Hi Ozbargainers,
Did anyone get a Costco car rental in USA using their Costco Australian Membership? Costco USA has good car rental pricing compared to others.
As per Costco membership policy, Costco card is valid at any Costco warehouse worldwide.
I am travelling to the USA and How can I use my Australian membership to book Costco rentals cars in USA? Did anyone try that before? I tried booking it online but it doesn't work.
Thanks
I tried booking it online but it doesn't work.
Costco memberships are worldwide for the warehouse stores.
You're going to have to give them a call and see if your Australian membership works, reading the FAQ it seems you need a Costco Travel account that you get from your Costco account.
Thanks guys… Called them first thing today and looks like for Costco Car rentals you need a US address and a US issued credit card.
Alternatively if you are UK or Canada Costco member you could get away with it.
The lady on the phone said she could book a Costco car rental previously for Australian couple but they were US residents.
Again she was not confident on the Licence situation due to RHD vs LHD and she was asking for an International Driver's License.
TL DR - Nope, doesn't work.
Again she was not confident on the Licence situation due to RHD vs LHD and she was asking for an International Driver's License.
Based on the above (obviously wrong) statement, I think the TLDR is "that lady had no idea what she was talking about, so calling didn't actually help at all".
You don't need an international drivers licence to rent a car in the US, I've done it plenty of times.
Maybe it's Costco's T&C. In one instance in the UK out of a dozen or more hires, I've had to produce an International Driver's Licence.
Well she was not confident on the Licence situation due to RHD vs LHD and asked me to check with the Car rental company if they accept Australian license.
Call and try again. She doesnt know.
Or email corporate to get a firm response.
So it's like Amazon prime. It doesn't entitle you to reimbursed international shipping.
OP, I would call again. I just called out of curiosity (selected Alamo) and they confirmed they would be happy to book a car for me with my Aussie membership.
I tried booking it online but it doesn't work as Costco Australian Membership is 11 digits where as Costco USA Membership has 12 digits.
Probable workaround is, if I can walk into a Costco US warehouse and convert my Costco Australian membership to Costco USA Membership, then I get access to Costco Car Rentals and then I can book it.
Downside is It doesn't work if you are visiting for short vacation and want to book everything in advance.
Hope this helps someone.
Did you give them a call and ask?
https://www.costcotravel.com/Info/Contact-Us
Monday - Friday 5 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday 6 a.m. - 5 p.m.
(Pacific Time)
1-866-921-7925