Anyone else getting higher than expected AAA quotes?

[disneysnowflake]

I got my first quote in earlier Jan for more than the Disney quote.
I figured it was because this MYW was new.
I went to get a quote on Friday at AAA again. I got the quote last night.
It was a whopping $18 total less than the Disney site with just 7 nights in a mod and 7 day tickets with hopping option for the 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids who are over 10).
The savings for the 7 nights mod, 7 day tickets with hopping and dining plan was only a $3 savings total for our entire family. $3??? That equals to a savings of 75 cents per person off the Disney website's price.

I asked her about why the discount was so low. I thought AAA sold tickets at a little bit of a discount and the room should be discounted through AAA, too. The savings should have been more than $18 for the basic room/tickets package, and more than $3 for the room/tickets/dining. She seemed offended and told me this is the best deal I can get.

It would actually save me more money to book a room only with a AAA discount through Disney and then buy my tickets separately.

Do the AAA offices all have their own rules? I asked her for an itemized list of why each thing costs, but she told me they aren't allowed to do that. All I get is the final price. I even asked her what her fee for booking is, and she wouldn't tell me that, either.

Anyone else getting odd quotes from AAA? I'm envious of those who are getting more than an $18 discount.

 

[QuickGold]

I booked through AAA for my trip next week. Rack rate was $77 and discounted rate is $68.

 

[belleandthebeast]

When quoting packages, we are never given a breakdown of the price unless there is airfare involved. Even then, they just break down the air price seperate from the package.

I have found, in some cases, that it would be less if you didn't take the package but rather book a hotel only reservation, and buy the tickets seperately.

 

[WDWBetsy]

I think you're running into the same problem that I (and many others) have had with AAA agents not questioning the quotes that Disney is giving them. For some reason, the Disney computers are still not reflecting the discounts.

I ended up calling a AAA agent in California after getting frustrated with my local AAA agent not believing me. She kept quoting higher rates than I could book online with Disney.

If your AAA agent will not ask his/her Disney rep to make sure the discount is being applied to the room rate portion of the MYW package (they can do this by calling their dedicated Disney's AAA Vacations line), either call another AAA travel agency or PM me and I'll send you my agent's contact info - she was more than willing to go to bat for me to get the discount. Of course, AAA rates are subject to availability...

It is a good idea to price out the different parts of your package (you can do this online to some degree), then take the percentage offered by AAA for the particular season you're going and that will give you an idea what to expect as a discount.

If you have trouble calculating this, let me know and I'll help you so you can question what the agent is telling you.

Sorry you've been having this trouble! My badgering saved me $231!

 

[Nank]

My AAA agent also would not give me a breakdown as to how much per night.

But Dreams Unlimited gave me a price of $119 per night at POFQ.

I don't know if I should do it myself or not, because I never travel and have no idea. On the otherhand, she quoted me airfare for $245 from NEwark to Orlando and then when I looked on the airline website it was the same price and why couldn't I just book that myself?

 

[csmommy]

My understanding is if you book a package it is cheaper (for us it was $300.00) then a room only, & we really wanted the dining option.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I don't have the full breakdown yet, but I was able to save about $400 by booking the package thru AAA. We have a room only on the start of our trip, and initially, that was quoted at rack rate (POP for $86 and change, including tax), but when I let my agent know that was the rack rate, she looked again and was able to get me a room only at a much lower rate ($62 and change, tax included). She was also able to get me an awesome airfare.

I would say be persistant. I had done my research in advance, so I knew what I wanted and what the rack rates were. I was also looking pretty far in advance when I booked, so there may have been more availability then!

 

[crusoemom]

I got the AAA rate by booking directly with central ressies (1-407-wdisney). I didn't bother to get the exact discount %, but it was around 20% off rack rate, and this was at a fairly busy time (April 16).

No problems, full cancellation policy, and I can buy the tickets separately somewhere else.

Just another option for you.

 

[ncbyrne]

When booking a package with AAA, they will automatically add the $45 per person travel insurance. If you don't want the insurance, ask for a quote without it. If you don't get the rate that you expected, remember that if you book in January, you will also get $25 Disney Dollars, the AAA parking pass, AAA lounge pass and the AAA discount card (good for 10-20% off purchases in the World of Disney Store in DD), discounts on WDW boat rentals, and several restaurant discounts.

 

[golfgal]

The quotes I got from AAA all included trip insurance and a fee for transfers (which will be free from Disney when we go). He also quoted me the premium ticket price (don't confuse that with the premium PACKAGE-it is different) which includes DQ and the water parks. I had asked for a quote on our room, and park hopping tickets for 7 days, not the plus option. If your agent isn't being helpful, call another AAA travel office. You can look them up across the country on the AAA site.

I have to say that I got a better deal through Small World Vacations and many people have gotten better deals through DU, too. The price was better then AAA offered, the service is WAY better and they will check for and apply discount codes as they come out for you. They will also make your PS's, etc. I booked a room only ressie with SWV and they were able to apply the AAA discount to the room. Many people are reporting that AAA is discounting the tickets, but no one has been able to confirm if it is a discount off the pre-purchase price-which is available to everyone-or just the pre-purchase price.

Another thing to consider with AAA, they book 'packages' so you have to pay a deposit and the balance of your trip 45 days before departure with also limits your cancelation and date changing ability. If you book room only ressies, you have a lot more flexibility.

 

[disneysnowflake]

The package I got a quote for was for 7 nights standard view room at POFQ during value season, plus 7 day passes with hopping option.
My other quote was for the exact same room and tickets but with dining.

I did get another email last night telling me that if I booked by 1/30 I could get $25 in Disney Dollars.

Insurance wasn't included in my quote. She told me on my quote that if I wanted insurance it would be an additional $48 per adult, and it must be paid up front at the time of booking.

I called Disney myself and booked a standard room at POFQ with the AAA discount and saved $187.
The AAA tickets my office sells are the same price as Disney, except you don't have to pay the 6.5% sales tax or the shippig fee, so we'll buy the tickets through our AAA office.

I'm going to hope a code comes out for end of Sept/early Oct. If not, then that's okay. I'm just happy to be going to Disney World.

With the money I saved just booking the room only with AAA discount, it will cover our MNSSHP tickets.

Even with the $18 discount over the Disney price and the $25 in Disney Dollars AAA would give me, I still made out better just on the room doing it myself. I just assumed that AAA would have given me a better price. Oh well.