Costco quietly drops favorite member perk

Even if you're someone who hates going grocery shopping and running errands, it's kind of hard to hate Costco.

Sure, you may not be a fan of the crowded parking lots on weekends or long lines in the checkout area. But there's so much to love about Costco that it's just plain difficult to dislike shopping there.

Where else can you get the equivalent of an entire meal in free sample form just by walking around the store? And where else can you buy a gigantic hot and soda for only $1.50 — the same price that's been around since the '80s?

Clearly, Costco offers members a ton of value, because if it didn't, they wouldn't pay $65 for a Gold Star membership or $130 for an Executive membership to get access to the store.

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But there's a reason Costco enjoys so much membership fee revenue each year.

Even at a time when living costs are high and consumers are spending their money more carefully, there are enough savings to be had at Costco that it's worth paying to get in the door.

Costco quietly drops favorite member perk.

Image source: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

Costco Travel is a huge perk

It's easy to think of Costco as a place to buy milk, eggs, and bananas in bulk. But Costco members get to enjoy numerous benefits beyond just groceries and household essentials.

One huge perk of a Costco membership is Costco Travel.

Not only does Costco Travel offer a host of vacation packages at reasonable prices, but it often throws in extra perks to sweeten an already good deal.

If you book a resort stay or cruise through Costco Travel, you may be eligible for credits you can redeem for free drinks or non-included activities. And many Costco Travel packages give you a Costco Shop Card as a thank you for booking a trip.

Often, those Shop Cards are worth 10% of your trip's value. This means that if you take a $3,000 vacation through Costco, you may be eligible for $300 to shop with at Costco once you get back.

Plus, when you book through Costco Travel, you get actual live people for support. If you have a question or if your plans need to change, you can speak to someone helpful who will work with you to resolve the issue.

Costco quietly pulls popular destination from travel offerings

If there's one vacation that screams “expensive,” it's anything Disney-related.

People tend to love Disney because it's fun for travelers of all ages. But it's hard to overlook the often-exorbitant price tag that comes with a Disney vacation.

Costco used to offer travel packages to Disneyland Park in California. But earlier this year, Costco quietly stopped offering them, seemingly almost overnight.

Not surprisingly, members were not happy.

Some, in fact, were outraged that Costco simply pulled Disneyland from its travel options without making an announcement.

“Well this just put a wrench in some future plans,” one Reddit user wrote.

“My family was just pricing a trip to Disneyland…This definitely changes things,” wrote another.

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Now the good news is that Costco is still offering travel packages to Walt Disney World in Florida, as well as Disney cruises.

But if you've been there, done that and were looking to check out Disneyland instead, you're going to have to do it without the perks and savings that come with booking through Costco.

Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.