Advantages of AAA?

[*pixie*]

I received a AAA offer in the mail today. We've never been members, but after reading all the info they included, I'm kinda kicking it around.

We live in a pretty rural area, so I'm not sure the roadside benefits would really help us much. But, I'm interested in the travel discounts. I know you can receive discounts on WDW packages, but that generally the Disney discounts will save you more than the AAA discounts. Are there any other discounts you could receive while at WDW other than your package discount? And, what about for trips elsewhere, when just staying at generic hotels?

 

[scrapquitler]

I received a AAA offer in the mail today. We've never been members, but after reading all the info they included, I'm kinda kicking it around.

We live in a pretty rural area, so I'm not sure the roadside benefits would really help us much. But, I'm interested in the travel discounts. I know you can receive discounts on WDW packages, but that generally the Disney discounts will save you more than the AAA discounts. Are there any other discounts you could receive while at WDW other than your package discount? And, what about for trips elsewhere, when just staying at generic hotels?

Generally speaking MOST hotels do offer a AAA discount rate, as do most car rental companies. Another thing that you can get a discount on with AAA is things like Movie tickets, amusement park tickets, museum admissions, etc. Some of them you need to buy the tickets at the AAA office and some you get the discount by flashing your membership card. For example, I get a discount at Payless shoes with my AAA card. And whenever I am going anywhere, I always get the guidebook and a bunch of maps for that area (for free) from AAA. Sure, I have a GPS, but it's nice to have a regular map, too.

Here's a list of the AAA discounts offered here in Conn. Some of the discounts vary by where you live. http://www.sne.aaa.com/sne/discounts/sycs.php?cat=ALL&searchtxt=&page=4

I also wanted to mention that you can buy your auto/homeowners insurance thru AAA too, and there is a discount for that. In my area, AAA uses Travelers Insurance, but they might use a different company where you live.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I can't live without the AAA tourbooks when my husband and I go on road trips. They are free with your membership and include lots of valuable information and hotel/restaurant listings.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm not sure why you think the roadside assistance wouldn't be a benefit in a pretty rural area. It covers help virtually anywhere except when your vehicle is already at a repair location. In almost forty years of coverage (between my parents' memberships and my own) I've gotten help in private driveways, free parking lots, residential streets, pay lots, pay garages, state highways... I live near Boston, and the one time I locked rental car keys in the car at 4 AM in Las Vegas, the AAA driver was there before I got back from the phone!

They'll change a tire, jumpstart your car if possible, tow if necessary (how far free depends on your membership level), even replace your battery on the spot. As far as I'm concerned, the peace of mind is worth the membership fee. The other perqs are just whipped cream on my iced latté .

 

[semo233]

Are there any discount offers out there right now? I am also considering joining in CT!

 

[gracie1]

We signed up for AAA last August and we decided not to renew. The hotels that we booked last year....we actually found a cheaper rate on the internet not using AAA! If we put in for the AAA discount the price was higher.
As for road side assistance, we really don't need it because our insurance company has that on our plan already. Flat tire, towing, etc., is all covered.
I did have a flat tire once while we had the AAA but never called them

 

[smokeyblue]

Just for the roadside assistance I think it's great. I had a dead, dead, dead battery in a parking garage. A tow truck couldn't fit, couldn't jump it off another car, my dad (aka my mechanic) was out of town so nobody to put a new battery in. They had a garage come with a super booster pack and they jumped it right away. I live in a small city in the middile of nowhere and all of this was done within 45 minutes.

 

[*pixie*]

I'm not sure why you think the roadside assistance wouldn't be a benefit in a pretty rural area. It covers help virtually anywhere except when your vehicle is already at a repair location. In almost forty years of coverage (between my parents' memberships and my own) I've gotten help in private driveways, free parking lots, residential streets, pay lots, pay garages, state highways... I live near Boston, and the one time I locked rental car keys in the car at 4 AM in Las Vegas, the AAA driver was there before I got back from the phone!

They'll change a tire, jumpstart your car if possible, tow if necessary (how far free depends on your membership level), even replace your battery on the spot. As far as I'm concerned, the peace of mind is worth the membership fee. The other perqs are just whipped cream on my iced latté .

Because we live in a rural area, I'm assuming the closest AAA is probably 2 hours away so it wouldn't do me much good. I don't know that they would even provide coverage out here? I can, however, see the benefits if something happened while we were traving to more populated areas.

Gracie1, that was another of my concerns. We once booked a hotel using Priceline for a roadtrip, and later found out it would have been cheaper to just book through the hotel itself.

 

[mum4jenn]

We keep it mainly for the discounts on car insurance. YOu can get a free quote and you have a choice of which company you want to use of those quotes. We saved HUNDREDS of dollars by going through AAA.

 

[allison443]

Because we live in a rural area, I'm assuming the closest AAA is probably 2 hours away so it wouldn't do me much good. I don't know that they would even provide coverage out here? I can, however, see the benefits if something happened while we were traving to more populated areas.

Whenever I have called AAA, I call the AAA number and they send a local tow truck from a nearby auto place. The truck doesn't come from AAA. (that's been my experience)

 

[superme80]

We have gotten some good travel deals and the roadside assistance is awesome! My husband is notorious for locking his keys in the car or leaving is lights on. The amount of times we have called AAA has made the membership worth it.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Because we live in a rural area, I'm assuming the closest AAA is probably 2 hours away so it wouldn't do me much good. I don't know that they would even provide coverage out here? I can, however, see the benefits if something happened while we were traving to more populated areas.

AAA uses local companies to provide their service. It doesnt matter how far you are from an AAA office.

 

[XGrumpy1]

AAA saved me a small fortune on my auto and home insurance. Well worth the cost of the membership!

 

[Gigi22]

The free towing to a certain distance, depending on which AAA membership plan you have, can be very useful--even if you are not in your own vehicle. DH was a passenger in a friend's vehicle, driving to a rural wedding reception--friend's car broke down--DH was able to call AAA and have them tow friend's vehicle to a garage. I've also called them to have a friend's car keys retrieved from inside her locked car. If you are thinking about joining, spousal coverage is very useful, as you have to be standing by the broken down vehicle with your own membership card--they won't accept your husband/wife's card.

 

[cassandrap83]

We have AAA because I drive a lot to work. I have locked my keys in the car, have gotten 2 flat tires, and have once needed a tow. It is very much worth it if you do a lot of driving.

 

[bumbershoot]

Whenever I have called AAA, I call the AAA number and they send a local tow truck from a nearby auto place. The truck doesn't come from AAA. (that's been my experience)

Yep!


For me, buy AAA for the roadside assistance. And enjoy AAA for the free maps and triptiks and info books (they will mail those if you can't get to the office) and any discounts you might get.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm not sure why you think the roadside assistance wouldn't be a benefit in a pretty rural area. It covers help virtually anywhere except when your vehicle is already at a repair location. In almost forty years of coverage (between my parents' memberships and my own) I've gotten help in private driveways, free parking lots, residential streets, pay lots, pay garages, state highways... I live near Boston, and the one time I locked rental car keys in the car at 4 AM in Las Vegas, the AAA driver was there before I got back from the phone!

They'll change a tire, jumpstart your car if possible, tow if necessary (how far free depends on your membership level), even replace your battery on the spot. As far as I'm concerned, the peace of mind is worth the membership fee. The other perqs are just whipped cream on my iced latté .

I can vouch for that! We just returned last night from a week in Williamsburg, VA. After driving down Saturday, we head out Sunday am to visit Jamestown and the battery is completely dead. My car is 5 yrs old so I guess it was due anyway. Within 1 hr he arrived at the resort parking lot, jumpstarted the car, tested the battery which determined it had a bad cell, and had a replacement battery installed and retested it to make sure it wasn't something else causing my battery to die. (For a minute we considered finding a Pep Boys to get a better price but realized that would take so much out of our vacation time that is was worth the extra $20 or so we would have saved with shopping around for best price.)

I've had AAA since I got my license a jillion years ago. First, my mom included me in her plan until I moved out, then got my own membership. Over the years on 2 previous cars, they jumpstarted my battery at our commuter train parking lot & right in my own garage.

When dh's almost brand new pickup truck got a flat on a bitter cold, windy night, and he was unsure how to make the spare drop down from beneath the truck bed, they were there quickly and had us on our way quickly.

After this last incident in VA, I already told DSs14 & 11 that I'll buy them AAA membership when they start driving.

The hotel discounts are just the icing on the cake. BTW, I believe it's only Hertz that offers the AAA discount. They are partners or something like that.

 

[Candace]

Roadside assistance is great, and I have also used the 30% discount at Lenscrafters to buy new glasses.

 

[Judique]

Roadside assistance is great, and I have also used the 30% discount at Lenscrafters to buy new glasses.

Me too! I was able to use this discount and then submit the rest to my prescription insurance. AAA was their best discount.

AAA hotel discounts can help at times. A lot of places will give a AAA discount at checkin if it's a better rate than the off the street rate. Always check. AAA used to be a rate that you could stack at the Reebok Outlets but not anymore.

The best is the towing. We had a vehicle that needed towing four times in it's first month - we definitely got our AAA value, and than got rid of that car!

 

[DVC-Don]

I have just the basic AAA package as my vehicles are covered for roadside emergencies by both the manufacturer and my vehicle insurance. What I do use AAA for is hotel discounts (not WDW).