TSA Bans This Costco Item At Major North Dakota Airports

Flying is sure a lot different these days.

TSA, known as the Transportation Security Administration, was enacted after the 911 terrorist attacks here in America back on September 11, 2001.

Something we have been hearing about since the COVID days was the REAL ID Act.

It was signed into law in the United States on May 11th, 2005, but its enforcement began on May 7th, 2025. Twenty years later, talk about procrastination.

REAL ID is now required to board all domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.

If you haven't received yours yet, and you have plans for airline travel in the future, you will need one before you can board a plane.

The Transportation Security Administration took to social media this week to let travelers know that a Costco card cannot be used in place of a REAL ID.

Not that Costco membership cards have ever been allowed to be used in place of a REAL ID. This was a more tongue-in-cheek reference.

According to an article in Newsweek, TSA wrote on a Facebook post, "We love hot dogs and 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."

And for the record, a Costco card never has worked in place of a REAL ID, despite what travelers may have told you.

I just got back from a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, and I asked a TSA employee about this Costco card/REAL ID loophole, and she told me, "It's a bunch of crap". They will laugh you all the way out of the airport if you try it, so don't.

Hopefully, this clears up any confusion on this myth. A Costco card carries a lot of clout, but it won't get you on an airplane.