It looks like you can really buy anything at Costco.
The wholesale retailer is offering its members a 12-month subscription to Wheels Up Private Jet Service.
It’s priced at a hefty $ 17,499.99 (it’s a private jet membership, after all), but it includes a $ 3,500 Costco Store Card, $ 4,000 airline credit, and access to exclusive events.
Subscribers will also receive a one-year membership to Inspirato, which offers luxury vacation rentals, as well as “guaranteed aircraft availability nationwide for up to 365 days a year”.
This means you can book a flight less than 24 hours before notice.
but there is a problem. Only $ 17,500 includes the right to book the excursions, but not the costs for the trips themselves.
Members can either “pay while traveling” or purchase an additional “finance program” – not sold through Wheels Up – that provides lower fares and fewer flight times.
Wheels Up, a private airline that aims to make private flights “more accessible”, operates a fleet of more than 300 aircraft and has access to over 1,250 partner aircraft, according to a product description on the Costco website.
There is also a cheaper option.
Customers can purchase a one-year membership for $ 1,994.99, which is nearly 80% less than the full-priced subscription cost, but doesn’t include the frills and excitement of a Costco shopping card, flight credit, and a luxury vacation membership.
Although Costco is known for its discounted bulk materials and its appeal to the middle class, it is also attracting more affluent clients.
For example, millionaire Senator Mitt Romney is a fan. In an interview with Fox News during his presidential campaign in 2012, Romney said he was enjoying buying three boxes of Costco Kirkland shirts.
The shopping club also offers expensive engagement rings, gift boxes, and even a double chicken coop.
Private jet memberships come because many people were afraid to travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But it also paved the way for other alternatives that reduce connectivity, such as air travel and private jet booking – a luxury reserved primarily for the wealthy.
Wheels Up pledges “safety without compromise” to its passengers, including twice-daily temperature checks for crew members, routine sterilization between flights and fresh air ventilation.
