I Tested Costco, Expedia, Priceline & booking.com – and Changed How I Book Vacations

For the first test, I priced six nights at Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort, including nonstop Delta flights from Atlanta for two people.

The Costco Travel package cost $4,322. It also included a $201 Costco Shop Card, which is essentially cash for anyone who shops regularly at Costco. After counting the Shop Card at its full value, the effective package cost was $4,121.

The exact same Delta Classic flights cost $1,452 for two people when booked directly through Delta.

I then checked the hotel separately on several major booking sites:

• Expedia: $3,793
• Priceline: $3,778
• Booking.com: $3,778
• Marriott member rate: $3,676
• Super.com through Google Travel: $2,769

The Marriott website offered the lowest conventional hotel-only price, saving about $100 compared with Expedia, Priceline, and Booking.com. Joining Marriott Bonvoy to unlock the member price was free.

Super.com showed an unusually low rate of $2,769, although I had never used or even heard of the company before conducting these tests.

The much bigger surprise appeared when I added airfare.

Booking Expedia’s $3,793 hotel rate and the $1,452 Delta flights separately would cost $5,245. But Expedia Packages offered the same hotel stay and equivalent Delta Classic flights for only $4,194.

That is a savings of $1,051 on the same basic vacation simply by booking it as a package.

Priceline’s package came to $4,598 with equivalent Delta Classic airfare. That was also substantially less than buying Priceline’s hotel rate and the flights separately, although it couldn’t match Expedia’s package price.

The final Cancun ranking was:

1. 1. Costco Travel package: $4,121 after the $201 Shop Card
2. 2. Expedia package: $4,194
3. 3. Super.com hotel plus separate flights: $4,221

Costco won, but only by $73 over Expedia. That narrow victory was not what surprised me most. The real discovery was that Expedia’s largely overlooked Vacation Packages section saved more than $1,000 compared with booking its own hotel price and the flights separately.

This was the first indication that package discounts can be far larger than many experienced travelers probably assume.

For the second test, I priced the same six nights at Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, a large hotel known for having Eiffel Tower views from many of its rooms. The trip included nonstop Air France flights from New York for two people.

Costco Travel charged $4,964 for the package. That price included:

• Six hotel nights
• Nonstop round-trip airfare
• Daily breakfast
• Private airport transfers

I estimated that comparable round-trip airport transportation between Charles de Gaulle Airport and the hotel would cost about $150 for two people.

The same Air France flights, booked through Delta, cost $1,948 for two passengers.

This test demonstrated why airfare categories must be checked carefully. Some package websites initially display Basic Economy fares that may not include advance seat selection, while another package includes regular Economy. A package can appear cheaper simply because it contains a more restrictive ticket.

For my final comparisons, I used fares that allowed advance seat selection.

Once I included breakfast with every hotel rate, the hotel-only prices were remarkably close:

• Expedia: $3,136
• Priceline: $3,133
• Booking.com: $3,133
• Accor ALL member rate: $3,160
• Super.com through Google Travel

: $2,731

Pullman is part of Accor, but in this case its official website did not beat the major booking companies. Even with the free ALL loyalty-program discount, Accor was $24 to $27 more expensive than Expedia, Priceline, and Booking.com.

The package results were much more interesting.

Expedia charged $4,544 for the hotel, daily breakfast, and equivalent airfare. Priceline charged $4,601 for its comparable package.

Because Costco included airport transfers, I added approximately $150 to Expedia and Priceline to create a fairer comparison:

• Expedia package plus estimated transfers: $4,694
• Priceline package plus estimated transfers: $4,751
• Costco Travel package with transfers: $4,964

Expedia therefore beat Costco by about $270, while Priceline beat it by more than $200.

Google Travel once again found the lowest hotel-only rate at Super.com. Its $2,731 hotel price combined with the $1,948 airfare would total $4,679 before airport transportation, or approximately $4,829 after adding comparable transfers. That was still more than the adjusted Expedia package.

The final Paris ranking was:

• Expedia package plus estimated transfers: $4,694
• Priceline package plus estimated transfers: $4,751
• Costco Travel package: $4,964

Paris produced a clear win for Expedia Packages. It also reinforced the larger finding: the conventional hotel-booking sites showed nearly identical room rates, but combining the hotel and airfare created meaningful discounts.

There was another important wrinkle. Costco’s package included daily breakfast with no option to remove it. Expedia also offered a package without breakfast for roughly $400 less. Someone who would rather have coffee and a croissant at a neighborhood café could save even more by choosing that version.

Included extras only have their stated value when you actually want to use them.

For the final test, I priced six nights at the Royal Lahaina Resort on Maui with nonstop Alaska Airlines flights from Los Angeles.

Costco Travel charged $3,081. That package included:

• Normal Economy airfare with advance seat selection
• Airport transfers worth approximately $200
• A $112 Costco Shop Card
• A $150 resort credit

The Alaska Airlines flights cost $1,034 for two people when booked separately.

Once again, the conventional hotel-only prices were almost indistinguishable:

• Expedia: $1,983
• Priceline: $1,983
• Booking.com: $1,985
• Royal Lahaina’s official website: $1,979

The hotel’s own website won this part of the comparison, but only by $4 to $6. That isn’t a meaningful difference by itself, although booking directly can sometimes provide easier communication if a reservation needs to be changed.

Expedia’s package cost $3,018, which was essentially identical to booking its hotel rate and the Alaska flights separately.

Priceline performed much better, charging $2,781 for the package with equivalent airfare. But Costco included airport transportation while Priceline did not. Adding approximately $200 for comparable transfers brought Priceline’s complete trip cost to about $2,981.

Costco’s $3,081 headline price was higher, but its two credits changed the comparison:

Costco package price: $3,081

Less $112 Shop Card

Less $150 resort credit

Effective Costco cost: $2,819

That made Costco about $162 cheaper than Priceline after accounting for equivalent transportation.

Google Travel again displayed the lowest hotel rate through Super.com. Combining that rate with the Alaska flights and approximately $200 for transportation produced a complete price of about $2,865.

The final Maui ranking was:

1. Costco Travel package: $2,819 after the Shop Card and resort credit
2. Super.com hotel plus flights and transfers: approximately $2,865
3. Priceline package plus transfers: approximately $2,981

Costco won by about $46 over Super.com and $162 over Priceline.

However, Costco’s victory depends on using the full resort credit and treating the Shop Card like cash. As a Costco member spending six nights at this particular resort, I would almost certainly use both. Someone who doesn’t shop at Costco regularly or wouldn’t spend $150 at the resort should value those benefits differently.

My experience pricing Super.com

Google Travel displayed a Super.com offer in all three tests, and it was always the lowest hotel-only rate.

Super.com may be a legitimate and dependable booking company, but I had never heard of it before these searches, and its checkout presentation made me uncomfortable.

Google Travel displayed a total that included taxes. After I clicked through to Super.com, the taxes disappeared and the website once again emphasized a substantially lower pretax price. The complete total would not reappear until after I supplied my name and other personal information.

Super.com also offered an additional discount if I joined its club for $15 per month.

I never continued to the final payment screen, so I can’t say whether another charge or surprise would have appeared. I can only say that I would personally rather pay slightly more to use a booking company I already know and trust than add another subscription and remain uncertain about the final terms.

A remarkably low headline price is not necessarily the best value if the cancellation rules are worse, the taxes are difficult to follow, or the checkout process doesn’t inspire confidence.

These three comparisons changed the way I plan to book future vacations.

In the past, I usually purchased flights directly from the airline and reserved hotels separately through Expedia or the hotel’s website. Booking flights directly still has advantages, particularly when a schedule changes or something goes wrong. It is usually easier to resolve a problem directly with an airline than through an intermediary.

However, when I need both a hotel and airfare for the same trip, I will now check at least:

• Costco Travel
• Expedia Packages
• Priceline Packages

For decades, I have seen advertisements promising that travelers can save by booking their hotel and flight together. I assumed those savings were real but relatively minor—and that booking separately was worth a small premium because it offered more flexibility.

These tests proved that assumption wrong.

In Cancun, Expedia’s package saved more than $1,000 compared with purchasing Expedia’s own hotel rate and the same Delta flights separately. Paris also produced hundreds of dollars in package savings. Even when a package did not win, it was often competitive enough to be worth checking.

Costco Travel does not always have the lowest price

Costco won in Cancun and Maui after accounting for its Shop Card and resort credit. Expedia beat Costco decisively in Paris, even after adding comparable airport transportation.

Costco remains an excellent place to look, but it should not be the only place you check.

Its packages also need to be examined carefully. Some include valuable transfers, resort credits, Shop Cards, breakfast, or better airfare categories. Others include benefits you might not want.

A $150 resort credit is worth close to $150 if you will use it naturally. It is worth much less if it encourages you to spend money you otherwise wouldn’t have spent.

Make sure the comparisons are genuinely equal

Travel websites do not always begin with equivalent products.

One package might include Basic Economy while another includes a regular fare with advance seat selection. One hotel rate may include breakfast while another does not. Resort fees or taxes may appear early on one website and only at the final checkout screen on another.

Before declaring a winner, compare:

• The same room category
• The same meal plan
• The same airfare restrictions
• Checked-bag allowances
• Advance seat selection
• Airport transportation
• Resort fees and taxes
• Cancellation policies
• Credits, gift cards, and other usable benefits

A lower headline price is meaningless if it excludes something important that the other package includes.

Check the hotel’s official website

The official hotel website offered the lowest conventional hotel-only rate in two of my three tests. In the third test, Paris, it was only slightly more expensive than Expedia, Priceline, and Booking.com.

Free hotel loyalty programs can unlock member rates, so joining before booking is often worthwhile. Direct reservations may also be easier for the hotel to modify or prioritize if something goes wrong.

That doesn’t mean booking directly will always be cheapest. It means the official website belongs in every serious comparison.

Familiar hotel-booking sites often show nearly identical prices

One unexpected finding was how closely Expedia, Priceline, and Booking.com matched one another for hotel-only reservations.

In Paris, only $3 separated all three. In Maui, they were within $2. Priceline and Booking.com are owned by the same parent company, so identical prices on those two sites are not especially surprising.

This suggests that repeatedly searching familiar hotel sites may produce less value than checking one major booking site, the hotel’s official website, and then package options.

Package discounts are absolutely worth checking

The most important lesson is not that Costco, Expedia, or Priceline always wins. None of them does.

The lesson is that vacation packages can occasionally save hundreds or even more than $1,000 on the exact same hotel and flights. Checking them takes only a few extra minutes and can reveal rates that aren’t available when the components are purchased separately.

Rates will change constantly. Expedia will not always beat Costco in Paris, and Costco will not always win in Cancun or Maui. Different dates, airports, hotels, room categories, and airfare classes could produce completely different winners.

But I will never again assume that buying flights and hotels separately is only slightly more expensive.

This experiment began with a simple theory: Costco Travel would probably offer the smallest selection but the lowest prices on the vacations it carried.

That theory was only partly correct.

Costco offered the best overall value in two of the three tests, but its Cancun victory was extremely narrow and Expedia won Paris by a substantial margin. The most important discovery was that Expedia and Priceline vacation packages could offer enormous discounts compared with booking the same hotels and flights separately.

My new booking routine is simple:

1. Check the hotel and flights separately.

2. Check the hotel’s official website.

3. Check Costco Travel.

4. Check Expedia Packages.

5. Check Priceline Packages.

6. Compare the same airfare classes, inclusions, taxes, and cancellation terms.

7. Count credits and extras only if I will actually use them.

Even after decades of researching travel prices, these tests taught me a valuable—and potentially expensive—lesson. Vacation packages deserve much more attention than I had been giving them.

The next time you need both airfare and a hotel, spend a few extra minutes checking the package sections before paying for anything separately. The savings may be negligible, but they may also pay for a substantial portion of the trip.