Has anyone joined AARP?
 

I was told I could save $25 on a tour of Ireland if I join. Just what I need is another card in my wallet. Is it worth it? One year is $12.50.

Sounds like a no-brainer. You don't have to carry the card.

AARP has a car-owner service like AAA only lots cheaper: aarpmotoring.com

Better discounts at American hotels than I can get with Priority cards, etc.
Raised my discount with Autoeurope from 10 to 15 %.
Why not? Even I can do the math...
$25 - $12.50 = + $12.50
Conditions - are you or your spouse over 55 years of age?
BTW - saying I am a member is all I have ever needed - never have had to show my card. (Maybe that says more about the age I look than anything else)

It's definitely worth it. I did a rough calculation of my savings the first year I had it and it came to about $400 (most of it travel-related stuff).

We saved $2.00 each month off our ISP fee with Earthlink, just for joining AARP, so that was a no-brainer. They send you a magazine a couple of times a year and bulletins in the mail about pending legislation that might affect you. Peace, Robyn :)>-

I don't even know where my card is! But I too have saved on hotels and motels in the US , car rentals, car insurance and I have coverage on my medicare supplement for out of country medical expenses.

We saved about $500 on our auto insurance last year when we joined (hubby just turned 50). Although I'm not yet 50 they allow the spouse to be a member too. I'm checking it out again this year when I turn 50 to see if we can get an even lower rate.

definitely worth it. their motoring plan is excellent -- much cheaper and better service than AAA.
RMH

When I was going on a Cosmos tour, I called them and asked if they will really take off $50 off the price. They said yes. So for me the membership worked out. Later that year I had another tour, another $50 off.

Another thing - I have to keep Earthlink, and AARP takes $2 off. Yes, I know, Earthlink is expensive, I could have cheaper, but this is the only company letting 2 people to use the PCs at the same time, so somebody else has a free connection. $24 annual savings from AARP.

Once (or maybe more) I had a hotel reservation. Without AARP membership it would be non-refundable. With AARP membership I could cancel up to 48 hours. That time I was not sure if I'd go, so it worked.

Wally: are you sure it's $25 off, not $50?

And if you decide to join, if you're married, the spouse of any age gets a free membership.

Just me on the tour, Faina.

Gave my hubby a 10-year subsr. when he turned 50 (somewhat a gag gift).. I use it the most for hotel discounts.

It's so inexpensive to join -- why not?

You don't have to be a senior (i.e. over 65), you don't have to be retired, you don't even have to be American. I've used it for hotel discounts on driving trips and it's a better savings than the CAA (our AAA) discount. One night pretty much pays for the AARP membership. I've also given a membership as a gift.

To follow up on hdm, the Canadian equivalent is called CARP...LOL. I choose to say that I am a member of AARP when I am checking on discounts.

no, robjame -- even though I'm Canadian, I am actually a member of AARP.

I see hdm.
But there is a subsidiary called CARP which, although affiliated, concentrates on Canadian political action and news.

They also are constantly trying to sell you insurance of one kind or another and they are a huge lobbying group in Washington. However, I take the discounts and ingor most of the rest of the stuff. I'd say it's worth it.

Wally, I still repeat, are you sure it's $25, not $50?

I have a couch potato for a husband :) I was by myself too, and got $50 off... it was Globus' tour of Switzerland.

Six months before you reach 50, the mail starts coming about joining AARP. Of course, why not!

Not! Unless you enjoy having your mialbox filled with AARP junk mail, most of which has no use to you till at least 62, or 65.

Seemed where I thought to get a discount, they didn't accept AARP. Membership was quickly dropped. See no reason in the near future to join.

I joined pre-retirement mostly for supplemental medical insurance. My company was putting $$ towards the cost for x number of years. It covers what medicare doesn't.

For trips, prior to becoming a HI Express fan, I would compare their hotel costs with that shown at freetrip.com. If freetrip listings were less expensive, the AARP associated hotel chain would lower their price by quite a bit..

I forgot to add that for air fare they are associated with Travelocity. When I was making reservations last July for this years flight to ZRH, they were more expensive than going direct to United. When I called them about it, the answer was nothing was available at a lower price.

Possibly because I'm on their Canadian list, the junk mail I get from them is limited to about 4 items a year. I guess they don't see me as a potential purchaser of items and plans that might apply to Americans only. I also get e-mail from them about 4 times a year but I think I can take myself off that list.

wally -<Just what I need is another card in my wallet.>

I don't carry the card. I make a color scan on plain paper of whatever cards I can and they have never been questioned.

Thanks for all your responses. Guess I will join. I don't need to make the final payment until April, so I will join then.

$25 per person with Cosmos, Faina. Cosmos has a guarenteed share on tours. Wanta share a room with me on the tour?

Wally, that's a big surprise! Cosmos is the firt tour company for me to travel with. And twice I had $50 off, but it was domestic, not international. Maybe your discount is in Euro :))

I am going to Copper Canyons in April, want to share a room with me? ;)