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American Airlines Baggage Policy, Exceptions and Fees

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image credit: aa.com
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No traveler ever looks forward to annoying baggage and incidental fees, but airline charges are even worse when they are unexpected.

If you’re planning on flying with American Airlines in the near future make sure you know what the baggage rules are and what traveling with (additional) bags will cost you in 2022.

For all the information you’ll want to know before checking in at American Airlines, keep reading.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

American Airlines Carry-On Allowance

Like many airlines, American Airlines allows passengers to board with one personal item and one carry-on bag, free of charge. That is, at long as luggage meets size and weight requirements.

Carry-on bags may not exceed:

  • 22 inches x 14 inches x 9 inches or 56 centimeters x 36 centimeters x 23 centimeters. 

If you’re not quite sure whether or not your bags are within these restrictions, you can test them in a carry-on sizer at the American Airlines check-in. This will ensure that your bag fits either in the overhead bin or under your seat. If it does not, you will need to check it and pay the associated fees (more on that below).

Exceptions to the Rule:

One exception is that soft-sided garment bags are allowed to measure up to 51 linear inches or 130 centimeters and still qualify as complimentary carry-on luggage.

As for personal items, dimensions should not exceed 18 inches x 14 inches x 8 inches or 45 centimeters x 35 centimeters x 20 centimeters. Purses, laptops, and small handbags are typical.

Child restraint devices and mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs do not count toward your personal item and carry-on limit and can be brought with you at no additional cost.

Carry-On Allowance for Toddlers and Children

Children over the age of two must have their own ticket – purchased at the adult fare.

Children under the age of two are allowed to travel on the lap of an adult and have one carry-on diaper bag with them. Strollers and safety seats count as checked luggage.

The only way to carry on a safety seat is to purchase a seat next to you or hope for one to be open when you board. Otherwise, it will not travel with you in the cabin.

Bringing Pets OnBoard

Don’t forget your furry cargo!

Small domestic cats and dogs may accompany you on your next American Airlines flight. Depending on their size, they will count toward either your carry-on or checked baggage allowance. If they don’t fit in either, they’ll be transported in Cargo.

The following destinations allow pets:

  • The 48 contiguous U.S. states and Alaska
  • Flights between the U.S. and Canada (with restrictions)
  • Central America (with restrictions)
  • Mexico (with restrictions)
  • Puerto Rico
  • St. Croix
  • St. Thomas

For a complete list of restrictions on the above destinations as well as information about locations not included, visit this American Airlines page.

If you do bring a pet with you in the cabin, their crate or kennel will count as your free carry-on. Carried-on pets and their travel containers are not to exceed the under-seat dimensions previously mentioned (unless they are soft-sided/collapsible, in which case they may slightly exceed these dimensions as long as this is safe for the pet).

There is limited space for pets on each plane (7 kennels on American flights, not counting service animals, and 5 kennels on American Eagle flights), so you’ll want to arrange for their travel as far in advance as possible.

You may travel and check up to two pets per flight. You will need to provide a health certificate for all pets and allow for extra check-in time.

Each checked pet incurs a charge of $150 within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

Carry-on pets cost $125 per kennel. Service animals may accompany you on any flight route and do not cost extra.

Certain dog breeds are restricted from traveling. These include but are not limited to Boxers, Bulldogs, Chow Chows, Pit bulls, and Shih Tzus. Burmese, Persian, Himalayan, and Exotic Shorthair cats are also not allowed.

Musical Instruments

Musical instruments fall under the category of carry-ons and therefore must meet the same dimension requirements as carry-on luggage.

If an instrument does not fit in the overhead bin or beneath the seat in front of you, you will need to check it or buy an additional seat for it.

You will also need to pay extra if it exceeds size and/or weight restrictions. The maximum size for checked instruments is 150 inches or 381 centimeters.

Prohibited Items

There are many items prohibited to travel by the TSA for safety reasons. These include many types of:

  • weapons,
  • lighters,
  • high proof alcoholic beverages,
  • large sports equipment,
  • sharp objects, and
  • other potentially dangerous or overly bulky items.

This page provides a complete list of all restricted items on American Airlines flights.

American Airlines Checked Baggage Allowance

For all regions and routes, the American Airlines checked bag allowance—which pertains to not only how many bags you can check but how much each of these may measure and weigh—is determined by a combination of elite status and flight class. 

Checked bags are permitted to measure up to 62 linear inches and weigh up to 50 pounds for most passengers. But if you are flying First or Business class, this weight restriction becomes 70 pounds.

Many flights will allow you to check up to 10 bags and others only five. Every additional bag costs more than the last until you get up to four bags.

On the majority of flights, the first checked bag costs $30, the second costs $40, the third costs $150, and the fourth (and every bag in excess of this) costs $200.

Checked Baggage for Children

If you’re traveling with a child, you may check one collapsible stroller and one government-approved safety seat for free. These must be checked at the ticket counter or gate.

Those traveling with both a car seat and stroller may check only one at the gate—most likely the car seat—and will need to check the other—most likely the stroller—at the ticket counter (strollers weighing more than 20 pounds or 9 kilograms need to be checked at the ticket counter). All other items are included as regular checked baggage.

Excessive Baggage Fees

Checked bags over the size of 62 linear inches will incur an additional fee of either $150 or $200, depending on where you’re flying to. No checked bags may exceed 126 linear inches or 320 centimeters.

First and Business flyers as well as Executive Platinum and oneworld Emerald elite members can check bags weighing up to 70 pounds without being charged extra. All others must pay $100 for every checked bag between 51 and 70 pounds and $200+ for every bag weighing in excess of 71 pounds.

No bags weighing over 100 pounds will be permitted on any flights. Overweight checked luggage is not accepted on European (transatlantic) flights, flights to/from Cuba, or flights to/from Australia. Bags on flights to/from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Australia (transpacific) weighing more than 71 pounds cost $450 each.

Here’s a full breakdown of checked baggage fees for American Airlines customers flying in the main cabin:

Country/Region1st Bag2nd Bag3rd Bag4th Bag +
U.S.$30$40$150$200
Mexico$30$40$150$200
Haiti$0$70$150$200
Cuba$0/$30$0 / $40$150$200
Caribbean (except Cuba and Haiti)$30$40$150$200
Panama$0/$30*$40$150$200
Central America (except Panama)$30^$40 / $55**$150$200
Colombia$0/$30*$55$150$200
Ecuador$0/$30*$40$150$200
Guyana$30$40$150$200
South America (except Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana)$0/$30*$65**$150$200
Transatlantic$0/$75*$100$200$200
Transpacific$0$0$200$200

All published bag fees are base rates according to travel dates and destinations. The applicable taxes are not shown and will add to the overall cost.

Seasonal pricing applies for travel on June 1, 2022 – August 19, 2022.

*Free bag excludes Basic Economy which is their lowest priced cabin. For travel to and from Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, a $30 bag fee applies to your first bag. For travel to and from South America (excluding Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana) a $45 bag fee applies to your first bag. For Transatlantic Basic Economy travel, a $60 bag fee applies for tickets issued on or before April 20, 2020, and $75 for tickets issued on or after April 21, 2020.

^ For travel to / from El Salvador, a $30 baggage fee applies to your first bag seasonally only.

**For travel to and from Honduras, you will pay $55 for your second bag seasonally only.

For travel to and from South America (excluding Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana) for all Basic Economy tickets a $65 bag fee applies to your second bag.

For travel to and from South America (excluding Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana) for Main Economy tickets issued on or before January 27, 2020 your second bag is free and for Main Economy tickets issued on or after January 28, 2020 a $65 bag fee applies to second bags.

Exceptions and Waivers

American Airlines waives checked baggage fees for many of its passengers. Active-duty U.S. military personnel and their dependents can check between one and five bags free of charge. Those traveling on orders can check up to five bags for free and those on personal travel can check up to three. 

Confirmed first-class flyers on 3-cabin aircraft receive three complimentary checked bags as well and so can certain credit cardholders (more on this below).

Finally, those with elite status at this airline can take advantage of complimentary checked baggage. AAdvantage is the American Airlines frequent flyer program and oneworld is an airline alliance that links 13 global airlines to help flyers access international flights and benefits more easily. Those with the highest status in either of these programs are favored by American Airlines and rewarded with free bags.

AAdvantage Gold members and oneworld Ruby members, for example, get one checked bag for free. Platinum and Platinum Pro members get two and AAdvantage Executive Platinum and oneworld Emerald members get three. Basically, every AAdvantage or oneworld premier tier will get you at least one checked bag for free.

Credit Cards That Give You a Free Checked Bag

Being an active-duty military member or American Airlines elite passenger is not the only way to score free checked baggage. There are several American Airlines affiliate credit cards to choose from, and many of them offer anywhere from 1 to 3 free checked bags.

These include:

  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and
  • AAdvantage Aviator cards

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

Hilton Food and Beverage Credit – 2022 Rules for Elite Card Holders

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If you’ve been a Hilton Honors rewards member for a while, you might remember that the program used to offer free breakfast to Diamond and Gold members. In fact, you could still get a complimentary continental breakfast during any Hilton stay back in 2020. 

Now, instead of free breakfast, these members get a food and beverage credit that can, but doesn’t have to, be used for breakfast.

Keep reading to find out more about the current breakfast credit rule at Hilton properties and why you just might prefer it to the old school system.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

Current Breakfast Rule

As of 2022, Hilton uses a credit system for food and beverages. Gold and Diamond members used to get a complimentary continental breakfast with every stay. In place of this, they now receive a daily credit that can be used toward eligible food and beverage purchases made at participating Hilton properties.

The Hilton Honors member who arranged and is paying for the booking, and one additional guest in the room, receive the daily credit. There are no restrictions on what time of day you use your credit and the credit doesn’t come out of your Hilton Honors points balance.

Hilton launched this new system in July 2021 to replace the Continental Breakfast benefit given exclusively to elite members. The credit was only going to be available through 2021, but Hilton announced in February of 2022 that it would be extended through at least the end of this year. And along with extending the offer, increased the credit value and added locations.

The value of the credit and how exactly you can use it depends on the Hilton location you’re staying at. Luxury properties tend to have a higher credit value than less premium properties. We’ll go over which hotel brands participate and the credit for each in the next section.

This change does not do away with the free continental breakfast included with every stay at many Hilton properties. If you’re staying at a hotel or resort that offers free breakfast to all guests regardless of their loyalty status, this won’t change (in other words, you won’t receive a daily credit in addition to your complimentary breakfast, but you’ll still get your free food).

A lot of Hilton rewards members are actually pleased with these changes. These credits offer a lot more flexibility in terms of how and when you eat on Hilton’s dime, and the value is usually higher than that of a continental breakfast.

Which Hotels Offer Credits?

Not every hotel under the Hilton name participates in the new credit program. Out of 18 Hilton brands, only 11 offer the credit. The brands that participate are listed below.

Hilton brands that offer the daily F&B credit:

  • Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
  • LXR Hotels & Resorts
  • Conrad Hotels & Resorts
  • Signia by Hilton
  • Hilton Hotels & Resorts
  • Curio Collection by Hilton
  • DoubleTree by Hilton
  • Tapestry Collection by Hilton
  • Canopy by Hilton
  • Motto by Hilton
  • Hilton Garden Inn

The Hilton Honors Daily F&B credit is not included with stays at all-inclusive properties or select discount brands that provide complimentary food and beverage to guests of any membership status. Brands that offer complimentary continental or buffet-style breakfast to all guests include Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton.

📍 Conrad, LXR, and Waldorf Astoria: $25 credit value per day for each guest, up to $50 daily.

📍 Canopy, Curio Collection, DoubleTree, Hilton Hotels, Motto, Signia, and Tapestry Collection: $15 or $18 credit value per day for each guest, up to $30 or $36 daily.

These values are market dependent with the higher value being offered in big cities. These include Boston, Chicago, New York City, D.C., Key Largo, Key West, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and all properties in Hawaii. All other locations offer the $15 credit.

📍 Hilton Garden Inn: $10 credit value per day for each guest, up to $20 daily

If you will be traveling with a guest and want them to receive a credit of their own, make sure you add them to your reservation prior to your stay. The person receiving your second credit must be the same person for the entirety of your stay.

How to Use Your Food and Beverage Credit

Your credit should be applied automatically to eligible stays. If you make a covered food or beverage purchase either in your room (i.e. room service), at a restaurant, or at a kiosk or desk that offers to-go options, the total for this will be deducted from your final bill up to the daily credit value.

In other words, if you and another person are staying at a hotel with a $15 daily credit and you use the full amount each day for three days, $90 will be knocked off your bill automatically (the credit is also applied to any tax and gratuity you pay). If for some reason this doesn’t happen, you’ll need to get in touch with Hilton to fix it.

Prior to a qualifying stay, you will receive an email from Hilton letting you know that your upcoming booking will include a Daily F&B Credit and the value of that credit for you and one guest.

📍 This is important: If you don’t use your credit, it will not roll over. So you can’t stockpile credits for future stays or save them all for one night of a booking. You just forfeit whatever you don’t use. You cannot redeem the Daily F&B Credit for cash.

Note that the Hilton Honors member who qualifies for the credit must be the one paying for the booking and also staying at the property. Other people cannot use your rewards account to get the food and beverage credit. That said, there is no rule stating that the awards member must be the one eating the food purchased with their credit.

If you’re not planning to use the credit, you can actually opt to redeem it as Bonus Points for your Hilton Honors account instead if you’re in the Gold tier. Gold members are eligible to choose Bonus Points in place of their Daily Food and Beverage Credit (point value differs by the property) and Diamond members actually receive 1,000 Bonus Points in addition to their Credit.

Only Hilton Garden Inn requires Diamond members to choose between the credit and points, with up to 750 Bonus Points available instead of the food and beverage credit.

If you plan to redeem the credit for points, go into your Hilton Honors account to change your preferences for your MyWay benefit from the credit to bonus points. You won’t be able to change your selection after arriving for a stay.

Note that credits reset at the end of every day and “expire” after you checkout. There are no restrictions on when you can use your credit as long as you use it within the day it was issued.

What Can the Credit Be Used For?

The Daily F&B Credit can be used at restaurants and bars, cafes and lounges, snack bars, and buffet-style establishments. Room service and in-room dining are eligible as well. The credit also covers alcohol purchases in most states and cities.

If dining or grab-and-go food is offered inside a qualifying hotel or resort (excluding vending machines), the Daily F&B Credit can be used. You can use the credit at as many different places as you like.

Check the email you receive prior to your booking for details about a particular stay.

How to Become a Hilton Diamond or Gold Member

Not a Diamond or Gold member? No worries. You can work up through the ranks to get that Daily F&B Credit with the following activities:

  • Staying at Hilton properties
  • Using a Hilton credit card
  • Dining at qualifying restaurants
  • Purchasing points for your account

For every $1 you spend on a booking, you will earn 10 points for your Hilton Honors account (note: this is the base rate and increases with each membership tier). 

Points can be redeemed for award nights, room upgrades, Lyft rides, car rentals, award flights, and more. And the higher your membership status, the easier it is to earn even more points with exclusive milestone bonuses. Look out for member-only opportunities to accelerate your points-earning on select stays as well.

You can also earn points for your Hilton Honors account or redeem points from it with partners like Lyft, Air France Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Delta SkyMiles, Qantas Frequent Flyer, United MileagePlus, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Gold status, which requires at least 28 qualifying nights, comes with an 80% points earning bonus on all stays, complimentary room upgrades when available (up to Executive Floor room types), the Daily Food and Beverage Credit, and milestone bonuses. You can also reach Gold with 21 stays of at least two consecutive nights each or 52,500 base points.

Diamond status, which requires at least 42 qualifying nights, comes with a 100% points earning bonus, executive lounge access, elite status extension, a 48-hour room guarantee, the Daily Food and Beverage Credit, and all the perks of Gold. You can also reach Diamond with 21 stays of at least two consecutive nights each or 84,000 base points.

If you’re not a member yet, sign up for free using this link to get more out of your stays with Hilton. Everyone begins at basic “Member” status and can achieve Silver status after staying for at least 7 nights. Silver members enjoy a 20% points earning bonus, a free fifth award night when you stay at least four consecutive nights, and elite rollover nights.

Is Elite Status Worth It?

And there are a lot more perks to loyalty than just free food and drinks, but is it really worth The answer to this question really depends on how often you travel and stay at Hilton properties. 

And when you do stay with Hilton, which hotel brands do you prefer? The most perks are going to come with more luxurious, full-service properties and resorts. Things like lounge access and room upgrades are best at more premium Hilton properties

We recommend that the average traveler choose and focus on one or two hotel rewards programs to achieve elite status. Hilton’s loyalty program is great in a lot of ways, but Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond status are not easy to achieve and might not be worth the trouble for you if you prefer other hotel brands.

Final Thoughts

At least until the end of 2022, Hilton Honors is a good loyalty program to be a part of if you like free food and drinks and Hilton Hotel brands. The new Daily F&B Credit program, as popular as it has been so far, might be extended again after this year or made permanent, but no one knows for sure. So take advantage while you can if you’re a Gold or Diamond rewards member.

Especially great for business or luxury travelers, as these properties offer better credits and redemption opportunities, the Daily F&B Credit is a perk to get excited about.

The Ultimate Guide to Costco Travel in 2022

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logo credit: costcotravel.com
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Costco keeps managing to collect new members to the tune of a 6%+ increase every year for the past several years, so it only makes sense that new stores are popping up all over the country and even on other continents. And Costco’s deals aren’t confined to their 150,000-square-foot-or-more warehouses—any Costco member can tell you that. 

But while people seem to love Kirkland products and Costco’s infamous rotisserie chicken, Costco Travel doesn’t get as much recognition as you might think. That is, unless you know just how much time and money you can save on vacation packages, hotel stays, and more through Costco’s very own travel platform.

We’ve put together this comprehensive guide to Costco Travel to make planning your next trip a bit easier and help you get the best possible deals on travel next time you take to the road, skies, or seas.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

What Is Costco Travel

Costco Travel is Costco’s travel department promising deals on trips and the winning service long-time customers have come to expect from the Costco Wholesale Corporation. Costco Travel employs travel experts to help customers plan trips and features a suite of discounted travel products including flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and more.

To find out if Costco has the lowest prices on travel, we’ll compare costs with Expedia, a well-known online booking platform, throughout this article.

Who Is Eligible to Use Costco Travel?

As you might expect, you need to be a Cotsco member to be eligible to book travel services through this retailer. You also need to be a U.S. resident.

A Costco membership will cost you at least $60. There are three types of Costco memberships, and these are:

Gold Star Membership: 

  • Membership fee of $60 annually
  • Valid at all U.S. locations and online
  • Includes one card for the primary cardholder and one Household Card (eligible to be used by family members)

Business Membership:

  • Membership fee of $60 annually
  • Valid at all U.S. locations
  • Includes one card for the primary cardholder and one Household Card free
  • Can add more cardholders for $60 each
  • Can be used for resale 

Gold Star Executive Membership:

  • Membership fee of $120 annually
  • 2% annual reward on all Costco Wholesale and Costco Travel purchases, limit $1,000
  • Exclusive discounts
  • Costco Connection magazine subscription

Please note that all Costco membership levels have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Many Costco Travel packages and bookings are extra-discounted for Executive members and may come with complimentary perks and benefits on top of this. Plus, elite members earn 2% annually on all Costco purchases including travel (with exceptions for fees and service charges), so it may be worth it to splurge on that higher membership level if you do a lot of traveling. 

Costco does not, unfortunately, price match its travel products.

How to Open a Costco Travel Account

You do not automatically have a Costco Travel account when you are a Costco member, so you need to sign up. And while not you’re not required to have a Travel account when booking travel and can check out as a guest, you can make things a lot easier on yourself in the future by opening an account and saving your information and preferences.

To create a Travel account, you need to go to the Costco Travel website and first enter your membership ID number. You can find this 12-digit number on the back side of your membership card or on your Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, if you have one.

Then, you will need to provide the email address linked to your Costco account and create a unique password just for Costco Travel purposes. To finish, just select “Create Account.” You will receive an email to confirm your registration. There is no additional fee for a Costco Travel account and your account will stay active as long as your Costco membership remains open and in good standing.

Can You Book Travel for Someone Else?

Yes, Costco Travel lets members use their accounts to book some travel, such as vacation packages and rental cars, for non-Costco members. This is allowed even if you will not be traveling with them. And, such trips are still eligible to receive the annual reward of 2%.

You just need to provide a name and date of birth for everyone in the party and you will be responsible for any fees your travelers may incur by failing to provide the necessary travel documents. Otherwise, there are no additional costs when you book for someone else.

Vacation Packages

Click through a slide show of available vacation packages at costovacation.com/vacation-packages

Vacation Packages are Costco Travel’s bread and butter. With an impressive range of package types and locations, there’s something for everyone. You need to be 25 years old or older to book most packages.

Costco vacation packages include everything from air travel to hotel or resort bookings. Each package comes with unique perks, like complimentary massages, and exclusive discounts and coupons such as food and beverage credits, Costco Shop Cards, and recreation credits.

Vacation packages are priced per person and default to double occupancy. However, many are family-friendly, and some even let kids stay at discounted rates or for free.

With all vacation packages, the prices you see are based on a preselected room type. You can change this or even add additional destinations and excursions not included in the base vacation, but you will almost definitely end up paying more.

Where Will You Go?

Want to travel but don’t know where to go? There are several ways to go about narrowing down your choices.

To book a vacation package, you can start by choosing your destination. Curated packages are available in the following locations:

  • California (including Disneyland)
  • Las Vegas
  • Arizona
  • New York 
  • Florida (including Universal Studios and Walt Disney World)
  • Mexico
  • Canada
  • Costa Rica
  • Caribbean
  • Cook Islands
  • Fiji 
  • Tahiti
  • Europe and
  • Africa

Alternatively, you can search packages by vacation type. For example, you can filter for only getaways that are family-friendly, search the limited-time deals section, or see what’s most popular. 

The “What’s New at Costco Travel” section will show you the most recently added vacation packages. These vacations won’t have as many member reviews yet, but there’s a chance they won’t sell out as quickly and you save a bit of money.

Popular Destinations

All-Inclusive Resorts, Adult Escapes, Hidden Gems, and Romantic Getaways are favorites among travelers. 

All-Inclusive Resorts

All-inclusive resorts promise comfort and convenience in exotic destinations. Many of these vacation packages come with Costco Shop Cards and added perks such as free nights for kids and tour credits.

Some also come with benefits just for Executive members. For example, a stay at Majestic Mirage Punta Cana, a 5-star hotel in the Dominican Republic, includes a $100 spa credit for Executive cardholders (per room). 

We’ll also tell you more about all-inclusive cruise packages, with durations from seven to 16 nights, later on in this article.

Each all-inclusive vacation package has a minimum number of nights you must stay and may specify a date range you must travel within.

Some of these packages are family-friendly and others are exclusively for adults. If you’re looking for an adult-only experience, you probably want to browse the Adult Escapes category. 

Adult Escapes

Vacations in the Adult Escapes category are exclusively for people over the age of 18. Available resorts include but are not limited to the Hotel wailea, Relais & Chateaux resort in Maui, the Hammock Cove Resort & Spa in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Grand at Moon Palace resort in Cancun.

Possible perks such as $100 tour credits, $50 resort credit per day, Costco Shop Cards, and complimentary breakfasts may come free with your booking. Some but not all Adult Escapes are all-inclusive.

Hidden Gems

Hidden Gems vacation packages are for travelers who want to have remarkable experiences in places near and far. 

From New York City to the Caribbean, these packages tend to be a bit more luxurious than others but still come with benefits like massage and tour credits, Costco Shop Cards, and complimentary meals.

Romantic Getaways

Finally, there’s the Romantic Getaways category. These packages feature experiences curated specifically for two adults in tropical locations such as Costa Rica, Jamaica, Maui, and Aruba. 

If you’d rather stay stateside, check out the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Phoenix package or the W Fort Lauderdale luxury hotel package in Fort Lauderdale.

How to Book a Vacation Package

Once you’ve decided where you’re going, you’ll select your package and read through all of the package details to make sure you’re happy with your choice. You’ll see what’s included in the reservation and any additional Costco member benefits that may apply. 

Then, scroll down to the “Available Dates and Prices” section. If the “Valid for Travel Through ___” date works for you and the minimum number of nights you must stay is good, you can click “Continue.” 

Word of Caution

Pay close attention to the “Valid for Travel Through ___” date . If you need to make a change to your reservation later on, Costco does not guarantee that you will get your money back and you will need to adhere to rules set by the hotel or resort you’re booking with. This goes for flights too.

Flight

Next the system will take you to the Flights section. If you don’t want a flight included in your package, uncheck the top box that says “Include Flights with your package.” If you do want a flight, enter your departure city and choose your service class, if you have a preference (otherwise, the site will show you all available flights). All flights are round-trip for vacation packages. Finally, select your dates and the number of adults and children in your party and hit “Search.”

Costco will automatically select a flight for you by choosing the option with the least amount of stops and layovers and the shortest duration. You can see this flight at the top. If you want this one, just select “Continue to Hotel” in the top right corner of the screen and you will get this flight. Please note that this is not necessarily the most affordable option.

But if you don’t like the one chosen for you, just scroll down to see your choices. The section that reads “Additional Flights Available” includes a number of filters you can use to customize your flight. You can select a narrower departure and/or arrival time window, specify which airlines you want to use, and choose how many stops you are willing to make.

Flights other than the one pre-selected for you may cost more, less, or the same as the one Costco recommends. You can find the price difference by looking for “+$” or “-$” next to the Select button. If you see a negative number, it means that flight is cheaper than the one in your bag. If you see a positive number, it means that flight is going to cost you more. Some will say “No Change in Price.” 

Under each available flight, you can select the link “Preview Seat Availability, View Details and Baggage Fees” for a complete description of flight times and layovers. Airline taxes are included in the prices for all flights.

Costco Travel lets you buy flight tickets from American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and many other major carriers. If an airline you like is not available or doesn’t have your desired flight class, try choosing a different airport for your departure. After booking a flight, you may have the option to reserve seats, but not all airlines allow you to make pre-reserved seating arrangements.

Hotel or Resort

Once you’ve picked a flight, select “Continue to Hotel” in the top right corner of the screen. The option that you see at the top is the room that is included in the booking at the price shown when you selected the package. In almost every instance, this is the best possible price. To see other options, select “Modify Room.” This will show a list of larger or more deluxe rooms with the added cost to the right.

The Costco Shop Card included in many vacation packages is calculated based on the price of your room. You will be able to see what the total amount of your card would be under “Included Extras” for each room. Please note that any room other than the one included in the original vacation package may have different cancellation and refund policies.

Transportation

Finally, select “Continue to Transportation.” This section shows you how you will be getting to your hotel from the airport. Most of the time, the pre-selected choice is in a Shared Vehicle, which is the most affordable option and will not increase the price of your trip. But if you prefer a private vehicle, you can scroll down to “Additional Transportation Options.” If a private vehicle is available, it will show up here.

All that’s left to do is select “Continue to Recap.” Take your time reviewing your entire reservation, from the Flight to the Required Documents you’ll need to take with you (note: COVID-19 restrictions require all international travelers to test negative for coronavirus and bring their test results when arriving at their airport).

Costco also arranges for free ground transportation such as shuttles and taxi cabs from your flight to your hotel and back on packages.

Can You Use Airline Points?

Unfortunately, you can’t use your airline points when booking through Costco. The booking process doesn’t allow it.

How to Build Your Own Vacation Packages

If the premade vacation packages just aren’t doing it for you, you can always create your own. All you have to do is choose what you want your bundle to include. The choices are:

  • Hotel, flight, and car
  • Hotel and flight
  • Hotel and car

Then, enter your destination and departure locations and your date. There are more than 2,000 destination cities to choose from. Some major cities such as Chicago, Boston, and Seattle are eligible to be bundled for discounts.

If you’d rather start your search with the best Costco Travel has to offer, scroll down the web page to the featured sections. Featured Hotels and Featured Cities highlight unique, tourist-friendly destinations—like Key West, Florida, and Los Angeles, California—and award-winning hotels and resorts like the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort and Spa and Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach in California.

The Interests section lets you explore your options according to what you most want to do on your trip, whether that’s hiking national parks, lounging on the beach, or exploring historic sites. You can even sort by Hotel Brands, which would be a good move if you’re an elite hotel rewards member (who ever said no to more rewards?). You may be eligible to earn points on these stays, but you won’t be able to use your points when booking with Costco (see “Can You Use Hotel Reward Points?”).

The process of creating the perfect vacation package yourself is much the same as when booking a pre-made package in terms of choosing your flight, room, etc.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

Best Deals on Vacations

Does Costco have the best deals on vacation packages? We compared a few Costco trips with trips you can book through Expedia to find out.

Atelier Playa Mujeres is an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico. It is a popular and highly-rated vacation package on both Costco Travel and Expedia. This 5-star hotel is family- and even pet-friendly and has beach access as well as a massic pool. 

Here’s what you will pay for a basic economy flight ticket from JFK airport through American Airlines and four-night stay in a Junior Suite (two queen beds), non-ocean view room when you book with either travel site at the end of August.

CostcoExpedia
– $2827.55 (including some tax and resort fees) – $3,431.78 (including tax and resort fees)
Includes:
– Room service and housekeeping
– Unlimited food, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and snacks
– WiFi
– Parking on the premises
– Gym access
– Bathrobes and slippers
– 1 50-minute massage (limit one per room, per trip)		Includes:
– Room service and housekeeping
– Unlimited food, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and snacks
– WiFi
– Parking on the premises
– Gym access
– Bathrobes and slippers

These two packages are almost identical. As you can see, Costco Travel is the more economical option by not an insignificant amount. The Costco booking also comes with more complimentary upgrades and perks than the Expedia package. 

However, because Costco’s price is a limited-time deal based on a negotiated room rate, the cancellation policy is stringent. You must cancel no later than two weeks before you are scheduled to travel to get your money back. Otherwise, you’ll owe a 100% fee.

But are Costco vacation packages always less expensive? Let’s take a look by comparing a trip to New York City and a stay at the luxurious Towers at Lotte New York Palace hotel. If you were to stay for two nights, checking in on September 16 and checking out on September 18, in a room with two queen beds, this is what you can expect to pay.

CostcoExpedia
$1,318.73 (including tax)$2,583.14 (including tax)
Includes:
– WiFi
– Shuttle
– Transport in private vehicle from EWR airport to hotel
– $25 food and beverage credit (limit one per room, per stay)		Includes:
– WiFi
– Shuttle

At the contracted rate Costco managed to negotiate for this particular room, you can save over $1,000 by booking through Costco rather than Expedia or the hotel itself. Plus, you’ll get a food and beverage credit and transportation from the airport if you need it. If you modify your room, you will not get this rate.

Say you’re going to be taking a trip in early October to the W Costa Rica Reserva Conchal, a sprawling top-rated resort. You’ll be taking a non-stop, round-trip flight through Alaska Airlines from Los Angeles (LAX) to Liberia (LIR) in economy class and you’ll stay at the hotel for seven nights in the Wonderful Escape Room with one king bed. For the same exact trip, flight, and room, here’s what you’ll pay.

CostcoExpedia
$3,311.05 (including tax and daily resort fee of $40)$3,986.43 (including tax but not including daily resort fee)
Includes:
– Free parking
– Free
– WiFi
– $75 spa credit (limit one per room, per stay)
– Unlimited access to driving range
– Ground transportation to and from airport		Includes:
– Free parking
– Free WiFi

Again, the Costco vacation package is cheaper and comes with more perks. But at the end of the day, it makes the most sense to compare all of your options before booking a vacation. There will be times when Costco costs a lot less than Expedia and times when it costs more. 

Keep in mind that sometimes what you gain in savings you lose in flexibility when booking Costco vacation packages. Costco doesn’t book flights on budget carriers, doesn’t let you use rewards points to save money, and often has very limited times and availability on its best-priced vacation packages.

Limited-Time Deals

There is a Limited-Time Deals category where you can see all of the discounted vacation packages on one screen. Deals might come in the form of complimentary added perks or discounted rates. These trips have short booking windows, so you have to act fast. Here are a few examples of the discounts running now: 

  • Four nights for the price of three at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa in Oahu
  • Complimentary room upgrade at the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa in Cancun
  • $200 instant savings on a tour through Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete (in free amenities and experiences and reduced booking rates)

H2. Save More With the Costco Credit Card

To save even more on Costco vacation packages, you can open a Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi. This credit card offers:

  • 4% cash back on eligible gas purchases for the first $7,000, followed by 1% thereafter
  • 3% on dining and travel
  • 2% on all Costco purchases
  • 1% on all other non-Costco purchases

There is no annual fee for this card. You must be a Costco member of any tier to sign up.

Hotels

If you’re just looking for a place to stay and don’t need the whole package, head over to the Hotels section of the Costco Travel website. Costco Travel lets you book hotels by four different brands: IHG (including Holiday Inn, Regent, and more), Fairmont, Hyatt, and Swissotel. 

With thousands of locations including luxury resorts and more modest hotels, you won’t have any trouble finding a place to stay.

How to Book Hotel Stays

The first thing you’re going to want to do when booking a hotel through Costco Travel is enter your destination and dates into the search tool. A page will automatically populate with hotels that have rooms available when you will be traveling and in close proximity to your destination.

From the results page, you can enter minimum and maximum prices to see only hotels that fit your budget and sort results by distance to city center, price high to low, or price low to high. You can also filter results by distance from your destination, member reviews, hotel star rating, hotel brand, or area. 

Once you’ve chosen a hotel, the next screen will auto-select a room type for you at the price point shown when you chose the hotel. But if you want a different room, just select “Modify Room.” This will show you all of the available rooms for your stay and how much they cost in relation to the total price in the top right of your screen. Once you’ve chosen a room, select “Continue to Travelers.” 

But before moving on, make note of two things: how and when you will be required to pay for your room (i.e. advance purchase, non-refundable or reserve with credit card and pay later) and included extras such as food and beverage credits or complimentary breakfasts. Advance purchase rates are always lower but may not allow for cancellations or changes.

On the next page, you will enter the names of each person traveling in your party including the Lead Traveler whose name will appear on the booking (this must be a Costco member). Be sure to enter your hotel rewards ID number if applicable. 

Then, select “Continue to Special Requests.” If anyone in your party needs a specific room type such as accessible or non-smoking or you want to let the hotel know that you’re celebrating an anniversary or honeymoon, make those requests here by checking the corresponding boxes and entering comments. Costco Agents monitor requests for accessible rooms and contact members for additional details. 

Finally, you can select “Continue to Payment.” If your booking requires you to pay in advance, you will need to pay in full online before finalizing the booking. Otherwise, just enter your credit card information and personal details to reserve your room and bring the same card with you to pay for your room in person.

Does Costco Have the Best Hotel Prices?

You will need to log in to your Costco account to see prices and availability on hotels. If you have a Costco Travel account, use your login information to sign in. If you don’t have a Travel account, you can choose “Continue without an account” on the right and enter your Costco membership ID and last name. Again, let’s make a side-by-side comparison of Costco and Expedia’s prices.

This time, you’ll be staying at the Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort and Convention Center in sunny California. This booking is for an accessible room with one king bed where you will be staying for two nights.

CostcoExpedia
$396.21 (including taxes)$449 (including taxes)
Includes:
– Free WiFi
– Daily buffet breakfast
– $12 food and beverage credit to be used at the hotel’s bar or pantry (limit one per room, per stay)		Includes:
– Free WiFi
– Daily buffet breakfast

If you were to book this reservation through Costco, you’d be about $50 richer. However, one thing to note about the Costco booking is that it is non-refundable. This is an advance purchase rate that is not eligible to be modified or refunded in the event of cancelation. 

Adding Flights and Car Rentals to Your Hotel Booking

You can easily add other travel items onto your hotel booking if you’ve found your ideal hotel by following the above steps. Just go back to the search tool and this time choose the “Hotel + Flight,” “Hotel + Flight + Car,” or “Hotel + Car” option from the top. Then input your destination, dates, etc. to create a package. 

This is the same as creating your own vacation package except that you can center the whole trip around your hotel of choice instead of viewing all of your choices at once. Just enter the name of the hotel you want in the “Hotel Name” filter on the second page and add a flight or car rental to the booking.

Featured Hotels and Cities

If you’d prefer to leave your options open, you can look through Featured Hotels, Featured Cities, or National Parks sections. This is where this site starts to feel a little like a travel agency and can help you decide where to go. 

Costco also makes it easy to book stays in areas surrounding the following national parks: Yellowstone, Zion, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Indiana Dunes, and Joshua Tree. Just choose a park to see nearby accommodations. 

Can You Use Hotel Reward Points?

Costco Travel does not allow users to use hotel rewards points when booking hotel reservations, but some hotels such as Hyatt do allow you to enter your loyalty number to earn points on your stays. You can also use your Costco credit card to make sure to get 2% cash back on your hotel bookings.

Cruises

Click through a slide show of available cruises at CostcoTravel.com/cruises

Don’t skip cruises if you like sightseeing and packed itineraries. Costco cruise packages are available in every corner of the globe, with many family-friendly options and opportunities to save money.

Cruise Packages

Sail to destinations around the world including domestic waters, international waters, and even rivers. Choose from the following destinations:

  • Asia
  • Alaska
  • Hawaii and the South Pacific
  • Australia and New Zealand
  • North America
  • Mexico
  • Panama Canal
  • South America
  • Caribbean
  • Bahamas
  • Bermuda
  • Transatlantic
  • Europe and Mediterranean
  • Africa

And of course, you don’t have to choose just one location—these are cruises, after all. Choose “World Cruise” from the destination dropdown in the search tool for trips featuring multiple stops.

Costco Travel supports travel through 12 major cruise lines. These include:

  • Azamara
  • Carnival
  • Celebrity Cruises
  • Crystal Cruises
  • Cunard
  • Disney Cruise Line
  • Holland America Line
  • Norwegian Cruise Line
  • Princess
  • Regent
  • Royal Caribbean International
  • Uniworld River Cruises 

How to Book Cruise Trips

As with other bookings offered by Costco Travel, there are a few ways to go about booking cruise travel. You can start with the trusty search tool and select a destination and your departure month. Keep in mind that cruise dates are not as flexible as other trips and are dependent on when a ship is scheduled to arrive and depart; Costco has no control over these dates.

Or, you can browse by category: Kirkland Signature, Buyer’s Choice, Explore Alaska, Grand Voyages and World Cruises, Discover a Private Island Paradise, and Getaway Cruises. Kirkland Signature and Buyer’s Choice cruises have some of the best discounts and exclusives for Costco members.

You can also search cruises by six major Departure Ports in the U.S. and Canada: Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Vancouver. Finally, you can explore by cruise line to get started.

If you choose to begin with an “explore” category, the site will take you to the top deals in that category. These cruises are discounted and may include complimentary amenities.

Click on a cruise and scroll down first to the “Sailing Itinerary.” This gives a general schedule for your trip. Then go to the “Onboard the ___” section and expand the list items to get a better idea of what will be included on your trip. 

Finally, view the “Available Dates & Prices” section. Confirm that these dates work for you then sign in to view prices. The rooms will be arranged from least expensive on the left to most expensive and inclusive on the right. Choose a date then a room and select “Continue.” On the next screen, select the number of staterooms you need and provide the age of each person in your party.

Don’t forget to fill in the “Savings Opportunities” section to see if you qualify for additional savings. Then hit “Continue to Stateroom Type.” This page will automatically highlight the room you already chose when you began booking, so feel free to just continue on to Stateroom Location to pick which part of the boat you want your rooms to be on (a room should already be selected for you; if you don’t like it, you may need to choose a different kind of room). 

To complete the booking, just choose “Continue to Add-Ons.” Here, you can add items such as flights onto your package. After this, just continue through the steps on the screen to finalize your trip.

Can You Book Group Cruises?

Cruises are actually the only type of travel that allow for group bookings. You can book travel for large groups on most cruise trips. And in fact, you may get freebies and perks on group cruises such as a guest sailing free, extra amenities, and private dining experiences.

How many staterooms you can book at once depends on the cruise line. Uniworld Boutique River cruises allow for bookings of five or more rooms; Crystal Cruises and regent Seven Seas Cruises allow for bookings of six or more rooms; and Azamara, Carnival, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International allow for bookings of eight or more rooms.

Only the lead traveler needs to be a Costco member.

Best Deals on Cruises

Enter your Cruise Line Loyalty information when booking for additional savings.

Rental Cars

Costco works with four different car rental agencies to provide customers with cars when traveling: Alamo, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise.

How to Book Car Rentals

Booking a rental car through Costco Travel is simple. Just enter your dates and locations into the Low Price Finder and the site will find you the most inexpensive cars available.

From this page, you can choose up to four different locations to easily compare prices across brands. This will bring you to a chart that shows you different car types and rates for each brand. You can also see what make and model of vehicle to expect. Choose a car and hit “Continue” to see Optional Equipment and Upgrades. Add the renter’s personal and contact information to finalize the reservation.

Best Deals on Car Rentals

Let’s compare prices once more, this time for car rentals. Here’s what it would cost you per day to rent a Midsize/Intermediate SUV (Mazda Cx-5 or similar) from the same Avis location in New York City.

CostcoExpedia
$179.02$210.20

Costco Travel wins again, and its optional upgrades are cheaper too ($14 for an infant child seat from Costco compared to $17 from Expedia). Just note that this price doesn’t include any additional fees for additional drivers, drivers under the age of 25, etc.

AARP members may be offered extra savings.

Can You Use Car Rewards Points?

Unlike flights and hotel bookings, you actually can use loyalty points when reserving car rentals through Costco Travel. However, only Enterprise, Avis, and Budget are eligible (sorry, Alamo loyalty members).

Theme Parks and Specialty

Theme park and specialty vacation packages are the last kind of trip you can take through Costco Travel. These packages include everything from flights to car rentals and may also include VIP experiences such as tours, photo opportunities, and private dining.

How to Book Specialty Travel

Specialty trips include African Safaris and Guided Vacations. Choose from Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Universal Orlando for a theme park vacation. Or, go to the Vacations of a Lifetime category for luxury experiences currently being offered.

Booking many specialty trips is the same as booking any vacation package, so head back to that section of this article for a detailed, step-by-step guide through the process. 

However, for some specialty travel such as Adventures by Disney packages, you may need to call for details and help booking. Other trips such as African Safaris may require you to visit an external website and work with an agent to put together a package.

User Experience

Costco is known for delivering a positive consumer experience overall, and its travel agency is no exception. 

If you ever want to reach a customer support representative for questions about your booking or help scheduling a trip, call one of the following numbers.

Before your trip/during booking: 1-866-921-7925 between 7 am and 7 pm Monday through Friday or between 8 am and 5 pm PT Saturday and Sunday

During your trip: 1-866-317-4711 (same hours as above)

If you need to report an issue with your trip after the fact, submit a form through this page.

Pros and Cons of Costco Travel

One of the primary benefits of Costco Travel is convenience. You can book an entire trip from start to finish through one website (for almost every trip) in a matter of minutes without having to worry about arranging for a car to pick you up from the airport or reserving a room with the accommodations you need. 

But this brings us to our first disadvantage, which is that there isn’t a lot of wiggle room when booking packages through this agency. You can’t shop around for the cheapest flights or bookings to the same extent that you’d be able to if you were making individual reservations for each item. So even though a package from Costco may cost less than a package from another travel shopping company like Expedia, you may not be getting the best price possible across the board.

You can, though, score some pretty amazing prices in the limited-time deals and sale sections of Costco Travel. For this reason, it makes a lot of sense to use this service when you can play around with your dates and destinations. However, the good prices you can get when booking travel through Costco don’t come without some drawbacks. Sometimes you’ll sacrifice reservation flexibility to save money and other times you may need to fly much earlier or later than you’d prefer in order to cut costs.

After reviewing prices, we think it makes the most sense to leave flights out of your Costco Travel purchases. You’re better off shopping around for flights and booking these with travel points whenever possible, and reserving Costco for hotel bookings and rental cars. 

Your best bet, if you have the time, is to build vacations from scratch and compare prices on each component from the flight to the rental car rather than comparing vacation packages (which tend to come with a lot of upgrades you may not actually want to pay for).

Another advantage of Costco Travel is the annual reward. If you’re going to be using Costco Travel, it’s probably worth the added price of $60 to be a Gold Star Executive member so you can cash in on that 2% travel reward. Unfortunately, there are no membership tiers within Costco Travel, so you won’t save more the more you travel. 

Final Thoughts

Costco Travel is impressive in a lot of ways. Booking travel through the warehouse’s travel agency can save you big money and a lot of hassle that often comes with going on trips. Flexibility is going to be your friend when booking trips through Costco Travel. The more flexible you can be with your dates, departure locations and times, and room types, the more you can save. Otherwise, it’s always best to hunt around for the best deals.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card Review

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Are you on the hunt for the next best travel rewards credit card?

image credit: penfed.org
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The PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card made a splashy entrance in 2021 when it was announced that all applicants who applied for the card between May and September would be automatically entered into a contest for a “dream vacation” valued at $10k. Now, unfortunately there’s no such prize, but it’s still a pretty rewarding travel credit card with above-average points-earning opportunities.

Find out here if this is the right card for you. Plus, see how to qualify and what travel benefits you can take advantage of as a member.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

Features and Benefits

Before we get into the travel perks, let’s talk about the points you can earn with this card.

First, you can qualify to earn up to 50,000 bonus points when you sign up and spend at least $3,000 within the first 90 days of opening your account. After that, you will earn four points per dollar you spend on all travel categories as a PenFed Honors Advantage Member or three points per dollar spent on travel if you are not an Honors Member. Plus, you’ll get 1.5 points per dollar on everything else. Points are not capped for any category.

The variable purchase APR for this card is between 15.99% and 17.99% depending on your creditworthiness. At this time, there is no promotional interest rate or introductory period.

Outside of daily points-earning but including the bonus offer of 50,000 points, this card offers travel benefits valued at up to $799. These include the following:

  • $100 annual statement credit for ancillary domestic travel fees (like seat selection, checked baggage, etc.)
  • $100 Global Entry statement credit or $85 TSA Pre-Check statement credit
  • Complimentary Priority Pass Airport Lounge Annual Membership

You do not need to do anything to qualify for these statement credits. Just use your card to register and your account will be credited automatically. It may take several weeks for a credit to post.

Also included with this card are complimentary 24/7 fraud monitoring services and other enhanced security benefits. The credit card itself is chip-enabled and compatible with Visa Secure Remote Commerce Services.

This card also qualifies you for Visa Signature discounts on a variety of spending categories and travel. All you have to do is use your Pathfinder card to access available discounts.

Finally, you can use your card to transfer your balance on another card to PenFed. You can do this to consolidate your debt and potentially pay less interest, reduce your monthly repayments, or cover unexpected expenses without exceeding your credit limit. Many people also use a balance transfer to pay down high-interest debt and take advantage of introductory rates with a new card. There is a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers made between now and September 30th, 2022. After that, it is 17.99%.

How to Redeem Points

With all those points you can earn on travel, how do you use them? First, you’re going to want to log in to your PenFed account and select “Access My Rewards.” 

There are three different ways to redeem your rewards points: by using the points to purchase gift cards, book travel, or shop. Gift cards are available for a number of categories including retail, dining, entertainment, and more. 

When you use your rewards to book travel, you can purchase hotel stays, airline travel, rental cars, and other forms of transportation. You will incur an additional transaction fee when booking travel with points.

Note that your points will expire after five years or if your account is closed. There is no way to redeem your points for cash or use your rewards as a credit toward your balance.

Who Is It For?

You probably need a credit score of at least 700 to qualify for the PenFed Pathfinder Rewards card, possibly even 750, which will put this card out of reach for a lot of applicants. But if you meet the credit and income requirements and you’re a PenFed member, it might be worth applying.

The people who will benefit the most from this card are those who travel often. PenFed Honors Advantage members enjoy the most perks and can earn points at a higher rate than non-Honors members.

How to Become a PenFed Member

First things first: you cannot qualify for this card unless you are a member of PenFed Credit Union. There are no exceptions. For many years, only those actively serving or retired from the military–and their relatives–qualified to join PenFed. But now, anyone can become a member.

To join, you just need to apply for a Regular Share savings account and deposit at least $5. As long as this account is open and in good standing, you will be a member of PenFed and can apply for this credit card. 

Alternatively, you can open a Premium Online Savings account. This account also requires a minimum opening deposit of $5. There is no monthly maintenance fee and you will earn an APY of 0.55%.

There are other advantages to being a member besides getting to apply for this travel card. For example, there are many member discounts you can automatically qualify for that fall into the categories auto, finances, home, personal, and retail. Here are just a few:

  • 25% all Alamo car rentals
  • Discounted auto insurance coverage through Travelers insurance
  • $25 H&R Block tax prep services
  • $20 TurboTax services
  • Free home security camera + two months of free monitoring services through SimpliSafe
  • Up to $360 annual Tracfone savings
  • 10% discount on select Starr Wright USA insurance plans
  • 30% off Alpha Industries purchases

How to Become a PenFed Honors Advantage Member

If you want to take it one step further, you could become an Honors Advantage member. 

There are a few perks that you can only qualify for as a PenFed Honors Advantage Member, and these include a waiver for the annual fee and four points per dollar on travel instead of the baseline three points per dollar.

To become an Honors Advantage Member, you need to either be a member of the U.S. military–-either active-duty, retired, or otherwise discharged–or have a PenFed Access America checking account. This checking account pays 0.35% interest on balances between $20,000 and $50,000 and offers convenient banking features such as early direct deposit and the option for an Overdraft Line of Credit.

If you think that you might want this checking account anyway, it’s probably worth it to wait to apply for the travel credit card until you’ve opened the account.

Note that the Access America checking account also opens you up to more benefits if you have the PenFed Power Cash Rewards credit card.

Fees

This card carries an annual fee of $95 that’s waived if you’re a PenFed Honors Advantage Member or military member.

There is a 3% transaction fee for balance transfers, a $25 returned payment fee, a late payment fee of between $20 and $28 ($20 if your balance is less than $1,000, $25 if it’s between $1,000 and $2,000, and $28 if it’s above $2,000). 

There are no fees for cash advances or foreign transactions.

Is It Worth It?

Though there are plenty of travel credit cards that don’t have an annual fee, 1.5 points on everything and up to four points on all travel is nothing to scoff at. If you’ll travel enough in a year to easily make the annual fee up, you probably won’t even notice the $95. 

With that said, this fee is comparable to the top competitors like the Capital One Venture Rewards Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Check these options out and compare the points categories to figure out which one will be the best fit for you.

If you don’t like the idea of joining a credit union, this card isn’t for you. There’s no way around that one.

Consumer Sentiment + Customer Support

If you know PenFed, you know that they tend to do right by their customers. As a rule, they score well on consumer review platforms and have a Better Business Bureau rating of A+. Customer service representatives are generally helpful and prompt in responding to and resolving inquiries. The majority of customers are satisfied with the quality of service they receive and their overall experiences with PenFed.

To get in touch with customer service, you can call 724-473-6333. This is the general phone line for all inquiries, so don’t be surprised if you’re put on hold. Representatives are available to assist from 7 am to 11 pm EST Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 11 pm on Saturday, and from 9 am to 5:30 pm on Sunday.

The phone number for lost/stolen cards or to report an unauthorized transaction is 1-866-820-8875 and the line for card activation is 1-877-856-9690. If you have any questions about your rewards or travel bookings, just sign in to your account.

The PenFed mobile app could be a little bit better. It currently has a rating of 4.4 on Google Play and 4.2 in the App Store. While many users find the app to be perfectly fine, some complain about being locked out of their accounts on their phones or having trouble installing updates. But as far as financial apps go, it’s definitely not bad.

Pros and Cons

✅ Pros: What makes this a good travel credit card?

The PenFed Pathfinder Rewards card comes with a lot of advantages besides the opportunity to earn points on all travel and other purchases.

For example, the fact that this card does not charge foreign transaction fees is a huge benefit that could certainly come in handy if you do a lot of international travel. Considering the average travel credit card charges a foreign transaction fee of around 3%, you could save a significant amount using this card overseas. And the same goes for cash advances

Weekend and evening customer service availability, member discounts, are a few more benefits that make this card competitive.

🛑 Cons: What are some of its drawbacks?

One of the main disadvantages is that PenFed doesn’t offer as many points redemption categories as competitors like Chase and Citi. This could be a disadvantage for you if you’re hoping to simply cash out on the points or pay yourself back for purchases. Gift cards are the closest you’ll get. You also can’t transfer your points to another loyalty account with an airline or hotel brand as you can with many similar cards.

Another possible con to note is that your credit limit may be lower than you like. It has been reported that PenFed limits how much credit it gives customers to $50,000 across all accounts, so if you have multiple credit cards with the credit union already, you might not be thrilled with the limit you’re approved for when you get the Pathfinder Rewards card. You can always request an increase, but there is no guarantee it’ll be accepted.

Finally, you might be disappointed that there is no introductory APR for this card. Many of its competitors offer 0% interest introductory periods of up to 15 months.

Final Thoughts

This card definitely competes with many of the best travel credit cards out there right now. The PenFed Pathfinder Rewards card lets you earn a whole lot of points, doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, and offers many travel benefits that more than pay for the annual fee (which is also avoidable). This isn’t the card for you if you want to cash out or transfer points or borrow without interest for any period of time.

If you’re not already a member of the credit union and you’re willing to apply–even better if you don’t mind opening an Access America checking account for that higher rewards rate–this is a solid option for travelers, especially those who travel outside of the country. Overall, we definitely think this card is worth it.

Wells Fargo Credit Cards: Here’s the Latest for 2022

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Back in the Fall of 2021, there was a lot of online chatter about Wells Fargo shutting down their credit cards. While this bank was up to a lot of restructuring and plans to make big changes in 2022, they are certainly not shutting down their credit cards.

In fact, the opposite. Wells Fargo launched a handful of new cards last year and plans to do more this year.

Below is a run down of what happened with Wells Fargo last year and what to expect in 2022 with their credit card line-up.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

What Happened?

In July 2021, Wells Fargo made a public announcement that it would be shutting down all personal lines of credit. Those with outstanding balances at the end of the 60-day notice would be expected to begin making fixed monthly payments until their debt was fully repaid.

Understandably, there was some backlash. Customers were furious that their credit scores would be negatively impacted. The closure of an account can cause credit utilization to go up (how much depends on total available credit and the borrowing limit for the closed account) and directly affect one’s credit score. It can also lower the age of accounts and bring one’s credit score down further. 

Even government officials were deriding Wells Fargo for the decision, threatening the bank with legal action if it went through with the shutdowns.

Then just a month later in August, Wells Fargo announced that it had changed its mind. With a “we have heard your concerns” message, it explained that existing personal lines of credit would not be shut down. Instead, customers who had been using their credit would be able to continue doing so and customers who had not used their credit in a while would be given the choice to either keep their account open or have it closed. 

Otherwise, the only change is that new personal lines of credit are no longer available through Wells Fargo, which is old news. This has not been a profitable product for Wells Fargo for some time. Previously offered in amounts of between $3,000 and $100,000, customers will need to choose a different product if they want to borrow money or a different bank if they want unsecured credit.

All of this very public flip-flopping caused a good deal of confusion about Wells Fargo credit cards, with some rumors going around that existing card accounts would be shutting down as well. But in reality, the changes to personal lines of credit were all part of a restructuring strategy designed to direct more resources to credit cards and loans. The bank is focusing more on credit cards, not closing them.

So Wells Fargo credit cards are very much still available, and there are even some new ones you might not know about.

The New Credit Cards

Want one of the new Wells Fargo credit cards for yourself? Below are the personal credit cards you can choose from as of February 2022.

It’s likely that we’ll see more cards rolled out here soon, but there are only three available for the time being (and if you don’t see an old Wells Fargo card on this list, it’s no longer available to new customers).

Wells Fargo Active Cash Card

image credit: creditcards.wellsfargo.com

You’ve probably seen the ads. This new card offers unlimited 2% cashback on qualifying purchases and a welcome bonus of $200 when you spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening. There are no reward categories and your rewards never expire as long as your account stays open. 

Only ATM transactions, balance or wire transfers, cash advances, checks, money orders, and gambling purchases don’t qualify to earn 2% back per dollar spent. This card also gives you cell phone protection up to $600 for stolen or damaged phones at no additional cost and zero liability protection for unauthorized transactions.

There is no annual fee for the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card. You need a credit score of at least 670 to qualify.

Wells Fargo Reflect Card

image credit: creditcards.wellsfargo.com

This new card is designed for people who intend to borrow more than they can immediately pay back, making it a great choice for those who used to have a personal line of credit with the bank. This card offers a 0% APR for 18 months after opening, with an optional three-month extension if you make your minimum payments on time during this period. After the introductory period, the APR is between 12.99% and 24.99%, depending on your credit.

This is not a rewards card, but it does come with a couple of other perks. Cardholders get up to $600 in cell phone protection, 24/7 roadside assistance, and access to My Wells Fargo Deals. 

There is no annual fee for the Wells Fargo Reflect Card. You need a credit score of at least 670 to qualify.

Hotels.com Rewards Visa Credit Card

image credit: creditcards.wellsfargo.com

Last but not least, the Hotels.com Rewards Visa Card. This is a unique travel credit card offering perks for fans of the travel booking site Hotels.com. You can earn one stamp for every $500 you spend in net purchases (do not have to be travel-related) and one stamp for every night you stay at eligible Hotels.com properties. Ten stamps can be redeemed for one reward night at a Hotels.com property that permits prepaid bookings.

Plus, earn two reward nights at a value of up to $125 each night when you spend $1,000 in qualifying purchases within the first three months of opening. The maximum redemption value of your award night is equal to the average value of your 10 stamps. You cannot cash out and must pay the difference if your total is greater than the value of your reward.

Although this card doesn’t offer as wide a range of redemption options as others, it’s a good option if you book with Hotels.com.

There is no annual fee for this card.

Understand Your Status

If you have a Wells Fargo revolving credit account, you probably received a letter from the bank stating your options when all of this was first announced. 

Basically, if you’ve been using the line of credit and making repayments, you don’t have anything to worry about. No changes should have been made to your account as a result of restructuring and you should still be in good standing with the bank. Review your credit report to make sure your credit score or history has not changed and check in with Wells Fargo with any questions you may have.

If you have not been using your line of credit for a while, Wells Fargo gave you the choice to either close your account or keep it open last fall. Customers had until November 2021 to ask Wells Fargo not to close their accounts. Your account was probably closed for you at the beginning of December if you did not specifically reach out to Wells Fargo to request this. 

Finally, if you have a loan or credit card with Wells Fargo, you should not have been affected by these changes.

What to Do If Your Account Was Closed

If you were one of the people who had an inactive personal line of credit that got closed, hopefully it didn’t come as a shock. You should have received notice about what was happening. So now what? 

The most important thing to know is that your credit probably took a hit. Unfortunately, there’s not really anything you can do about this. If your total available credit dropped dramatically as a result of this account closing, your score probably dipped because your credit utilization went up. 

You might have also seen a change in your score if your total age of accounts was lowered when this account closed. You can work to improve your score by keeping your credit card spend low and paying all of your bills on time, but it might take a while to recover the lost points.

Also, you should have received a repayment schedule from Wells Fargo at the time your account was closed. This will show you what fixed monthly payments you will make to pay back the balance you had, if any at all. You’re now locked into whatever interest rate you had when the account was closed. You will only pay interest on the money you borrowed, not on the total available credit.

If you really need to replace this account with something else, you could go find a different bank that offers personal lines of credit. You can open one with KeyBank, PenFed, or U.S. Bank, for example.

But rather than go searching for somewhere else to get a personal line of credit, you may decide that this product isn’t actually the best choice for you anymore.

Alternatives to Personal Lines of Credit

Personal lines of credit aren’t as popular or necessary as they used to be for most people. When they were first introduced, they offered more flexibility than loans and often better interest rates than credit cards. 

But today, credit card interest rates are comparable (and/or easier to avoid paying) and come with additional bonuses and spending perks that personal lines of credit didn’t offer. And many banks and credit unions offer personal loans and will let you see if you pre-qualify without a hard credit pull. These are much more readily available than unsecured personal lines of credit, which are a bit hard to come by.

Here’s a look at the advantages of these alternatives.

Credit Cards

The main advantage of credit cards over lines of credit is that you can avoid paying interest entirely with a card if you use it like you would a debit card and avoid carrying a balance. Many credit cards have 0% APR introductory offers as well.

You may also be able to borrow more than you could with a personal line of credit, depending on what credit limit you’re approved for. Plus, you can use the card for as long as you want and you’re not restricted to a borrowing period. 

Finally, credit cards are generally easier to qualify for and charge lower fees on average than lines of credit.

Personal Loans

Personal loans let you take out the total amount of money you need for a project or expense and pay it back in fixed monthly repayments. You can’t borrow a little at a time with a loan like you can with a line of credit, but you get all the money you need as a lump sum. 

If you have the time to plan how much you need to borrow, a personal loan might be a better option than a line of credit. You pay a fixed interest rate on the entire loan, typically lower than whatever the rate would be for a line of credit, and you don’t usually need to have great credit to qualify.

Wells Fargo does offer both credit cards and personal loans, but you might find better rates and promotions with a different bank.

Final Thoughts

We hope you’re a little more clear now on what’s going with Wells Fargo this year. Unless you had a personal line of credit account with the bank, the changes last fall probably didn’t affect you–or your credit–at all. And to recap: Wells Fargo isn’t shutting down current credit card accounts or loans for new or existing customers. You just can’t get a new personal line of credit.

Ryanair Baggage Fees, Allowances & Loopholes

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Ryanair, the Irish budget airline, has highly specific baggage policies and allowances. Are you up to date on their current policies?

If not, here’s all of the information you’ll need regarding baggage for Ryanair flights in 2022.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

Carry-On Rules for Ryanair

Ryanair passengers have ​one small bag​—such as a laptop, purse, or small backpack—included in their fare as a carry-on. This carry-on must be no larger than ​15.7” x 7.9” x 9.8” ​(40 x 20 x 25cm) and must fit underneath the seat in front of you. This is the policy for ​non-priority​ passengers.

Ryanair airports have bag sizers stationed around various terminals that you can use to make sure that your carry-on bag meets size restrictions and will fit under a seat (these sizers will also show whether your checked baggage is the right size). If a small bag does not fit in the sizer, non-priority passengers must pay a fee of about $28 (€/£25) to check their bag as cargo and will not be able to take it as a carry-on.

Priority t​ravelers are allowed to take ​two bags ​on board: ​one wheelie bag ​(a rolling suitcase) and o​ne small bag. ​The wheelie bag has a weight limit of about ​22 pounds ​(10kg) and a size limit of ​21.7” x 7.9” x 15.7” ​(55 x 20 x 40cm).

This 22-pound carry-on is available for purchase by non-priority passengers for a price of between $11 and $28 (€/£10 – 25), depending on the flight. This can be done during check-in, at the time of booking, or up to 40 minutes before take-off through the ​Ryanair app​. If added to your flight at the gate, expect to pay $28. These carry-ons must be checked-in at the airport bag drop desk. Alternatively, passengers can pay between $7 and $16 (€/£6 – 14) to add priority to their trip and bump up their cabin bag allowance.

Checked Baggage Rules for Ryanair

Every passenger may purchase up to ​three checked bags​ ​per flight and these are each restricted to a maximum weight of ​44 pounds ​(20kg). Baggage is charged per person, per one-way flight. Checked baggage may not exceed ​70.5 pounds ​(32kg) and/or ​31.9” x 46.9” x 46.9” ​(81 x 119 x 119cm), for safety reasons. Weight restrictions do not apply to medical and mobility assistive devices.

If you add checked baggage to your flight at the initial time of ​booking​, you will pay $28 (€/£25) per bag. If you add checked baggage to your flight online, through a call center, or in-person after booking, you will pay about $45 (€/£40) per bag. These prices are subject to change during peak travel times.

For those traveling in groups, know that you are allowed to pool per-person baggage allowances as long as everyone checks in at the same time. Otherwise, if you exceed your personal bag limit of three, you will be charged additional fees by weight.

Items allowed to all passengers free of charge include:

  • One child stroller
  • One child restraint seat or carrier
  • Medical/mobility assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, and canes

2020 Ryanair Excess Baggage Fees

Ryanair offers an in-depth ​guide to all additional fees ​(from extra legroom to flight-change fees) on its site, but the table below gives a complete list of charges for oversize and overweight sports and musical equipment. Prices vary based on whether you add an excess baggage item at the time of booking or after booking.

During BookingAfter Booking
Bikes$67 | €/£60$84 | €/£75
Large Sports Items$61 | €/£55$72 | €/£65
Sports Equipment$39 | €/£35$45 | €/£40
Ski Equipment$50 | €/£45$56 | €/£50
Golf Clubs$33 | €/£30$45 | €/£40
Musical Instruments$56 | €/£50$72 | €/£65

If a piece of sports or musical equipment weighs more than the 44-pound (20kg) allowance, extra baggage fees apply on top of the above fees. The current rate for extra baggage is $5.70 per pound (€/£11 per kilogram) for every bag you check outside of your three-bag limit. In addition, extra child/baby equipment may be purchased for about $17 (€/£15) a piece.

Get Baggage Fees Reimbursed With These Cards

If you’re on the hunt for top-rated travel credit cards that will reimburse you for baggage fees, keep these five in mind:

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express​: $200 annual reimbursement
  • American Express® Gold Card​: $100
  • Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card:​ $200
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve®​: $300
  • Citi Prestige​: $250

How to Get Free Checked Bags Through Ryanair

At this time, Ryanair does not have its own airline credit cards that will get you free checked baggage, so you’ll have to try to save money on flights in other ways. Other than the small personal bag that’s free for everyone and the free 22-pound bag for priority flyers, there is no way to get checked bags for no cost or to have fees waived.

Ryanair is already a discount airline, so tracking down additional discounts is nearly impossible. With that said, follow these tips to save the most money:

  1. Add baggage to your reservation at the time of booking.
  2. Travel priority if your baggage weighs 10kg or less.
  3. Pool your bag limit with other passengers in your reservation.

Ryanair Fee Waivers and Loopholes

Ryanair Choice​ is an annual frequent-flyer membership, launched in 2019, that offers free priority boarding, flight discounts, and exclusive access to members. It costs about $222 (€199) annually, so be sure that joining is something that makes sense for you before committing. Consider joining the Ryanair Choice frequent flyers program only if you plan to do a lot of flying through Ryanair in a year.

Ryanair does ​not ​offer a miles-earning program. However, booking stays with ​Ryanair Rooms​ ​earns flight credit that can be used on any Ryanair purchases.

Ryanair does not offer military discounts to U.S. active-duty military members and/or their dependents.

Special Declaration of Value for Checked Bags

If you plan on flying with something of value in your checked bag(s), then you may want to look into Ryan Air’s Special Declaration of Value coverage. By default and per the Montreal Convention 1999, liability coverage only extends up to ~ €1,600.00 per bag.

You may pay a Special Checked Baggage Declaration of Value fee prior to your trip to have the liability coverage increased to ~ €2600.00 per bag.

Customers may purchase this at the Airport Ticket Desk and must do so for each airport of departure.

Final Thoughts

If you plan to fly Ryanair, you can already be sure that you’re getting some of the best flight prices out there. But if you travel light and book smart by taking advantage of ways to save on baggage fees, you can score low fares on any number of international flights.