I am doing a bit of trip planning/thinking and was wondering about senior discounts.

Is it worth it to join AARP for discounts?

I'd never heard of hotels offering discounts to seniors, nor of AARP, so did a bit of googling.

Obviously, no personal experience, but here's what I found. Seems as if quite a few chains do offer discounts to AARP members.
https://www.aarp.org/membership/benefits/hotels/

Thank I was wondering if others thought worth joining AARP

Many chains like Marriott offer Senior Discount but they are usually the exact same discounted rate as AAA membership. When you look at a hotel, you can usually find a pull-down menu for special rates and that includes Senior Discount, apart from AARP discounted rates.

FYI - AARP will hound you forever once you join. Not worth the savings to me.

I get aaa rates sometimes, which can be a little cheaper than the hotel loyalty program rate, sometimes the opposite. But it seems to me that usually the aarp rate is the same as just a senior rate which you can get just by showing ID. So no, I don't think it is worth joining aarp just for that. You'd have to check whatever chain you are most interested in to compare but I've personally never seen an aarp rate you couldn't get just by showing ID for age.

AARP fan here. Have been a member for years, taken advantage of rate reduction benefits on hotels and rental cars multiple times. membership is rather low cost and quickly offset with just a few reduced rates. Some hotels theoretically require proof of membership to get senior rate but I have never been asked to produce my membership card.

I've seldom if ever seen an AARP discount that is any different than AAA.

I've gotten AAA rates but really usually just shop booking.com/hotels.com

It doesn't cost much to join. I have received 10% to 20% discounts at hotels and restaurants.

I refuse to join AARP. Most chains give the same discounts to Seniors, Auto Club and loyalty members. A few let you stack Senior on top of loyalty And don't forget about hotels.com (OneKey now), booking, etc, Costco. etc.. Although not always better than the hotel direct with discounts they are good for research and keeping bookingsin one place.

We always get the AARP discount if the hotel offers it.

Couple things:

A person may be an AARP member and not eligible for a senior discount. I think I have also seen only AARP and AAA discounts offered but not sure where.

If you are doing a driving trip with a lot of 1 night stays, taking advantage of the Choice Hotels specials when a person gets 8000 points every 2 stays is the best deal out there. Note that some Choice Hotels are low quality so be choosy.

We were able to take advantage of AAA discounts with our Dutch ANWB membership. Not sure if that is still the case.
In the good old days on a road trip we would pick up a book of discount vouchers at tourist infos and service stations, and often got a better deal with those that the AAA discount. Internet killed those I think.
I remember someone behind us checking in being very annoyed we got a great deal with a voucher compared to the offered AAA discount.

My experience has been the same as Madam397, post #4. I also might try cchecking prices on HotelTonight.

When researching independent hotels—not chains—I phone to ask about rates, specifically mentioning affinity programs and asking about discounts available.

FYI - AARP will hound you forever once you reach 50, regardless of whether you join or not. Not worth the savings to me.

Best Senior Hotel Discount is Best Western because most locations start at age 55. But Choice Hotels (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn) offers 30% of seniors at some locations. If you're gonna be traveling around, join their club so that you can earn points for a free night. Here's a list of some hotel discounts for seniors: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slide...lmost-nothing/


AARP gets you 15% off at Dennys! And their magazine has lots of interesting articles like this:
https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-t...-getaways.html

and this:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fra...SC-MOR-R2-POS3

If you are thinking about Spain, the Paradors offer senior (over 55) rates but they are not good at all paradors on all dates.

https://paradores.es/en/blog/guests-...radores-hotels

Thanks all!

I will check these suggestions out!

As others have already said, I've found the senior rate discount is the same discount as offered AAA members, military, locals, etc. Sometimes even that same discount is offered anyone who stays 4 days or some promotion like that. So no I would not join AARP just for that reason.

If you get on email newsletters I get offers way better than those discounts anyway. One hotel I've stayed at in Hawaii is offering 20-30% room discounts for various dates, various reasons.