Can you book a cruise with a Disney Specialist and then transfer to Costco?

[TinkB278]

The Costco Visa offers a 3% rebate on all travel purchases made with that card; it's completely independent of who you are booking through, because the payment, in the end, is made directly to DCL. I've booked cruises, hotels and airfare all on my Costco Visa and earned the 3% rebate without using Costco Travel at all. The cruises and some of my Disney hotel reservations were made through my travel agent. The rest I booked myself.

The 2% Costco Executive reward is for executive members who use Costco Travel to book. I don't believe you have to use the Costco Visa to pay for it, but I'm not sure why you wouldn't. The Costco Visa has some of the best non-exclusive travel rewards out there. (Some cards may offer higher rewards, but only on travel booked through their portal.)

Thanks for explaining that! I’m hoping to book through Costco travel for the gift card and 2% but am wanting to use my chase sapphire card to pay for the cruise because I like how I can transfer my points to southwest to use for flights… it might not make the most financial sense but makes things easy for me

 

[Husker Mike]

Thanks for explaining that! I’m hoping to book through Costco travel for the gift card and 2% but am wanting to use my chase sapphire card to pay for the cruise because I like how I can transfer my points to southwest to use for flights… it might not make the most financial sense but makes things easy for me

Basically, you are giving up 1% just to get your rebate in points instead of money. And if you are planning to travel on Southwest, you'll want to buy Southwest gift cards when they are offered at 10% off anyway. (Sometimes you can get the $500 cards for $429.99, which is 14% off!)

The one negative with the Costco Visa is that Costco Visa rebates only come out in February, so Citi can hold onto your rebate for months...so there is that concern. They also used to be a pain to redeem, but now that they allow you to redeem them online, that's super easy now. (I think Costco liked the idea of you coming in to shop with your rewards check initally, only to find themselves struggling to handle refunds of hundreds of dollars when someone comes in with an $1100 reward certificate.)

 

[auntlynne]

Whoa, horsies! Has the OP even booked yet? Or just asking about options? New member. We don’t want to spook them.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Whoa, horsies! Has the OP even booked yet? Or just asking about options? New member. We don’t want to spook them.

OP started this thread a year ago and hasn't been seen since . So already spooked.

 

[TinkB278]

Basically, you are giving up 1% just to get your rebate in points instead of money. And if you are planning to travel on Southwest, you'll want to buy Southwest gift cards when they are offered at 10% off anyway. (Sometimes you can get the $500 cards for $429.99, which is 14% off!)

The one negative with the Costco Visa is that Costco Visa rebates only come out in February, so Citi can hold onto your rebate for months...so there is that concern. They also used to be a pain to redeem, but now that they allow you to redeem them online, that's super easy now. (I think Costco liked the idea of you coming in to shop with your rewards check initally, only to find themselves struggling to handle refunds of hundreds of dollars when someone comes in with an $1100 reward certificate.)

Where do you get the 10% off on southwest gift cards?

Also do you know if the Costco card offers the travel insurance like the sapphire?? Thanks again for your help!

 

[auntlynne]

Where do you get the 10% off on southwest gift cards?

…

Costco

 

[LAX]

Where do you get the 10% off on southwest gift cards?

Also do you know if the Costco card offers the travel insurance like the sapphire?? Thanks again for your help!

It does offer some forms of travel protections, but not sure about trip cancellation/delays insurance that I think you are referring to.

LAX

 

[Kidguile]

What's the best approach for what I want to do - want to book a cruise for June 2025 thru Costco. Will be on a DCL cruise in about 10 days and will do placeholder deposits.

Should I book now then cancel and rebook with the placeholder deposits?

Wait until after the placeholders and then book with Costco?

Is there a difference in the Costco shop cards between the scenarios?

 

[mousefan73]

Sorry OP, but that’s a crappy move. Have one agent do all the “work”, take their commission away so you get extra benefits

And then we wonder why some travel agents don’t bend over backwards for our needs if there’s a chance, the booking they made is gonna be taken from them in the end

 

[Mommb]

What's the best approach for what I want to do - want to book a cruise for June 2025 thru Costco. Will be on a DCL cruise in about 10 days and will do placeholder deposits.

Should I book now then cancel and rebook with the placeholder deposits?

Wait until after the placeholders and then book with Costco?

Is there a difference in the Costco shop cards between the scenarios?

If you are cruising in just a few weeks and plan to make an onboard booking, it’s probably not worth the hassle of booking, cancelling, and rebooking to use the onboard booking discount.

The only time that makes sense is when there is a long time between the initial booking and the onboard booking and the price of the 2nd cruise goes up by more than 10% so that it’s not worth applying the placeholder. It is unlikely prices will go up 10% in 10 days, so you can just purchase a placeholder and contact a Costco after your cruise to apply it to a specific cruise.

Some travel agents that provide an onboard credit do provide a lower amount for cruises booked with a placeholder, but I don’t think Costco reduces their Shop Card amount for placeholder reservations. Even if they do, you’d still save more with the placeholder discount than you’d lose in reduced Shop Card value.

 

[Mommb]

One more note: if you used a different travel agency for your cruise in 10 days, be sure to book the placeholder directly through DCL. The default is the agency you used for your current cruise so you will need to remove that agency if it’s not Costco and you want to use the placeholder through Costco.

 

[stat]

Basically, you are giving up 1% just to get your rebate in points instead of money. And if you are planning to travel on Southwest, you'll want to buy Southwest gift cards when they are offered at 10% off anyway. (Sometimes you can get the $500 cards for $429.99, which is 14% off!)

The one negative with the Costco Visa is that Costco Visa rebates only come out in February, so Citi can hold onto your rebate for months...so there is that concern. They also used to be a pain to redeem, but now that they allow you to redeem them online, that's super easy now. (I think Costco liked the idea of you coming in to shop with your rewards check initally, only to find themselves struggling to handle refunds of hundreds of dollars when someone comes in with an $1100 reward certificate.)

Are you getting the 1% by taking the 3% on the Costco card comparing to an assumed 2% (in points) on the Sapphire?

If he's using a Sapphire Preferred, he's getting 2x in points, which at a minimum is worth 2% in cash. But transferring to Southwest gets an automatic 1.5 boost in value, meaning it's like he's getting 3% off of the cruise. For a $5000 cruise, that's $150, which is like getting 30% off a $500 Southwest gift card.

If he's using a Sapphire Reserve, he's getting 3x / 3%, or 4.5% when transferred and used for Southwest flights. If he instead transfers to Hyatt, he'll get 2x (sometimes way more than this). This is what I do, meaning I'm getting 6-10% in true cashback value to me when I pay for my cruises with my Reserve card. And I still get the Costco shop card and the 2% with my executive membership.