Does Costco sell airline gift cards at a discount?
Costco can be a fantastic place to buy airline gift cards at a steep discount.
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Inflation. Airline tickets and airfare cost how much?
There’s no question that vacations are expensive, especially if you’re taking the whole family. It adds up pretty quickly with hotels, Airbnb’s, food, rental car, Ubers, etc. But perhaps the single most expensive component of a family vacation is purchasing plane tickets. Airfare, though historically at their cheapest levels in the past 25 years, still puts a major dent in people’s wallets.
Anything that can be done to reduce air fare costs can a long way toward saving money or, if you’re willing to splurge, those savings can be spent on enhancing your vacation experience – I mean, who doesn’t love a hotel room with a view?
One of the best ways to save on airfare is right under your nose, at that big box warehouse store called Costco Wholesale (or simply Costco, as pretty much everyone calls it).
Costco is known for selling discount gift cards in its warehouses and on its website, Costco.com. One example is Alaska Airlines gift certificates.
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Whether you’re someone who shops at Costco occasionally, or you are a passionate “Costco family” that shops at their warehouses weekly, you are probably aware that Costco sells gift cards at modest discounts. Their small, but impactful, selection of discount gift cards are usually to restaurants, movie theaters, experiences, etc.
But if you’re planning a vacation that involves flying, you’ve probably found yourself or your spouse asking and wondering: Can I buy an airline gift card at Costco? And how much can I save on airfare? Do they sell discounted airline gift cards?
You’ll be pleased to know that Costco does in fact sell airline gift cards, and at a pretty good discount too.
In this article, you’ll learn about which airline sells gift cards, and the best way to buy them at Costco (hint: it’s not always in the physical warehouse).
Which airlines sell gift cards at Costco?
The answer is, it depends.
To give some context, a number of airlines sell gift cards, but not all airlines make them available for retail purchase. In other words they only sell them on their own website, and usually at full price.
There are only three US-based airlines that regularly sell gift cards at retail locations:
Southwest Airlines, whose cards are pretty much everywhere – you’ve probably seen their gift cards on Amazon as well as your local grocery store.
Delta Air Lines, whose gift cards are only at grocery stores, not on Amazon (at least not as of the writing of this article).
Alaska Airlines, who typically only sells gift cards on their own website, but as you’ll read below, Costco.com seems to be the lone exception.
Discounted $500 gift card certificates for West Coast carrier, Alaska Airlines, can occasionally be found at Costco warehouses.
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All three of these airlines (Southwest, Delta, and Alaska) have been known to sell gift cards at Costco at one time or another. However, their availability can be hit or miss. As many Costco die-hards and those well-versed in retail business models know, Costco has a unique procurement method, where they buy merchandise in bulk. Once the stock of that bulk purchase is depleted, it may or may not be restocked.
What this means is that at any given time, Costco might not sell any airline gift cards, or it might sell them from all the airlines, or just a few of them.
Our best recommendation would be to keep your eyes peeled either in the warehouse, or online at Costco’s Travel Gift Card webpage.
Costco.com will probably be your best bet as the physical card selection in Costco warehouses can be pretty limited, meaning your local store might not have any airline gift cards on store racks.
Costco’s website, Costco.com is a great location to purchase airline gift cards at a discount.
How much can I save on airline gift cards at Costco?
As anyone who shops at Costco knows, products being “Costco-sized” is a thing. It’s the business and product model of a wholesale warehouse, after all.
Along those lines, airline gift cards that Costco sells are typically worth $500. But with that bulk-sized purchase comes bulk-sized discounts. Costco usually sells its $500 airline gift cards for $450, yielding a 10% discount.
Additional Savings with Costco’s Executive Membership and Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
Using Costco’s Executive Membership and Costco Anywhere Visa credit card can save you an additional 4% on purchases at Costco.
Image: Courtesy Costco
There are ways to save even more. If you have Costco’s pricier Executive Membership, you’ll automatically get an additional 2% cash back on Costco purchases. Combine that with the 2% cash back on Costco’s Anywhere Visa credit card, you can save up to 14% on airfare, which works out to a $70 discount on a $500 airline gift card for Southwest, Delta, or Alaska Airlines.
Who can benefit from discounted airline gift cards at Costco?
$500 in airfare, or $1,000 if you buy two cards, can be a pretty big up-front investment. With the average airline fare in 2021 being around $300, it might take you a couple trips to spend them all.
Considering the majority of people only fly once or twice a year at most, discounted airline gift cards at Costco are probably best suited for families who can easily spend the value of the card in one transaction.
But if you’re a frequent flyer, or just a solo traveler who loves deals and don’t mind having money parked in gift cards for a while, discounted airline gift cards at Costco can be a great solution for you too!
Alaska Airlines gift certificates at Costco will come with a certificate number and a scratch-off pin number that can be claimed when buying airfare, or can be deposited into one’s Alaska Airlines online Wallet account.
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Conclusion
So there you have it – Costco can be a great resource for saving on airfare for your next family vacation or solo adventure. To recap, Costco sells airline gift cards to Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Alaska Air Lines, typically in $500 increments with a 10% discount, bringing the cost down to $450. The availability of each of these airlines can vary at any given time due to Costco’s bulk procurement method. The best place to buy cards is online at Costco.com as the warehouses don’t always airline gift cards on store shelves.
Additional opportunities to save include signing up for Costco’s Executive Membership and using the Costco Anytime Visa credit card for your purchase, which can save you an additional 4% on top of the 10% discount.
Don’t shop at Costco? Where else can I buy discounted airline gift cards?
We’d say you’re definitely missing out by not being a Costco member – a $50 savings on an airline gift card almost pays for Costco’s $60 annual membership fee.
But if you really don’t want to shop at Costco (we’ll forgive you) there are other ways to buy and save on airline gift cards. Check out our related links below.
Related Links
Does Sam’s Club sell airline gift cards? Yes, they do. Learn more about that here.
Do grocery stores sell airline gift cards? Yes, they do. Learn more about that here.
Does Amazon sell airline gift cards? Yes, they do. Learn more about that here.
Can you save up to 20% on airline gift cards? Yes, you can, with this strategy.
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