental costs and adjusting their bookings has led to substantial savings, and we can confirm that based on our own recent experiences.
A warning from a Beat of Hawaii reader worth noting.
This is not a one-and-done affair. You always need to check prices. Here are several comments from readers:
“I’ve rented cars from Costco exclusively the last few years, including ski trips, Maui, and even international. I reserved one for Maui next week but just got an email from Dollar and found the same class car for more than $100 less. I canceled the Costco rental. It pays to shop around.”
On the other hand, this comment: “We used Costco Travel exclusively for many years when first coming to the islands. I would price features independently and could never come close to their package price.”
These comments both speak to the reputation Costco has built for delivering rental car deals that stand out in Hawaii’s competitive travel market as well as the need to check all sources, and then recheck them again.
Evaluating Costco Travel’s Hawaii hotel packages.
Costco’s hotel packages bundle flights, accommodations, and rental cars in a single booking. These packages often include benefits such as Costco Shop Cards, waived resort fees, and complimentary breakfast.
However, booking hotels separately, directly through the property, via their loyalty program login, or through a third party can sometimes offer even better rates and greater flexibility.
A reader shared that they , “Make hotel reservations through Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, and sometimes hotel sites directly since many offer discounts not mentioned.”
Some travelers have found success booking these through Costco when planning well in advance. One regular commenter shared this experience booking a stay at the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort:
“The total cost was $3,543.74, including a Costco Shop Card and resort credit. The same package with fewer perks is now over $6,000.” This demonstrates that Costco packages can offer great value, but timing, availability, and other factors play a significant role.
What Hawaii visitors are saying about Costco Travel now.
Feedback from Beat of Hawaii readers and other places reflect an expected mix of experiences with Costco Travel. Many travelers praise the simplicity of booking through them and the savings they provide, while others highlight potential downsides when dealing with any third-party vendors, including Costco Travel.
One helpful tip we read was, “After booking a package with Costco, periodically check to see if the price has decreased. Call Costco, and if the decrease is with either the car rental or the hotel, they will rebook you and refund the difference. I’ve saved over $1,000 on a trip.”
Others express a caution we share: using Costco means dealing with third-party providers, which can complicate issue resolutions should they be needed. A traveler noted, “Unless you pay for the additional travel insurance, you will be fully responsible for any travel issues ranging from weather to technical disruptions. Every vendor pointed fingers at each other, and Costco Travel couldn’t help.”
Despite occasional challenges, and the third-party aspect, Costco Travel remains popular for those looking to simplify their Hawaii vacation planning.
Our Hawaii hotel booking strategy—an interesting new approach is evolving.
While Costco Travel offered an excellent deal on our car rental, we found an alternative approach for both our upcoming Honolulu hotel stay and another one just completed that both provided even better savings. In an upcoming report, we will share details on how this strategy compares to traditional booking methodologies including Costco Travel and what travelers can learn from our recent experiences.
Final thoughts on Costco Travel for Hawaii.
Costco Travel continues providing solid value for Hawaii visitors, particularly in car rentals, where rates and benefits remain competitive and price-checking is easy. However, travelers should carefully evaluate hotel packages and consider alternative booking methods to ensure the best fit for their needs. You can maximize what Costco Travel offers by staying flexible and monitoring pricing trends.
Please share your Costco Travel experiences for Hawaii travel.
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Keep checking back until you pick up the car.
Price dropped 1 week prior to arrival. I rebooked and cancelled the previous reservation.
Price dropped 1 day before arrival. I rebooked and cancelled the previous reservation.
While on the flight, the price dropped. I rebooked and cancelled the previous reservation.
We landed and the price dropped. I rebooked and cancelled the last time before picking up the car.
Price savings?
$300
We used Costco Travel for a 28-day trip to Europe. I was very nervous about making such a big travel investment with a big box store’s travel department, but it really did come off without a hitch and I would do it again for other destinations. This trip was so involved that other more conventional travel agents wouldn’t even return my calls. With Costco it was door to door (pickups from airports, trains, etc.). We’ve also used Costco for a Hawaiian trip several years ago and we were quite pleased.
We booked a Costco Maui package for August. Besides the ease of booking, there are no resort fees or daily parking fees. Also included was an intermediate sized car, upgraded room and $250 shop card! We priced it separately, and it just didn’t compare to the value we got through Costco!
Aloha BOH Bro’s
I’ve found that Costco Travel is a good comparative pricing tool when booking travel to Hawaii.
I don’t always chose Costco, but here lately their Limited Time Package Deals have come in with some very good pricing, plus they’re loaded with perks.
Last week I booked 2 stays for Grand Wailea that came in quite a bit cheaper then last years stay. Packages included room upgrade, rental car and almost $2,500 worth of resort perks.
I try to avoid booking flight with my Costco Package. It can be tough especially with Hawaiian Airlines to make flight changes if you use Costco.
When booking a rental car I check prices twice daily I’ve seen some significant price drops from morning to evening. When traveling to Maui I will pay more to use Alamo’s skip the counter feature.
I usually find that Costco Travel has the best car rental rates. I make a reservation there and then enter the rental information into the free car rental price monitoring service called Autoslash. This service alerts me when the price of the car rental goes down so I can re-book the reservation and enter the new reservation info into Autoslash to continue to be monitored for price drops. I’ve had Autoslash alert me of a better price even as late as a few hours before my existing rental is to be picked up. It has saved me hundreds of dollars.
Autoslash has a sister service, Hotelslash, which does the same thing for hotel reservations. Make a hotel reservation and enter the info into Hotelslash and it monitors for price drops. This is a free service as well.
Costco also allows you to list your loyalty code with the rental car company which can put you in a shorter line at the counter,Discount Hawaii rental doesn’t offer this option.
Jeff and Rob: Just took your advice for my existing COSTCO rental car reservation for 10 Day March Kauai trip for wife and I as It’s her 80th. Re booked my existing COSTCO Avis SUV and saved $486.81. Its been more than 5 years since last time on Kauai. There was a great Italian place in Kalaheo we went to on previous trips to Kauai when staying in Poipu. Is it still there?
Hi ArizonaKeoni.
No the restaurant you’re referring to has been out of business for years. Glad you saved nearly 500 bucks! That’s awesome. Happy travels!
Aloha.
You mention hotels almost exclusively in this article, keep in mind that you can rent short-term rentals through many of the sites you mention as well (Expedia, Orbitz, etc.).
BOH, how about an article in which you and another couple or family stay at a selection of 2-bedroom short-term rentals with solid reputations and hundreds of glowing 5* reviews, and write an article on how they compare with renting 2 hotel rooms in various resorts throughout Hawaii in terms of amenities, spaciousness, communal socializing, meal prep, parking, and especially price? I think an article like that would generate a lot of interest.
Costco Travel saved us big time on our last trip to Oahu! We booked a rental car at what we thought was a good price, then rebooked two weeks later and saved an extra $150. It’s worth keeping an eye on prices, even with Costco.
I used to swear by Costco Travel, but my last trip made me think twice. The hotel deal was okay but dealing with a third party to resolve issues wasn’t great. Still, their car rental prices can’t be beaten.
Love Costco for groceries in Hawaii, but their travel deals? Not so much. I tried a package once and felt locked into choices that weren’t the best fit. Lesson learned—shop around first.
Honestly, I’ve found better deals booking my hotel and rental car separately. Costco has some good perks, but I like having more control over my choices and loyalty program benefits.
It’s great to see savings on some car rentals, but I’ve found their hotel packages to be hit or miss. Sometimes booking separately through hotels’ loyalty programs has gotten me better perks and value.
Costco Travel has been my go-to for car rentals in Hawaii for years and still is. The flexibility to rebook when prices drop saved me hundreds of dollars on multiple trips.
We just looked at rental cars in Maui for early Feb and it is $1,000 for 8 days for a mid-size SUV which we normally get. We normally pay $350-500. Not sure if something is going on during that week but even with Whale season it’s never that high through Costco.
Costco has provided me with good pricing for car rentals in HI in the past, but, as you say, other third-party companies can sometimes do better. One such company helped me out with a situation on Maui when my rental car was stolen the first night I was there. I notified Thrifty the next day and had to Uber to the airport to fill out the forms. Then Thrifty refused to rent me another car! Then Hertz (the parent company) put me on ‘permanent rental suspension’ for them! I called the third party company that made the original reservation, and they quickly secured me a new rental at Enterprise, and at a better rate. Better service from the third-party than from the rental company Thrifty!