Senior discounts

[MIGrandma]

I’m not at all offended to be given a senior discount. Some start at 55, we are both 65. We enjoy restaurant discounts, and many times on vacations there are attractions and events that give discounts so those are nice too.

I used to waitress in a mom and pop type diner that gave 10% discounts on certain days and if we were in doubt of a customer’s age we had to ask if they qualified. Most people were nice about being asked but some got angry. I even had one customer withhold my tip simply because I asked if anyone at the table qualified. And I made sure to never make eye contact when I asked. We would get in trouble with the owner if we didn’t ask. Hated asking.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

A local grocery store stopped doing senior discounts recently (last few months) because people were getting upset at it not being immediately offered. They presumed the cashier was just supposed to know they qualified. Then there were people upset at being asked for their age (the discount was for 55 and up).

It's a tricky thing offering a discount, no matter how commonplace it has been in the past, based solely on age. I think it's easier to have a membership to something that you can then show your card like AAA or AARP where you aren't having to ask someone's age or risk them getting upset at you not giving them a discount they may have qualified but didn't ask for

 

[HeatherC]

I will gladly take any discount anywhere.. I am 57 and bummed when they say the senior discount is like 62.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Thank God I have never been offered it. If I did, however I would take it.

I have been mistaken for a highschooler before, I will happily take that and pay more.

 

[Dan Murphy]

79 next month. They usually just give it to me.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Ehhh, it would depend on who said it. I remember thinking anyone over 30 was ancient when I was a teen so if the person was young I'd shrug it off and take it. Anyone not young, I'd still take it but might make a wise @?? comment about their hair or stare at their forehead with a quizzical expression to make them super self conscious.

 

[Southernmiss]

I forget that I'm 54. So I would probably decline.

I don't feel this old.

Though seeing how old stars from the 80s are looking these days and watching people I think of as kids turn 30 and 40 and start to gray is giving me pause and the idea of aging is beginning to bother me.

I am finally starting to wonder
'Am I old?'

 

[tvguy]

From their website - While AARP is dedicated to people over 50, there is no minimum age to join

DH is over 65 and gets more discounts than I do, but I get excited whenever I see one for over 60. The DC metro has good rates for seniors.

My daughter got her first AARP offer in the mail when she was two!
She's 32 now, and is very frugal, so she likely would accept a senior discount.

 

[tvguy]

I work in DC and unfortunately the Senior discount for Metro starts at 65, so I don't yet qualify, though I will next year.

Sacramento Regional Transit used to give people over 65 a free lifetime pass, My mom had one. Now the best deal they offer is a $50 discounted monthly pass........and for those 75 and older, they can get a $40 monthly pass. No free rides anymore for seniors.

 

[ronandannette]

Not near 65 yet but a shade past 55, so if I was given a discount, I'd assume the age was 55+ and that I must look every day of it. I also routinely order off the senior's menu at Denny's and the like.

 

[Deb]

If asked, I'm honest and decline. If the store just goes ahead and gives it to me I don't correct them

 

[goofyernmost]

Here's the deal from someone that has been living it for years now. There is almost nothing fun about aging. You are no longer even considered part of society that has any awareness, skills or usefulness. In spite of everyone laughingly saying that they have never felt better in their life, the only explanation is that they were in awful shape when young. One might be feeling well for their age, but if they actually think they feel better then dementia has set in and they just don't remember. My advice is to take whatever break is given to you and just enjoy what you can while you can. There is nothing easy about aging.

I agree, if they ask don't lie about it, but believe me there gets to a point where they no longer ask. The younger you are when that happens the more it is proof of a life lived to it's fullest with no shortcuts taken.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm over 50, but often forget to ask if there are any discounts (AARP, AAA, etc.)

But if I realized after the fact that I was given a senior discount just based on a glance at my grey streak, I wouldn't complain.

 

[jdb in AZ]

First time I was offered a sr discount at a grocery store I was insulted and I asked, "Do I look that old?" Now I'm far enough into the "golden years" (ha!) that no one asks any more.

 

[SC Minnie]

I was at Michaels a while back. I had joined their loyalty club and must have applied for any special discount offers at that time. The cashier rang me up with out really looking at me and when my discount popped up, she exclaimed "oh, it added your military discount" she then looked up and corrected herself "I mean your senior discount" I don't care, a discount is a discount. But now I am wondering what discount I have in there.

MIchaels senior discount is 55+. It's the same percentage as the military discount. On the screen it only shows a percentage that's why the cashier couldn't tell if it was military or senior (I work there part time).

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I used to get asked for ID all the time when I went to the casino or whatever because I looked very young for my age until I was in my mid-forties. Then seemingly overnight, after my hysterectomy, I just caught up to my age in my looks. I guess it doesn't help that I stopped dyeing my hair and now am more salt than pepper. If that gets me the discount, I take it. I'm 55 now anyway, so I guess in most instances it doesn't matter.

I'm with @goofyernmost. Getting old isn't for wusses. I'm taking much better care of myself, have lost 33 pounds and counting, eat right and move more. Still my body aches, my back hurts, and my joints crack more than thin ice when I sit on the side of the bed in the morning.

 

[china mom]

MIchaels senior discount is 55+. It's the same percentage as the military discount. On the screen it only shows a percentage that's why the cashier couldn't tell if it was military or senior (I work there part time).

I figured she couldn't tell which discount it was on her screen but did she have to correct herself so pointedly upon looking up at me

 

[Mysterian]

I use my AARP discount all the time. You only need to be 50 to join. Best $12 I ever spent...and it came with a trunk organizer.

Oo! I got some time but I'm going to join. I did some checking, and membership is now $16 (for any of you "prospective fogies" looking to join up now.)

Next, I will get a Salvation Army card and see who will accept that as proof for a military discount.

I'm not sure what the average age is here, I'm probably in the middle DIS spectrum. In the meantime, I still have some Halloween white/grey hair spray and makeup. With a little work, some geri-clothes from the thrift store, yours truly will be seen Cocooning for that Denny's discount.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

The only time I declined a discount was when I was wearing a t-shirt from my cousin's fire station. She's an EMT. The clerk tried to give me the first responder's discount and I just said, no thank you, I'm only wearing the shirt. That didn't feel right. No, I don't know why I'd take the senior discount but not the first responder. I guess I'm selective in my dishonesty.

 

[SC Minnie]

I figured she couldn't tell which discount it was on her screen but did she have to correct herself so pointedly upon looking up at me

I usually just say 'looks like it applied your discount'. That way I'm not assuming anything. Some people can be touchy!