Costco Home Warranty 2020 Review

Costco doesn’t offer traditional home warranty coverage for appliances and systems. Instead, it offers specific appliance coverage for a five-year term.

In this House Method review of Costco home warranties, we look at plans, prices, limitations, and customer reviews, and compare Costco to the best home warranty companies in the industry. Keep reading to determine if a Costco appliance warranty is right for you.

Pros and cons of a Costco warranty

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of a Costco appliance warranty below:

Costco Home Warranty plans and pricing

Costco offers three Appliance Plans, three Kitchen Suite plans, and two Laundry Suite plans. The prices range from $80 to $400 for five years of warranty protection. Costco does not offer add-on options.

Appliance Plan: This plan protects a single refrigerator, freezer, washer, dryer, range dishwasher, or over-the-counter microwave. There are three cost options, which are based on the coverage cap. 

• Under $1,000: $79.99
• $1,000–$2,000: $99.99
• Above $2,000: $119.99

Kitchen Suite: This plan allows you to bundle coverage for a set of kitchen appliances. For example, you can purchase a set for a dishwasher, microwave, and refrigerator.

• Under $2,000: $159.99
• $2,000–$4,000: $299.99
• Above $4,000: $399.99

Laundry Suite: Similar to the Kitchen Suite, you can bundle coverage specifically for your washer and dryer. Like the other plans, the overall cost will depend on the coverage cap you choose.

• Under $2,000: $159.99
• Above $2,000: $199.99

Costco coverage details

To get a better idea of what comprehensive home warranty coverage truly looks like, our team surveyed 1,000 homeowners and asked which home systems and appliances were most valuable to them. Once the results were in, we took the responses and compared them to what each home warranty provider covers.

From our findings, we gathered that the top three appliances most important to a homeowner are the refrigerator, the oven/stove/range, and the clothes washer and dryer. The top three systems that hold the most importance are the electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning systems.

Refrigerator

You can decide to protect just your refrigerator with an Appliance Plan or your refrigerator plus other kitchen appliances through a Kitchen Suite plan. These plans cover mechanical and electrical failures from normal use.

Oven/range/stovetop

You can choose to buy individual coverage through an Appliance Plan or bundled coverage through a Kitchen Suite plan. Either way, breakdowns due to normal wear and tear are covered.

Clothes washer and dryer

For individual coverage for your washer or dryer, you can purchase an Appliance Plan or you can save money and receive coverage for both appliances by purchasing one of the Laundry Suite plans.

Note: None of Costo’s plans offer system protection, which means you can’t get coverage for air conditioning, plumbing, or electrical systems.

Coverage length

Costco warranties last five years—Costco Concierge covers the first two years of protection and SquareTrade provides the last three years of protection. Because Costco doesn’t offer a sample contract, we were unable to determine how Costco’s waiting period compares to the industry average of 30 days.

Coverage limits

Only Costco members can purchase a Costco warranty plan and the appliance has to be from Costco. To receive coverage, you have to purchase a plan within 90 days of buying the appliance. 

Coverage doesn’t include physical damage, accidental damage, intentional damage, loss, or theft. If you sell your appliance, or bundle of appliances, you can transfer the warranty to the new owner, but you can’t transfer the warranty from an old appliance to a new appliance.

Although Costco doesn’t offer a sample service contract online, you can read more about inclusions and exclusions here.

Our take

Costco doesn’t offer traditional home warranty plans that cover several home systems and appliances for a one-year timeframe. The plans are really more like extended warranties, which usually provide several years of protection for single items, like cars or appliances.

The prices for these plans may look high, but when you look at them from an extended warranty point of view, they’re actually lower than average. The cost of an extended warranty for one appliance is usually $300 to $600 per year. All of Costco’s plans are $400 or below, and that includes the Kitchen and Laundry Suite plans that cover two or three items at once for five years. You also don’t have to pay a service fee or deductible, making it even more affordable.

There are a few downsides to a Costco warranty plan. You can’t get any sort of system coverage, which means major parts of your home won’t be protected. A plan covers one to three of your appliances at once, so you can’t even get comprehensive appliance coverage without buying several of the plans.

Lastly, Costco doesn’t give you the option to break down that cost into monthly payments—you’ll have to pay the entire amount when you purchase the plan, which may not be feasible for some customers.

If you’re looking for extended protection for only a few of your appliances, a Costco plan is a good fit. However, if you want comprehensive coverage for your home systems and appliances, we recommend buying a home warranty.

Final thoughts

Costco offers appliance protection with its five-year warranty and covers mechanical and electrical breakdowns. However, it doesn’t provide whole-home coverage and doesn’t offer protection for major home systems.

Costco warranty may be a good option if… 

• you want extended protection for a few of your new Costco appliances.
• you don’t want to pay a service fee when your appliance breaks down.
• you want affordable extended appliance protection.

Costco warranty may not be your first choice if… 

• you want peace of mind for all of your home systems and appliances.
• you aren’t a Costco member.
• you want protection for older items.

Compare Costco to the Competition

Since Costco’s plans are more like extended warranties than home warranties, we recommend looking at one of the following providers if you want comprehensive coverage for both systems and appliances.

Looking for information on more home warranty companies? Check out some of our other expert reviews to get all the details you need. Remember, each of these companies gives a free quote.

• Choice Home Warranty review
• American Home Shield review
• Select Home Warranty review
• Amazon Home Warranty review
• First American Home Warranty review
• Liberty Home Guard review