Is AAA worth it?

[Jennyvelaz]

The cost for AAA in my area is $57. Are the discounts for hotel stays worth the $50? I am particularly interested in the Airport Sheraton. If I am going to stay there 3 nights (before early flights) this upcoming year. I am a DVC member and AP holder so I question the other benefits. Any help appreciated.

[perdidobay]

So far this year I have gotten many discounts with my AAA membership. Discounts on 6 hotel stays, discounts on the Richard Petty Driving experience at WDW (that alone paid for the membership) and discounts for my US/IOA tickets. We just had a storm dump sleet and ice 4 inches high on our roads for a week and our car slid off the road. AAA paid for the tow. So I have saved $$$$$ with it. Your results may vary.

[MagicKingdom05]

I say yes it is worth it even if you don't use it for hotel discounts. I had a flat tire and my jack is broken, so I called AAA and they had a truck out in 10 minutes to put my spare on. That alone probably would have cost me $50.00

[my3kids]

The travel information from AAA is wonderful! You can request maps, guide books, driving directions, city maps....just great information! The discount for hotels is nice also. It is definatley worth the money.

[disneysteve]

Absolutely. We have had 3 flats changed in the past year.

Also, I always pick up a FREE AAA TourBook when planning any vacation. These books list all the tourist attractions as well as hotels and restaurants for virtually every destination in the US.

As for Disney discounts, I have no clue as I have never used them for that purpose. But for travel info and road service, I wouldn't be without them.

[belleandthebeast]

Okay, here goes. There are many, many wonderful benefits to an AAA membership.
1)you are provided w/ up to 4 road service calls per year. i know alot of people who dropped their membership because they got new cars and the cars were covered. they rejoined because the service w/ the car was poor. this doesn't apply to all service plans. again, just the people i know.
2)our aaa office offers many non travel discounts. we get discounts on dry cleaning, tgi fridays, perkins, auto parts stores, and so on. all are included in the basic membership.
3)you get free and unlimited tours books, maps, etc. you can walk into any aaa office and get every map made by aaa w/out a charge.
4)aaa and aaa.com offers directions, again, all included in your membership. at aaa.com you can print the directions from the privacy of your home. now i know there are online sites to print directions, but I have used those before and gotten lost in the bad parts of newark because the directions were not clear.
5)hotel discounts
6)park ticket discounts. we are nicely situated in northeastern pa so we have access to alot of different amusement parks and ski areas. we offer discounts on hershey park, dorney park, 6 flags (nj and ny), etc and a variety of local ski areas.
7)discounts on disney, universal, seaworld tickets. 10% savings at shops and restuarants in Universal and IOA.
8)discounts on Disney resorts and packages.
9)discounts @ every HardRock. both food and merchandise.

I could go on and on about the many benefits of AAA. Ultimately, it's up to you.
I save a whole bunch of money just by using the Show Your Card and Save program every year.

[golfgal]

There are MANY, MANY discounts that you get with AAA-resturants, auto repair, event tickets, etc. It is well worth the cost. Even the free maps you can get could cover the cost. Last year we were driving home from DH's family Christmas and our van died (turned out that the wire to the fuel pump snaped-quick $50 repair). We called AAA and they dispatched a tow truck. We have the AAA plus so we can get a tow of up to 100 miles-we were 98 miles from home so we were going to have the tow driver tow the van home and DH was going to pick up our other car and come back and get us. The state patrol was going to drop the 3 kids and me off someplace in the next town. Oh, I live in Minnesota so it wasn't warm, either.

The tow truck shows up and it has this HUGE extended cab-room enough for all 5 of us. We all climbed in, the kids fell asleep about 10 minutes into the ride and we got a tow to our town. I will ALWAYS have AAA because you just never know.

[MagicKingdom05]

You never know. In my case, it was late at night and at home, plus it was a Tuesday night and I had to be at work at 8:30 am the next morning. I had just enough time to get over to Tire Plus have them give me a brand new tire and make it to work on time.

[LilMamiBella]

So, if I sign up with AAA, I can get a discount on the new myw tickets? j/w
And once I have AAA, I just call Disney or wherever and just say that I want to get the AAA discount?

[MagicKingdom05]

I believe that if you can get a AAA discount on tickets it will have to be through a AAA office and not directly through Disney. You can get the room only AAA discount directly threw Disney reservations, but not ticket only.

[Fire14]

For me the discount at Hard Rock Cafe pays for my membership. I've also used for free maps/tourbooks. Now that my DH is on road more I'll probably have to use for flat tires too ( yes I'm queen of flats). I tend to find better deals on hotels through other means but always nice knowing I have AAA if no other discounts suit my fancy.

[kjs1976]

I got it for hotel and park ticket discounts and ended up needing it when my car hit some ide last year, spun out of control, and hit a curb knocking my left back tire clear off!! So yes, it is well worth it for piece of mind in car emergencies. Think of the discounts as an extra perk! We have saved a lot, plus paid for our menmbership three times over with roadside assistance and travel help.

[doubletrouble_vb]

Originally Posted by LilMamiBella

So, if I sign up with AAA, I can get a discount on the new myw tickets? j/w
And once I have AAA, I just call Disney or wherever and just say that I want to get the AAA discount?

So far I don't see a discount for AAA on myw tix. But that's the least of the reasons to get it. I've only had AAA fail me once in the 20 years I've had it. That was during that big blackout when EVERYBODY couldn't get gas. Other than that I've:

- Gotten great help from a tow driver when my drive belt snapped in negative degree weather on a lonely stretch of I-87 late at night.
- Gotten discounts on rental cars consistently
- Gotten discounts at all of Disney's competitors.
- my brother got a 98 mile tow to my house.
- had a tow driver successfully jumpstart my car again in weather where the temp hit a high of -1.
- had a tow driver come out in an ice storm to help me when my muffler half came off and I wasn't dressed to do anything about it.
- had a driver come out and change a flat at work during midday high heat.
- gotten great discounts on hotels
- routinely used their maps and guide books for trip planning...that alone is worth the membership.

As for Disney...pre-myw you could buy tickets in their offices at the same price as the online purchase price....from AAA South anyway. I'm thinking this will change to no AAA discount at all or just on packages. And if there is no AP discount available in the timeframe you want there will always be a AAA discount you can get on a room...not quite as good as an AP but nothing to sneeze at either...and unlike DVC you aren't confined to an owner discount just at the DVC resorts.

From a safety point of view the AAA Plus plan is worth it just as insurance...no plan is as widereaching.

PS...I forgot! I've had AAA car insurance for years! Saved me a ton of money. Too bad I have to give it up.

Also...the answer to your question regarding the Disney hotel is "yes" just tell them you have AAA just like you just tell them you have an AP.

[Franne]

A coiuple of years ago when I was working in Brooklyn, my car died on the way home from work. I have the AAA plus membership and they towed my car all the way home to New Jersey! If I didn't have it I would have had to have it repaired there and wouldn't have gotten home that night. I would never give it up just for the towing and roadside help you get!
Franne

[jekjones1558]

Here's a AAA benefit I learned about by chance and used:
The fuel pump went out on our car with no warning. We were 350 miles from home and it was a Saturday afternoon. AAA paid for our tow to the local dealer (we knew about this). We could not get our car fixed until Monday. When we returned home on Monday there was, coincidentally, a flyer with our membership renewal form. It said that we were eligible to be reimbursed for our hotel, rental car and meals during the 2 days we were stranded. What a wonderful (and well-timed) surprise!