Travelers who are headed to airports and hoping to use their Costco membership cards in place of Real IDs are out of luck.
Travelers need a Real ID — or other acceptable form of identification — for domestic flights and for accessing federal facilities as of May 7. The Transportation Security Administration has warned fliers that the Costco card is not an acceptable alternative.
“We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not,” the TSA said in a post last week on social media.
If you are planning to bring a rotisserie chicken on a flight, whether from Costco or elsewhere, the TSA says that’s OK.
“You bet your drumsticks! Cooked or raw, it’s allowed in carry-on or checked bags. Gravy? Keep it under 3.4oz in carry-on,” the travel agency said.
A TSA spokesperson said the agency issues routine reminders to travelers about which forms of IDs are not accepted at TSA checkpoints, “including warehouse club membership cards.”
The TSA social media post about Costco cards came several days after Chowhound published an article titled, “How Your Costco Card Could Save You At The Airport.” Chowhound updated its article on June 3 to clarify that “TSA does not explicitly state you can use a Costco card as a form of identification.”
TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers told SFGate she hears the rumor about Costco cards every year to 18 months. She said flyers presenting Costco cards to the TSA can create delays at the airport.
“Essentially, what the process they’re describing is … let’s say you lost your ID and only had a Costco card in your pocket. That would help establish a baseline identity for you,” Dankers told SFGate. “The TSA officer would use that as a starting point to confirm your identity, but they would still have to go through our identity verification process.”
In addition to Real IDs, passports, passport cards, U.S. Department of Defense IDs and DHS trusted traveler cards are considered acceptable forms of identification at TSA checkpoints. A full list of acceptable forms of identification can be found on the TSA website. The TSA says the list of acceptable IDs is subject to change without notice.
Costco didn’t immediately respond to a CBS News request for comment.
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