AAA relationship ending permanently Jan 2015

[lockedoutlogic]

AAA, at least near me, is a rather high membership fee with little benefit these days.

they don't do much for disney in the way of drumming up business...and remember that disney would much rather you book through them and save the discounts/commissions - or simply control them in-house.

i did have a membership this past year...i walked in, they whacked me for $100....they couldn't offer me any incentives on anything from a travel perspective, and said i'd have to make an appointment 3 weeks in advance to get an oil change.

But hey, they were in a brand new, overpriced office that they got out of a closed Borders...

If i wasn't so lazy...i would have had Visa stop the payment.
Never again.

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

I dropped my AAA membership years ago. What was once our only source of maps for trips (TripTicks I think they were called) has been replaced by GPS and google and iPhones. Discounted attraction tickets have been replaced by Groupon, etc. To me there was just no need to keep it when I could get all the benefits without needing a membership. Saved me about $76 a year in member fees.

To it's credit - when I started driving back in the early 90's AAA was a great thing to have. Of course the internet wasn't around then either. Wow...I really just dated myself didn't I?! LOL

I did book my first ever Disney trip through AAA, but now after 6 more trips...I do it myself directly through Disney!

I still use them all the time. The Disney discount was a bonus for me. For instance my daughter just had a incident where her car broke down on a fairly major road with no breakdown lane. Since there was no breakdown lane the State Police wouldn't let her wait for a AAA tow, they called there own expedited tow. AAA not only towed the car from that tow lot to my mechanic but also reimbursed me for the original tow ($116). That one incident alone paid for the entire years membership for all of us.

Also I noticed that when booking other hotels, they don't offer much savings on the room, but they do offer a much better cancellation policy.

Of course, we have older cars 2005, 2007 and 2010, so I feel much better of having them in my back pocket just in case of a break down or dead battery. After all, they are primarily an Automobile club.

 

[hebbynan]

Ummmm, started driving in the early 90's? Young whipper snapper That makes me ancient (early 60s) I think the internet was around in the 90s too. Of course, at my age, I may be a bit confused.

Haha, thanks for making me feel not so old!! LOL I started driving in 1992 at the ripe old age of 17 . Our high school had a "Brand New High Tech Computer Lounge" that had all of 10 computers in it for the entire school. And I think they only had DOS on them. LOL I had no idea what the internet was until I was long married! Heck, my parents didn't even have cable tv at that time! Times sure have changed....not sure if it's for better or worse to be honest.

But in our area of PA - AAA doesn't really have much of a benefit anymore. Sad because I remember what it used to be and it was awesome at one time.

 

[circus4u]

Haha, thanks for making me feel not so old!! LOL I started driving in 1992 at the ripe old age of 17 . Our high school had a "Brand New High Tech Computer Lounge" that had all of 10 computers in it for the entire school. And I think they only had DOS on them. LOL I had no idea what the internet was until I was long married! Heck, my parents didn't even have cable tv at that time! Times sure have changed....not sure if it's for better or worse to be honest.

But in our area of PA - AAA doesn't really have much of a benefit anymore. Sad because I remember what it used to be and it was awesome at one time.

Started driving in 1962 (age 15). At the time, in Florida, you could get a learner's permit at age 14, but my mother said, no way!

Saw my first ATM in 1986 when I came back from being stationed overseas in the AF. Had no idea what they were; I sure got some funny looks when I inquired about them from people using them! First ATM I used charged a whopping 25 cents for using an out of network ATM! Computers, uuh huh! Still won't use a smart phone, happy with my laptop.

 

[mdsouth]

Started driving in 1962 (age 15). At the time, in Florida, you could get a learner's permit at age 14, but my mother said, no way! Saw my first ATM in 1986 when I came back from being stationed overseas in the AF. Had no idea what they were; I sure got some funny looks when I inquired about them from people using them! First ATM I used charged a whopping 25 cents for using an out of network ATM! Computers, uuh huh! Still won't use a smart phone, happy with my laptop.

I can relate!

I took my first computer class while in high school in the early 80"s and I never even saw or touched a computer! We learned how to prorram in BASIC by writing tit out, filling in bubble sheets and giving them to our teacher. The next day he would give us a rolll of paper like adding machine tape (for those too young to know what this is you can Google it) Tee hee) If we didn't get the roll of paper our program had not run right and we had to fix it and start bubbling sheets all over again -think standardized tests!,

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I booked our last trip through AAA and I saved a couple hundred for the package. When I contacted my travel agent for our trip next year their price was the same as Disneys price so I am just going to book through disney this time around. That way when it's time to pay my balance I can just do it through my computer instead of going to the travel agents.

 

[disneygal55]

I wonder if AAA will still sell discounted park tickets. We usually buy tickets through them because they came out cheaper then the Disney online price. AAA stopped selling discounted Universal tickets last year which was pretty disappointing. My DH likes to purchase travelers checks through them also for our WDW trips and won't be too happy if WDW stops accepting these.

 

[KYMickey]

I can relate!

I took my first computer class while in high school in the early 80"s and I never even saw or touched a computer! We learned how to prorram in BASIC by writing tit out, filling in bubble sheets and giving them to our teacher. The next day he would give us a rolll of paper like adding machine tape (for those too young to know what this is you can Google it) Tee hee) If we didn't get the roll of paper our program had not run right and we had to fix it and start bubbling sheets all over again -think standardized tests!,

Your post certainly shows how schools in different areas adopt and progress at different rates. I went to high school upstate New York in the early 70s and we were already direct programming from computer keyboard terminals connected to the local university.

 

[DaveRH]

Does this mean the Diamond AAA VIP Parking pass is going away too

 

[msb578]

I booked our last trip through AAA and I saved a couple hundred for the package. When I contacted my travel agent for our trip next year their price was the same as Disneys price so I am just going to book through disney this time around. That way when it's time to pay my balance I can just do it through my computer instead of going to the travel agents.

Just in case anyone is interested -

Orbitz often has promo codes for 15% off of Disney's room-only rates. This discount is stackable with Disney's own discounts. So I was able to save some money that way. Not sure how it compares to the AAA discount.

 

[Firedog]

I too am letting my AAA membership expire at the end of the year. I have had it for 28 years. I have it mainly for the towing and my current cost is approximately $80 a year. Technically, only I can use the towing, all other family members are required to have an associate card.

I just got my son an AMA (American Motorcycle Association) card because he races. It is $49 per year, and includes towing for any vehicle (car, camper, trailer, motorcycle, etc) for any member of our family. You can use it as many times as you need it, as long it's not the same service within a week of each other.

Also has a lot of hotel and rental car discounts. It's available to anyone, regardless if you have a motorcycle or not.

AAA just outpriced me.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Interesting POV. I've akways bought AAA for roadside vs the meh travel discounts. Never used the Disney ones (but I'm DVC so no need)... I always considered the travel stuff a nice bonus... Interesting to see others motivations.

I am afraid that this may be the reaction for many AAA members (myself included). So much of what AAA offered exclusively is now offered through many different outlets. Disney discounts were a huge plus to us Mouse-loving members. One year, an AAA package to DLR include unlimited fast passes with no waiting period for getting another FP or expiration time. I collected FPs at the beginning of the day and we would grab another right after we got off a ride.

I guess those days are gone and I will probably be letting my membership expire as well.

 

[beer dave]

Interesting POV. I've akways bought AAA for roadside vs the meh travel discounts. Never used the Disney ones (but I'm DVC so no need)... I always considered the travel stuff a nice bonus... Interesting to see others motivations.

I thought this too. AAA is for towing and helping my kids with breakdowns when they are away. Very interesting about the AMA coverage. I was a member years ago but just for the racing. didn't know they had all that roadside. Gonna check them out again..... thanks.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

So many sources offer the same benefits as AAA that the only reason I was considering joining was for the Disney perks. Guess I won't now.

 

[yitbos96bb]

So many sources offer the same benefits as AAA that the only reason I was considering joining was for the Disney perks. Guess I won't now.

I'll have to price shop at renewal but I paid $50 total for 2 of us this year for the regular coverage.

Thinkng about it... Some of the old perks that were sought after from AAA like trip-tiks and guide books just aren't that needed with smart phones, gps, and travel websites and apps. I use the discounts sometimes right hotels but that's it. Usually I can shop better rates for most things myself and Disney I just use the DVC AP prices for tix. AAA can't beat that for me.