AAA Membership--is it worth it?

[White Rose]

Hello all!

Quick question for you. I was with a friend today who managed to lock her keys out of her car and was actually able to use her AAA to have them come by and unlock her car for her for free! I also know you can get some great discounts through AAA...so, I guess I'm wondering...are they really worth it? I currently pay for Emergency Roadside Assistance through Geico right now which does a lot of the same things, but considered that AAA for the most basic package is only about $60, I go back and forth...

So! Any thoughts or can anyone speak of the greatness that may or may not be AAA?

[PETE FROM NYC]

I have been an AAA Gold member for over 30 years. Gold means I can get towed to any destination of my choice up to 65 miles, not just the nearest AAA affiliate.
I have used the club for towing, flat changing, and getting WDW tickets at a discount.
Anyplace I go, I ask for an AAA discount including other theme parks, hotels, and many others.
I also have towing through my auto insurance, but will never give up my AAA membership.

[captain j]

AAA is well worth the money for us. Trip routing, towing, lock out service, discounts, etc.
They do not offer the Disney ticket discount any longer.

[PirateLover]

I have been an AAA Gold member for over 30 years. Gold means I can get towed to any destination of my choice up to 65 miles, not just the nearest AAA affiliate.
I have used the club for towing, flat changing, and getting WDW tickets at a discount.
Anyplace I go, I ask for an AAA discount including other theme parks, hotels, and many others.
I also have towing through my auto insurance, but will never give up my AAA membership.

:ditto:
Love "The 3 A's" as my grandfather always calls them. I get a flat tire at least twice a year and for me that service alone, plus the discounts you get at various places, make it well worth the price.

[Altair]

They do not offer the Disney ticket discount any longer.

Sure they do.:mickey:

[Janmac]

We have had AAA Plus for at least 15 years. This plan provides free towing for up to 100 miles which comes in handy in rural areas. We have a couple of times had to have a door unlocked. And used the towing service - notably while camping in Glacier National Park and had to have our diesel truck towed to Cut Bank for mechanical work.

We always have gotten our annual dues back in either the towing, but more often in the discounts for Amtrak, Sea World, Disney, and other things like that.

A few years ago we upgraded to AAA Plus RV when we thought we might have needed to have a tow truck for our truck and another for the trailer. So far we have not needed to have two tow trucks, but it's nice to know we have the option.

We recommend AAA Plus to everyone.

Jan

[faline]

We've been a member for quite some time - while we've not used their benefits a lot - when we've needed them, it's probably paid for the years in which we've not used them. I work quite some distance from home and have left my lights on more than once resulting in a discharged battery. They were able to help with that. I know my husband has used their service for towing and to get into a vehicle with the keys locked inside. Just last night, I went to a AAA office to buy a couple of dining gift certificates that were being offered at a discount.

[gerald72]

It's totally worth it.
I broke down along a major highway on my way to a baseball game. One call to AAA and we had a tow truck pick our car and us up, and a rental car delivered to the garage. All in time to make the first pitch.

[1DisneyNut]

Definitely worth it. I have had AAA for years and have had the premier level since they introduced it. I have used the towing service, door unlocking service and flat tire service numerous times over the years.
I even partied too hard one New Years eve when I had driven to a downtown nightclub (I had no intentions of having more than a drink or two but ran into some old friends I haven't seen in a while and well......you know the rest. lol). I called AAA and was honest as I could be and told them I was plastered and would like my car towed home because I didn't want to leave it. The nice lady laughed and said no problem, we will have a tow truck come get you....happy new year. They took me home, listened to me ramble and carry on and didn't charge me a dime!

I usually use the hotel, attraction, and restaurant discounts alone enough to cover the annual membership fee. They have a 10% discount and Landry's, Joe's crab shack and some other restaurants that we use.
I let it lapse a few years ago but renewed it before we went on vacation. I just couldn't leave on a road trip without the comfort of knowing that if we did have a problem, AAA would take care of it.

On a side note, just fyi; when you use the roadside coverage through your automobile insurance policy, it goes on your insurance report as a claim and can actually trigger a future rate increase or put you in a higher bracket when shopping insurance rates. I don't know why but they file the roadside claims as regular insurance claims which show up on your national insurance file (basically the insurance version of your credit file.)

[DizneyRox]

Interesting... We're currently evaluating dropping our AAA. Part of the reduce the bills movement we're going through. Only had to use AAA for tow once, and frankly, it didn't help much. Their basic plan just doesn't cover much in terms of towing. Plus it took three hours for the towing company to come, and I kid you not, we were parked AT a AAA service center. I'm not sure how they go and dispatch, but it was insane sitting there waiting for our tow truck to come watching all the AAA tow trucks come and go.

We have new cars and I think we're going to play the odds and cancel. The cars have roadside assistance, I don't lock my keys in the car, I have a GPS so the planning service does us no good, and we have always planned our own trips, so nothing there either.

The expense for us I don't think is worth it.

[Renfairwedding]

Just the discounts local and travel alone have paid for the cards.

Our cars are not that old but have blown a few tires along the way. The one time we needed a tow we were lucky and just in the basic plan three mile limet. We upgraded to the 100 mile plan.

Our budget is also tight but we consider it a must have insurance policy.

[princessgirls]

The benefits far outweigh not having AAA for me.

I've used their tow and battery services a few times, AND they have a beautiful office in my town and I've stopped in many times for maps, and discount tickets.

It's a good legitimate service, and has always been there when I needed them.

Julie:mickey:

[Nascfan]

My wife has had AAA since she started driving, and got our daughter added on when she got her license. The peace of mind alone for my two women are worth much more than the annual fee. We've recently started giving a membership to our niece for Christmas and she loves it. We consider it an invaluable insurance policy, would much rather be able to cancel the exhorbitant auto insurance and just have AAA membership, but ya gotta have that to be legal in our state.

It also pays for itself in hotel and entertainment discounts and tour books, and at least in our case.

[Disney4us2]

I won't be with out it. It can come in very handy when you least expect it.

[DisneyDog]

I have been fortunate not to have many flat tires (knock on wood) or any lock outs. But, I do use it for a 10% discount on shoes at Payless and also clothes at New York and Company. I also present my card at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets and get tons of free coupons (that normally cost $5.00) that I use to save tons of money when I shop there. They also do the same thing at other outlets (have used it in Rehoboth Beach, DE and Lancaster, PA.) I did not know that they offered a discount at Joe's Crab Shack. We just got one near us and have been there twice without using the discount. Next time, we will definitely use our AAA card!

[TheDuckRocks]

We have always gotten enough in hotel room discounts to pay for our membership each year. The one time we were 300 miles from home and had a very new tire punctured and the half dozen times our brand new car kept having a dead battery were just a great bonus for us.

[Wayne]

AAA Plus long time member here. The discount hotel/dining/retail discounts are used more than anything. Heck, the Sprint discount alone on our cellphone plan pays for the annual membership fee. I've been lucky that I haven't needed the towing or other car care options often, but they have been quite useful when needed and I like the peace of mind knowing that they are available for my wife and daughter as well.

[Mogie]

It's priceless.
I had a flat tire during a snow storm, they came and changed it for free.
My battery died while on vacation, again they came within an hour.

The Dolphin/Swan offers an awesome AAA rate and makes those hotels the best deal on Disney Property for a Deluxe Hotel.

[Hair_Razor]

We get ours each year from my parents as a Christmas gift! I use mine every week when I am booking my hotels, many times it has helped me out of a jam.