Costco travel

[Happy100]

We do not belong to Costco but,
Do you think it's worth joining Costco to get the CC for cruising on any Cruise Line.
We belong to Sams Club but I don't have any idea if they even offer any type of on board credit. I'll have to look.
Let me know about Costco.
TIA
(Update: Sam's Club has suspended the travel agency as of January 01,2016)

The gift card for a cruise would definitely cover the membership and then some. The gift care is approximately 9% of your cruise cost. I just booked a DCL cruise through Costco and my gif

I've used Costco travel twice for DCL. First time I got a 7% cash card. They were helpful and I really needed nothing from them. Paid dcl directly using my DVA. Booked Alaska 2018 through them this week. Cash card was 8% and it was an OBB. My only complaint is when I called to change my mom's cabin (had a secret porthole but she preferred a 9a) the guy I spoke with yesterday told me there were none available near my cabin. I told him I could see a bunch on DCL's website. He gave me attitude and said he could call dcl but would be on hold for 90 minutes or so. I politely asked him to do so. He got through after about 45 minutes and made the change I requested as the cabins were available but I did feel like he thought it was an imposition. I'll still use Costco in the future as the cash card is very generous.

I have booked several times over many years throughCostco and my cash card has always been approx. 9% of my cruise cost (excludes taxes). The booking I just did yesterday is 8.5%, hence approximately 9%. Did they use to give 7% years ago?

 

[havaneselover]

The gift card for a cruise would definitely cover the membership and then some. The gift care is approximately 9% of your cruise cost. I just booked a DCL cruise through Costco and my gif


I have booked several times over many years throughCostco and my cash card has always been approx. 9% of my cruise cost (excludes taxes). The booking I just did yesterday is 8.5%, hence approximately 9%. Did they use to give 7% years ago?

7% ($235 on a fare of $3,351) was on an onboard booking transferred to them in 2015.

You are right--cash card on AK will be 8.5% of the fare.

ETA: actually one booking was 8% (more expensive fare) the other was 8.5%???

 

[wombat_5606]

I have booked several times over many years throughCostco and my cash card has always been approx. 9% of my cruise cost (excludes taxes). The booking I just did yesterday is 8.5%, hence approximately 9%. Did they use to give 7% years ago?

Since 2012, I've received a gift card that varies from 6.78% to a high of 8.39%. It seems to be a larger percentage when the cost of the cruise is inceased.

If my cruise cost less than $2,000, it was no more than 7%. If my cruise was $2500, the gift card was closer to 8%. If my cruise was $4,000, it was over 8%.

So, it's a sliding scale. The more the cruise costs, the larger percentage you will receive back in the form of the cash card.

 

[TXspartan]

How would one have an active DVA account if they've never booked a Disney Vacation?

Yes your account must be open for over 120 days before spending to recieve the $20 Gift Card for every $1k, that is different than the account needs to be fully funded. Your account must be opened with some $, say $10. you don't need to keep the full amount in there for 120 days. Once you have passed the 120 days the first time you can continue to use your DVA for Disney trips like future DCL or Disney World expenses.

 

[Madame]

Awesome advice! As a Canadian, Target is not an option -- They didn't quite make it here.

I wonder if there is a Canadian option to buy Disney Gift Cards at a discount?

Forget the DVA then. That's not available to us either.

 

[havaneselover]

Loving Costco some more--besides the $685 in cash cards for our Alaska cruise, the Travel Guard insurance is a great deal for us. My mom will be traveling with us and will be 74. Insurance through DCL for all four of us would have been $730. Policies for my mom on insuremytrip were pretty high. The Costco travel guard policies were $265 total. Not an apples-to-apples comparison, but a great price for the coverage. That savings on my mom's policy alone paid for my annual membership fee.

 

[godde8ss]

I believe the "cashing in" of the Costco gift card for hard cash varies by state. Does anyone know if this is an option in Florida? I'm considering opening a costco membership just for this...

 

[dani24]

I attached apicture of our reservation page on the DCL website. We booked through Costco. As mentioned by a previous person, the option to pay was never made available, and that was handled through Costco (they set it up to PIF automatically about two weeks before it's actually due, but you can also manually do it whenever you like). Once our online activity window opened, we were able to go right in the minute it opened and start booking and finishing check-in paperwork.

I was also able to call DCL directly about a week after we booked to ask to be waitlisted for main dining, and it was granted a few days later. So booking Costco did not prevent us from doing that on our own (which was great, IMO)!

 

[JW9DVC]

You can also pay your payments for the cruise on Costco travel website.

 

[havaneselover]

I paid through DCL because I used my DVA to pay. That's the one case where you pay DCL directly.

 

[LAX]

I paid through DCL because I used my DVA to pay. That's the one case where you pay DCL directly.

Did you just log into your DCL account online and make the payment using DVA account number after you had transferred to Costco? Or did you have to call in to DCL?

LAX

 

[havaneselover]

Did you just log into your DCL account online and make the payment using DVA account number after you had transferred to Costco? Or did you have to call in to DCL?

LAX

You have to call.

 

[Billinaz]

A couple notes - first off, it's not "cash back", it's a Costco Cash Card. You can use it at Costco but I'm not sure about using it for travel (I've seen posted here, and it says on their website terms and conditions, that they won't let you book Costco Travel using Costco Cash Cards, but we always spend ours on gas before the next deposits are due!)

I book straight through Costco, saves a step. I do all my research on the DCL website first and I just go from there ("I'd like to book room 8520 on this sailing of the Fantasy, please do so for me...I assure you it's available, please talk with Disney").

You can still manage your booking on the DCL website - it has every option except "Make Payment", and if you book direct and transfer that option will go away anyway. I wish I still had my dashboard from my last cruise, I'd show you the difference as some in our group went through DCL and some through Costco. But all you need for the DCL website is your reservation #, which you'll get in your Costco confirmation. As long as you have that, excursions/cabanas/character meet and greets, etc are all available to you once the booking window opens.

The only thing you need help from Costco on is making payments (unless you go through DVA, in which case you need help from Disney) and switching rooms or names, if you need to do that. We had to call Costco, for example, on our first cruise when "Baby" Squirrel got a name and a confirmed birthday Yes, I book very far ahead of time!!

You can make payments directly on the costco travel website.

 

[Billinaz]

I have finally taken the plunge and booked our summer 2018 cruise. I know I only have 30 days to transfer to Costco to get a cash card. Do I just call Costco to give them my confirmation number from DCL and ask for it to be transferred?

LAX

You fill out a reservation transfer form (or ask costco to do it). I always do it myself and email it to them.

Here it is:

http://www.livingwiththemagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BookingTransferFormAllDestinations.pdf

 

[Billinaz]

Can someone correct if I am wrong? If I make my DCL reservation initially with Costco (online), I cannot use a Disney GC. However, if I make the reservation with DCL directly (online as well), I can use a Disney GC. And if I then transfer the reservation to Costco, I will not lose any of Costco's cash card offers (ie: a smaller percentage vs direct reservation) as long as it's done within 30 days of initial deposit. Plus, even after transferring to Costco, I can still make additional payments towards the cruise using Disney GCs, correct?

I am trying to get this straightened out as I am getting ready to book a summer 2018 itinerary (reportedly to be released some time in March). TIA.

LAX

You can use gift cards. They have to call DCL while you are on the phone and do them manually.

 

[TXspartan]

You can use gift cards. They have to call DCL while you are on the phone and do them manually.

Dont forget that you can combine gift cards online before calling costco so that they can quickly process the transaction with one gift card number since the costco rep will need to capture all of the gift card numbers and then read them back to the DCL rep when "they" call them with you on hold... saves a lot of time for you, comes from experience of calling in over 100 Gift Cards.

 

[Billinaz]

Dont forget that you can combine gift cards online before calling costco so that they can quickly process the transaction with one gift card number since the costco rep will need to capture all of the gift card numbers and then read them back to the DCL rep when "they" call them with you on hold... saves a lot of time for you, comes from experience of calling in over 100 Gift Cards.

How do you do that???

 

[JW9DVC]

How do you do that???

Log in to https://www.disneygiftcard.com/ and transfer balances to one card. Once you login. I think you can do multiple at a time.

Hope this helps.

JW

 

[Bear3412]

... Does anyone know if this is an option in Florida? I'm considering opening a costco membership just for this...

I have heard and read, as you, some states / Costco's do not allow cashing out the Costco Cash Card.

It is allowed and works here in VA is all I know.

Good luck.

Call your local Costco and find out. Oh right, you can't call them.
OK, go by and talk to the manager prior to booking with Costco.

JMO and HTH

 

[spankswife]

I have a question about combing OBB and Costco.

I just booked a cruise through Costco, and on the cruise I plan to reserve a place holder. How will I then book my second cruise with my placeholder AND use Costco to get the cash back card?