is AAA membership worth it?
 

This isn't a travel question, but <BR>I keep getting these brochures in the <BR>mail about the advantages of AAA membership <BR>for traveling. <BR>I travel about once or twice a year out of state and <BR>take several roadtrips within FL year round. <BR>I am not a AAA member right now. <BR> <BR>Does AAA carry any advantages in travel <BR>discounts that you wouldn't get on the Internet? <BR>How useful did you find triptiks? I know <BR>the Internet has a lot of travel info. esp. <BR>this site. <BR> <BR>Besides the emergency auto service, is there <BR>any travel help that AAA provides that you couldn't find on the net? <BR> <BR>Just let me know any honest thoughts you have. And please no responses from AAA <BR>employees! <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>pati

Pati, <BR> <BR>I use AAA a lot, and, thankfully, not for the road service! So many hotels give you a 10 - 25% discount for AAA so I use that when I can't use the Entertainment card for 50% off. Also, I always use it for rental car discounts. I think the regular membership is about $33.00, and that membership has saved me a bundle. For example, I just stayed at the Hyatt Regency Savannah for $135 night, in a room that was normally around $185 night, so just one night of that stay more than paid for my year's membership. Now, I don't know how this compares with what you get over the Internet but good luck!

We have AAA for the discounts referred to above. We save about 10% at most economy and mid-range hotels and at some high-end hotels. If you have AARP or are a government employee, you'll generally get the same or better discount, though.

Brian, <BR> <BR>I have both AAA & AARP memberships, and have found that the AAA discount is usually better. Only occasionally will one of the other discounts beat it.....but I like having both. More places honor AARP, but I usually find where both are honored, the AAA is sometimes a larger discount. That's my experience anyway.

I use AAA primarily for trip planning. Last year our family did a two-week, 14 state road trip and relied on AAA heavily. After I sent them our itinerary, they sent back trip-tiks as well as guide books for each of the states we'd be passing through. The books were great--they listed and rated hotels, restaurants and attractions. Well worth the membership fee...

The one real problem with the AAA books is that some of the hotels and motels they recommend are real dumps. I have also gotten pretty bad food and service at AAA recommended restaurants. They more often than not miss the really good places, making me wonder if some of their listings aren't paid advertising (on the sly). Or perhaps the AAA inspectors aren't as honest as they should be. <BR>I've given up on using AAA guides on the road; I use Fodor's instead.

No one has mentioned two of the best AAA benefits: <BR>1. It has excellent maps. <BR>2. When you get car trouble in the middle of nowhere, you can call AAA on your handy cellphone for help.

Forgot one more benefit: <BR>You get American Express travelers checks without paying any fee.

John, <BR> <BR>I agree with you about the quality of their guidebooks - you really can't rely on their ratings. I think I read somewhere that a hotel/restaurant does have to pay to be rated by AAA? Maybe someone else can clarify that. <BR> <BR>Anyway, my favorite guides are those by Frommers. I really just use AAA for their discounts on hotels, airfares, car rentals, etc. Their Triptiks are useful - I do usually get those!

Oh, and I think you get free passport photos too.

Nope, no free passport pictures. I just got mine at AAA and they were $10.

Wow! all these good responses. <BR>So everyone speaks favorably of <BR>their membership. Is it really <BR>possible to join for $33? It was <BR>like $56/year when I called them. <BR> <BR>Anyways, about the hotel discounts, does <BR>it beat the exitguide coupons available <BR>at www.exitguide.com? How about <BR>booking hotels via online sites? Does <BR>AAA beat these also? Just curious. <BR> <BR>Thanks again!

My wife & I are AAA PLUS members. Today, I just ordered 3 day flex signature pass for Disneyland thru them at a discount. We can go to Great America on Wednesdays for $12 off. We use AAA for a number of entrance discounts to entertainment places. I have used our towing benefits a number of times. We do get passport photo for free. We got ours in November of 1999 - myself & older son photos were free on my membership & my wife & youngest son were free on her membership. None fee American Express travelers checks. Some people may have bad experience with their books, but they do give you an idea of prices & what is available in the area's, even smaller cities. My wife is in the travel industry & we get better hotel & rental discounts with that, but use AAA for everything else listed above. But my favorite benefit is for maps, & more maps - for all places we travel to but also for the local area. I live in the Chicago area, & these free maps are invaluable in getting around the area, especially with the new roads added each year. For us, we get our money's worth & more from AAA PLUS membership. I just sent in my dues for 2001.

My wife and I are avid AAA users. We have traveled extensively from New Jersey to Canada and North Carlina as well as California. The triptiks and AAA Guides are excellent references. As with any reference you should use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

Yes, I definitely think it's worth it. While the tour books usually just scratch the surface, I use them as a reference point and then use other resources (internet, books from the library) to continue researching. Our membership came in really handy when we had just pulled into a parking lot near the beach in Ocean City, Maryland and my husband promptly locked the keys in the van. AAA came to the rescue. Maps & discounts are great too! <BR>Diane

Pati: Every state's rate is different. In NY it's $45. You actually join a state unit.

We've been AAA members for many years. All the TourBooks I've used (Canada, New England States, New York) have been very accurate with regard to hotels. We try to stick to 3-diamond accomodations, as those with 2 or 1 tend to be "you get what you pay for" sort of places. I've been impressed that they take feedback seriously. I've noticed that many places are dropped that have too many blocked out dates for AAA discount rates. I don't use them much for restaurants. The TripTix are fabulous, especially now that you can order them, with specifics, on the web. I make a point of getting an entire set of (free) maps every year to keep in the glove compartment. I do appreciate being able to obtain free travelers checks in foreign denominations at excellent rates of exchange. However, we did have a horrendous experience with the AAA travel agency the one (and only) time we used them. Had I not thought to call the airlines and double check our seats, we would have arrived at the airport on a Saturday with our bags expecting to be on a plane to Paris - but there would have been no seats for us. We had paid for tickets in January for a September trip. I was also positively distressed with the manner in which the manager of the travel agency resolved the problem (wanted to book different days and we could not change the days due to work schedules) and that he offered no apology whatsoever. Told us "this never happens". One advantage of the roadside service is that it's for you and it doesn't matter what car you're driving. I was with a friend who locked her keys in the car. When I called AAA and explained that I was the member, they said "no problem" and they had arrived and unlocked the car by the time I returned to the car from the pay phone.

AAA in Virginia - we paid $52 for couple last year. We join up for a few years, then may let it lapse if we get better deal thru dealership / auto club, etc. Then will join up again. HOwever, the reason we joined LAST time was because of 10% savings at participating auto shops for repairs. We had major maintenance (new transmission) on old truck we have, and the savings on the job was MORE than the price of membership. Also got 10% off purchases at some stores in Disney Marketplace in Orlando, & also they had a AAA special at time of trip to some restaurants at park - not advertised, you had to know to ask at every establishment because it was only at certain places in the parks. Also maps are GREAT! Triptiks are usually very detailed. PLUS they will come to your rescue quickly if you should need help!

Having been an AAA member for over fifteen yeas, I will state AAA Guidebooks are my favorite; none other are as good in giving the facts you NEED TO KNOW completely and accurately. And I'm a person who BUYS three or four guidebooks every time I travel to a place (and scans a dozen others at a book store). Others may correctly describe the joys of visiting a place; but AAA is tops in letting you know the hours and admission prices for attractions. Helps to know that a place is open late on Thursday nights, or has reduced admission on Tuesday afternoons! <BR> <BR>As for AAA listings -- lodging sites can only use the AAA symbol in their advertising by paying a fee AND being at least a one star lodging site. A place that does not meet AAA's minimum requirements (and they're pretty low), CANNOT pay to be listed, advertise in a AAA guidebook, or use the AAA logo in its advertising. <BR> <BR>Purchase of the rights to use the AAA logo does NOT affect how AAA will rate a place; the rating given by AAA is independent of a sites use of the logo. <BR> <BR>That does not mean a place listed in the guidebook will be good, or that the rating AAA gives will have any bearing on reality -- the worst motel manager I ever dealt with was at a AAA listed place -- but it does mean that places cannot buy their way into a listing or a higher rating. <BR> <BR>A good idea is to use more than one guidebook and only choose places highly rated in more than just one.

Perhaps the discounts offered vary according to what state you're in, but for me - in addition to the guidebooks, which we find a good basic source of information (and they always arrive SO quickly!) - our AAA membership provided a sizable discount at Lenscrafters (which came in very handy), as well as a pharmacy discount at Wal-Mart. (A real plus with health ins that does not give any break on rx). That, plus the on-the-road repair security (tho we've fortunately never had to use it) makes the m'ship worthwhile to us.

Ruth, As Paul said, hotels do pay to be included in AAA's books. My husband is a GM for Hyatt (was GM of the Hyatt you stayed in in Savannah in fact, then we were transferred here, Tampa, 4 years ago). The system is interesting. <BR> <BR>The hotels are reviewed each year with inspectors checking in as regular guests. Unless one of his staff happens to recognize an inspector from a previous visit, you never know you have one in your hotel until his stay is complete. Their checklist is extensive--rooms, service, food, with specific criteria to be met in order to obtain the diamond rating. <BR> <BR>As an example of some of the details...our hotel is a 4 diamond hotel, and in this year's rating we were told that now all 4 diamond hotels must have 4 individual drawers for clothing. We have armoires with two huge drawers, but will have to change that system somehow to comply. Also mandatory: 25" TVs, crown molding of a certain depth, fine here, but almost cost us a diamond in the Savannah hotel, marble baths and on and on. Did the bellman forget to explain the hours of operation of your restaurants or point out the fire exits as he brought you to your room, or neglect to tell you where the pool or health club was, or not offer to bring you ice? Black mark if his spiel wasn't complete. (And you thought he was just angling for the best tip! :&gt;) And gawd help you if your inspector happens to be in a foul mood the day he comes in! <BR> <BR>Of the 3 4 diamond hotels in the Tampa area when we moved here, we are the only one left with all diamonds intact this year and who knows what the next year holds! New drawers for us for sure. :&gt; <BR> <BR>There are some wonderful elegant hotels that opt not to be included. Usually these are the grand dames who cannot or will not comply with some of the structural requirements to meet the 4 or 5 diamond level they truly otherwise deserve. One hotel I know of decided it wasn't cost efficient to provide 24 hr room service and rather than accept the loss of a diamond from 5 to 4, which they otherwise deserved, they opted to no longer be rated. <BR> <BR>It sounds like a great job, doesn't it...providing you just get to rate the 4 and 5 diamond hotels! <BR>

Thank you, CMcDaniel, for such an informative post! We can always rely on you for the nitty-gritty details on the hotel industry! <BR> <BR>I never knew that AAA rated all the things that you mentioned, for example, that the number of drawers could have anything to do with the rating. Now I understand why a lot of hotels, B&Bs, etc. just aren't in the book. Thanks a lot. <BR> <BR>Ruth

AAA is definitely worth it. The hotel discounts, maps, and free travelers checks are great. The road service is wonderful (especially when my husband was driving a company car with about 150,000 miles on it!). And our AAA even offers discount movie tickets.

The road service is great. I have used it several times for dead batteries, stalled cars, and keys locked in the car. Sometimes it can be fairly slow, but someone has usually arrived within two hours. I have found the triptiks helpful, but that was before the Internet. Now, you can probably get similar information from Yahoo and other sources. I have used AAA for travelers checks on many occasions as well. Access to free maps is a tremendous benefit. I went in a couple of years ago and got about 20 maps to have a supply at home for places I was considering visiting and have used several since then. I can't compare AAA to similar services, since it is the only one I have actually used. If you live in a cold climate, drive a lot, or do a lot of traveling, it is especially well worth the money.

In a few words-Well worth it! I have booked several trips with AAA and always got a better deal than other places I checked. Tip-If you use the same agent every time they will find you the best rates. I make several phone calls shopping around and call AAA with the lowest price I have found and they always have beat it. No complaints here. Free Map's and great triptiks.