All right, this is a bit hilarious.
In its latest post on Facebook, the TSA has warned Americans that Costco membership cards cannot be used as proper form of ID to board a flight.
You might wonder why the TSA is even making the announcement.
Well, in recent months, there has been an uptick in Americans attempting to use Costco cards as a form of ID to board a flight!
Check out what Fox News reported:
The Transportation Security Administration clarified this week that a Costco membership card is not sufficient to present at airport security.
“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 wrote on Facebook Wednesday.
The reminder comes less than a month after the U.S. began requiring a REAL ID driver’s license when flying domestically May 7.
Aside from REAL IDs, which have enhanced federal standards, domestic flyers can also use their passports or another federally-approved form of identification like Defense Department-issued IDs (but not a Costco card).
“Department of Defense IDs for active and retired military continue to be an acceptable form of ID at TSA checkpoints following the implementation of REAL ID last month,” the TSA wrote on Facebook Thursday.
The TSA had to issue a public announcement after people tried to use their Costco membership as valid ID at airports
"Please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not" pic.twitter.com/EPCweblZg5
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) June 7, 2025
Here’s the official post:
The TSA had to put out a PSA urging travellers to not use Costco memberships as an official ID. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/hxPpbL1w3i
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) June 7, 2025
As the WLT Report previously reported, Americans must now have a Real ID to board flights.
However, there is some leeway for travelers who don’t have one.
Per The New York Times:
Travelers who don’t have a Real ID, passport or other federally recognized document will face additional security screening at U.S. airports on Wednesday but will still be able to fly, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, said on Tuesday.
Her comments reiterated the department’s previous guidance to travelers, as a federal deadline to enforce the Real ID law approaches on Wednesday.
In addition to a star-emblazoned Real ID, other forms of acceptable identification include a U.S. passport, a Global Entry card, a Department of Defense ID or a permanent resident card, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
If travelers don’t have one of those forms of identification at airport checkpoints on Wednesday, “they may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step, but people will be allowed to fly,” Ms. Noem told House members at a hearing on Tuesday.
“We will make sure that it is as seamless as possible and that travelers will get to stay on their intended itinerary,” Ms. Noem said. “But we are telling people that this law will be enforced and it will allow us to know individuals in this country — who they are and that they are authorized to travel.”
Travelers had been told that starting on Wednesday, a standard state-issued driver’s license alone would not be enough to fly with. But Ms. Noem’s comments indicated that the government was, at least initially, giving travelers some leeway.
ADVERTISEMENTMs. Noem noted that Congress passed the Real ID law in 2005 and the Biden administration chose May 7, 2025, as the deadline to begin enforcing it after the government had repeatedly extended the deadline.
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