TSA Debunks Costco Card Airport Theory, Says It ‘Absolutely’ Cannot Substitute REAL ID

The TSA wants everyone to know that a Costco membership card doesn’t count as a REAL ID.

Reps for the Transportation Security Administration shared the important message on the agency's Facebook account to inform the world that, sadly, Costco membership cards aren't going to help them board airplanes.

"We love hotdogs & rotisseries 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 post reads.

The source of this rumor stemmed from a food website called Chowhound that posted about the myth that seemingly resurfaces from time to time. In an article called "How Your Costco Card Could Save You At The Airport," the website wrote: "Yes, it’s true: TSA has frequently accepted Costco membership cards as a form of valid ID."

TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers explained to SF Gate how the belief was old and incorrect. "Let me tell you something about that. Whoever wrote that story is recycling old material," Dankers said. "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. 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."

Dankers then explained that having a Costco card would be better than having nothing at all, she advised people to flat out avoid the situation and get a REAL ID. “We don’t want to oversell this as an option,” she said.

REAL IDs have been required for most adults to catch a flight in the United States since May 7. This form of identification (a driver’s license or other state-issued ID) meets security requirements that were mandated in a 2005 law passed after Sept. 11, 2001.