Perks of AAA

[abitcloudy]

Please tell me the deals/discounts that you get with AAA besides the ran out of gas/locked out/flat tire parts. I have radside assistance via my cell phone but for about $40 a year more I could get AAA for myself and husband and I want to know the other benefits available. Thanks!

 

[anna08]

The only one we use regularly is that they usually have a discounted rate on Hyatt hotels. Often includes breakfast and is bookable through the Hyatt website, so you don't have to jump through any hoops to get it.

 

[PoohBearnTigger2]

Please tell me the deals/discounts that you get with AAA besides the ran out of gas/locked out/flat tire parts. I have radside assistance via my cell phone but for about $40 a year more I could get AAA for myself and husband and I want to know the other benefits available. Thanks!

We have AAA and are staying at Fort Wilderness in August and received 20% off our week's stay using our AAA discount. The savings alone covered more than the cost of membership we've also used it for discounts to theme parks and movie tickets. We've used it a lot.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Please tell me the deals/discounts that you get with AAA besides the ran out of gas/locked out/flat tire parts.

Discounts on Amtrak, Disney Tickets, and lots of hotels besides Hyatt. There's also a special parking area a the WDW theme parks if you buy tickets or a vacation package through AAA (AAA Diamond Lot).

I've also purchased a international travel medical insurance policy through AAA. AAA doesn't sell it itself, but they've done the leg work in researching legitimate companies.

 

[msmama]

There are stores that offer a AAA discount (I want to say Payless and NY & Co are on the list). Many "tourist attractions" offer AAA discounts, as do hotels. I think the outlets near me (Tanger) offer a special discount book for AAA members.

There are a lot of random small discounts, I think. If you're a diligent user I would guess you could very easily recoup your cost.

I had a flat and they came to my house to put on my spare so it's way more than just "roadside" assistance, too (I was home alone with my son at the time and wasn't about to try to change it myself with a toddler running around).

 

[Sleepy425]

I believe they get a 10 or 15% discount at Earl of Sandwich.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Shopping discounts. AAA offers 10% discounts at certain restaurants, hotels, I see there is currently a 20% discount at Macy's, and there are many more AAA discounts for shopping.

Our Rebook Outlet gives us a AAA discount on top of whatever sale they are currently running.

 

[Pooh2]

Went to our local outlet mall yesterday. You present your AAA card at the mall office and they give you a booklet for participating stores. I save $15 between 2 stores on my purchases. If you do Amtrak travel, they give a 10% discount.

 

[NotUrsula]

This being a board for people who like theme parks, there is a discount at USIOA restaurants. (It isn't good for carts.)

You can also use the shopping discounts on line.

We also insure our home and cars through AAA; their rates and service are excellent.

 

[Plumeria9]

I have been a AAA member since I started driving, I think. In So Cal they have services in the offices that are really valuable, like being able to renew your car registration and that sort of thing. That service is not available where I live in Texas. If you live anywhere near an office, you can go in and get maps and books for anywhere in the US and even maps from all over the world. I've never had to get a map for another country, but I know they have some. The roadside service is great, I get free roadside service w/ my newer Hyundai, but my DH has a 10 year old Infiniti. The older your car is the more glad you will be to have it! This in addition to all of the other things that everybody else has already mentioned.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

Hard Rock Cafe gives 10 percent off - they have one in Universal Citywalk in CA. Almost all hotels we've stayed at offer 10 percent or so. Gap Outlet and Banana Republic Outlet - 10% off with no spending minimum [there often is for the regular emailed outlet discounts.] A couple of times we used AAA discount for Sea World San Diego annual passes - they had the best deal available besides employer tix which we can't get.
I get free roadside with Ameriprise auto insurance but once I tried to use it and after waiting an hour (at home, thankfully), I called AAA and the tow truck was there in 10 min. I will always renew AAA, and I get the premim version, especially now that our long drives go through long stretches of desert.

 

[whatisgoofy?]

In addition to what others have mentioned...if you don't have vision insurance, AAA gets you a decent discount on eye exams with optometrists partnered with Lenscrafters.

 

[SarahKate]

Just wanted to throw out there that as of December, AAA will no longer offer the Disney perks. It's still a great membership and the roadside assistance is wonderful.

 

[njmom47]

My mom uses the Trip-Tik when we drive home.

Although we use the same route every year, she still goes and gets it.

We are also able to call AAA while on the road and ask them to find us a hotel (we call when we have about an hour left in us...) and they do the booking and get us the AAA rate.
We have the premium, as we have 3 young drivers (as well as dh and me) who seem to drive all over creation sometimes, so we feel that is the best option for our family.

 

[lilaurora]

In addition to what others have mentioned...if you don't have vision insurance, AAA gets you a decent discount on eye exams with optometrists partnered with Lenscrafters.

Shopko offers 30% off AAA discount in their optical as well. Before DD9 had vision ins this saved us quite a bit on her glasses.

 

[bohemian74]

Just wanted to throw out there that as of December, AAA will no longer offer the Disney perks. It's still a great membership and the roadside assistance is wonderful.

Where did you hear that?

You can also get free state guides, maps, international travel discounts in addition to every thing else said. Hertz has discounts and free car seats for members. I get my dd a trip tik for our road trips and she uses stickers to mark our stops (bathroom,lunch, etc) and not ask "are we there yet?"

 

[Arkansan]

We recently used AAA to get our DD a pre-paid VISA that is good for international use. None of the prepaid cards at CVS, Target, etc. are valid internationally. Because we are members, the activation fee was reduced (but non-members can still get the card, just pay a higher fee). It is reload able for future use and if there is still money left on it when she returns from her trip, we can just use it here like a VISA card. She is a teen and doesn't have her own debit or credit card yet and we didn't only want to give her cash or make her an authorized user on any of our credit cards.

We also used their notary service for a reduced fee. They made about 20 copies for us for free. They have a free program for 16 year old drivers (and they get reduced AAA rates at 17). Our kids aren't driving yet, but will be shortly (our oldest will get her permit within a couple of months).

There are AAA rates at hotels everywhere. There are a limited number of rooms at the rate, but we use it whenever possible. We have gotten the AAA rate at the MCO hotel prior to a DCL cruise.

AAA came to our house to fix a dead car battery.

We believe that the benefits are wonderful!

 

[wishesuponastar]

My mom uses the Trip-Tik when we drive home.

Although we use the same route every year, she still goes and gets it.

We are also able to call AAA while on the road and ask them to find us a hotel (we call when we have about an hour left in us...) and they do the booking and get us the AAA rate.
We have the premium, as we have 3 young drivers (as well as dh and me) who seem to drive all over creation sometimes, so we feel that is the best option for our family.

Thanks for the tip of calling AAA from the road to book a hotel for you.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Until just recently when ds17 got his DL, we had AAA for car insurance & homeowners ins for years. Unfortunately, with having to add ds as a driver, GEICO was able to beat their price by a lot but with just comparing rates for just dh & I, AAA was less $.
We still have them for homeowners ins.

Just about every hotel offers a AAA discount.

These days you can log on, request all the maps you want, and they ship them for free. Last summer we cruised from Barcelona, Spain to France & Italy and easily got maps for all 3.

I mostly renew for the roadside assistance though and got ds17 his own card when he got his license.
Honestly, if we had a free source of RA 24/7, I probably wouldn't buy it.