CAA? Worth it?

[mjhtvchick]

Just received an offer to join CAA, CAA Atlantic, specifically.

Is there any real value in a CAA membership, other than the roadside assistance? I really don't need that as I pretty well always have a "new-ish" vehicle with a dealer package.

Specifically wondering about travel discounts for Florida area accommodations, attractions, car rentals, etc.

 

[Donald - my hero]

We've been members for a very long time and use it a fair bit. (been locked out of the car a few too many times ) Discounts on hotels can be significant, BOGO admission to a few attractions in Canada, discounts on rental cars, discounts at stores (dang just noticed the Source offers 20%), VIA rail 10%, once a year Marble Slab has "Ice Cream Sandwich Day", just show your card and get a free HUGE one!
You can buy Disney Tickets at whatever the current price is (INCLUDING when there are discounts) and pay in CDN funds thereby saving the foreign transaction ding to your credit card
Here's a few screenshots


If you go to this page you can select the area you want to see discounts from and it will list them -- too many for me to detail now.
CAA discounts

ETA, hubby collects Petro Points and cashes them in towards our membership which takes some of the sting out!

 

[isabellea]

No. We only have CAA because our car is getting old (2011) and we travel a lot by car all over Canada and the USA.

 

[TFC_UNTIL_I_DIE]

Another bonus is the reciprocity agreement they have with AAA. If you break down driving to Florida that is useful. Plus discounts for AAA in the US are prevalent, like on hotels

 

[pigletto]

For your purposes I wouldn’t. We had it before and didn’t use it. We got rid of it all together when we bought a new SUV. I can get a car rental way cheaper with Costco or internet codes. CAA when I had it was never the best rate. Hotels.. maybe. But I usually found better rates through other websites. And tickets I could never find better than Undercovertourist (though I’ve been getting them free with airmiles for awhile so YMMV).

Interestingly enough though, I am getting it it again for this summer. Our car will only be three years old, but we are driving out to the Canadian Rockies on the TransCanada and back through the States on the way home. We’re going to be driving over 7000 km in those three weeks. I absolutely want the piece of mind of knowing we could be towed or brought gas ...who knows what could wrong. It will work in the States as well, and the huge bonus.. TripTiks. I plan to go in a week before we leave and ask for over 7000 Km’s of detailed maps. That alone will be worth it’s weight in gold.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Interestingly enough though, I am getting it it again for this summer. Our car will only be three years old, but we are driving out to the Canadian Rockies on the TransCanada and back through the States on the way home. We’re going to be driving over 7000 km in those three weeks. I absolutely want the piece of mind of knowing we could be towed or brought gas ...who knows what could wrong. It will work in the States as well, and the huge bonus.. TripTiks. I plan to go in a week before we leave and ask for over 7000 Km’s of detailed maps. That alone will be worth it’s weight in gold.

omg ...once i found out you can create your own on-line TRIPTIKs .... I can get lost in the maps for hours!

 

[samsteele]

I had been a member for over 10 yrs but did not renew my membership this year.
IMO, if you need roadside assistance b/c of older car, it's worthwhile.
For travel discounts, their TA's or other perks, not at all. You would really have to be on the ball and work it hard to get your annual membership fee's worth out of the perks. Their travel agents are hit and miss.

 

[Donald - my hero]

OK, so I should have added to my post that our car is 10 years old ... and like i said hubby earns the cost of it back from Petro Points (sole reason we never use any of the Shell offers connected to AM btw) and we have a terrible habit of locking keys in the car

 

[hdrolfe]

I had it, used it to get my passport photos done and once when my car died, they boosted me and then when I got home another guy came to replace the battery (which actually didn't need to be replaced, he checked it all out and was super awesome, all in the cost of my membership). Then this summer I got a flat! I called to rejoin, which they did right away and then came and put the spare on for me. I do like having it when I drive back and forth to my parent's in the summer. I may have to look into the TripTik thing for the summer if we do end up planning a trip out East. Kiddo wants to "see Canada" so... instead of Disney we may go to PEI or Nova Scotia, or something.

I did sign up for PetroPoints since I have RBC and apparently I can get a discount on gas at Petro, and get the points? Which would be great if I can use those towards CAA membership now! Good to know on that.

 

[rbchimp]

I have car/home insurance with CAA. I buy the road side assistance to get a further 10% off insurance rates, the discount is larger than the cost of the membership. Membership also gets various discounts at Swiss Chalet, Halifax Mooseheads tickets, Neptune Theatres tickets, etc. I'm in Halifax.

 

[ottawamom]

I like to have it because I have the peace of mind knowing whichever car I am driving I can get assistance when needed. Haven't had to use the roadside assistance yet but I like knowing I have it if needed. I use the discounts at least once per year. I don't think I make my money back each year but I offset enough of the cost to make it worthwhile.

I use it every year for maps and Trip-tiks. This year before our trip to Orlando I picked up Florida and Orlando maps as we were renting a car. I brought them home and was looking at the Orlando map, getting the lay of the land. I folded the map back up and left in on the coffee table. Left and went to do an errand.

Later when I returned home I found the dog had eaten a part of the map (she has a paper fetish), the southern and eastern part of the Orlando map. The only part I really needed. I went back in to CAA and told them the dog had eaten my map (visions of telling the teacher the dog ate my homework), they gave me another one.

 

[TFC_UNTIL_I_DIE]

Neptune Theatre....there's a part of my school days I remember....being bused to that place to watch a play and kids just being so wild in the seats up in the balcony.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Good point, @ottawamom about the membership being good for whatever car you are in. You don't even have to be driving. So if you're with a friend or in your parents' older car or even in a car that's hit something on the road, you can call CAA and get the tow or whatever is needed.

Maps and triptiks are wonderful perks, as are the discounts on movie tickets, etc. You get 10% off your insurance, so even if you're only using it for travel or medical insurance, that can make a difference. They also have the ATMs that dispense foreign currency at a purported 'no mark up'. And there's the travel agency, although I don't think you have to be a member to use that.

For me, CAA is piece of mind and more.

 

[isabellea]

You guys still use TripTiks and maps?!?? I ordered some a few years ago and they just too space in the car... Now we use our GPS, NextExit app (no data needed) and Waze (DH's data plan is a North American plan).

 

[FigmentSpark]

You guys still use TripTiks and maps?!?? I ordered some a few years ago and they just too space in the car... Now we use our GPS, NextExit app (no data needed) and Waze (DH's data plan is a North American plan).

I've been looking for a N.A. plan. Do you mind if I ask who his provider is? Or is is a work thing (which would cost a fortune for a personal phone only)?

Yes, we use the triptiks because they're easy and familiar and free.

We also like the discounts at most hotels, some of which are better than their 'pay in advance' rate.

 

[Donald - my hero]

You guys still use TripTiks and maps?!?? I ordered some a few years ago and they just too space in the car... Now we use our GPS, NextExit app (no data needed) and Waze (DH's data plan is a North American plan).

My hubby is obsessed with maps, he even has an entire drawer in his filing cabinet that is devoted to maps he has collected over the years (when our girls were married they made all the flowers and his were made from maps!!) We don't have a GPS in our car (come on, we drive a FIT!) and until about 4 years ago he had a Blackberry (so no apps worked) and i only graduated beyond a flip phone in September. Personally I am map-challenged, they make no sense to me if i can't orient them to show the direction i am facing (and since they tend to be shown in the standard N is up manner aaakkk) so even handing me his phone with Google Maps open will freak me out. I do much better with written directions that you can access in TripTiks but i am getting used to handling the map on my phone since i learned how to have it show me the roads as i see them in front of me!!

Don't get me started on how confusing the map of the Studios is to the Duck

 

[isabellea]

I've been looking for a N.A. plan. Do you mind if I ask who his provider is? Or is is a work thing (which would cost a fortune for a personal phone only)?

It's his work phone and it's with Telus.

 

[FigmentSpark]

That's what I was afraid you'd say. Businesses can afford plans I just can't. Ah well. Roaming works too, I guess. Thanks.

 

[JT_Perry]

I also considered getting a CAA membership just for the Perk's, but after looking into it, I don't think the perk's outweigh the potential savings 'cause there are plenty of other ways of getting discounts.

 

[xlxo]

My vehicles are over 25 years and have used their roadside assistance a few times. Good discounts for any tow jobs. After a few tow jobs, I upgraded my membership to the Plus tier for their 160km free tow.

Most calls are for boosting and I decided to invest in a booster pack. I can get myself going and don't need to wait a couple of hours. Makes lots of new friends at work and at the shopping center with that booster pack.

On the West Coast, BCAA is reinventing themselves with car sharing and event discounts (eg Whitecaps, movies, & Lantern Festival, LensCrafter).

I do refuse to purchase Travel Insurance with them since some raised the "first payer" issue. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/buy...ess-coverage-a-couple-s-hard-lesson-1.3495864