AARP Membership

[frayne]

How many here belong to AARP and is it worth the dues ? I'm 60 and have yet to join, maybe due to the stigma of being an old fart with an AARP card.

What say you ?







Yes, I know I am an old fart.

 

[MichaelB]

How many here belong to AARP and is it worth the dues ? I'm 60 and have yet to join, maybe due to the stigma of being an old fart with an AARP card.

What say you ?

Stigma or badge of pride? Not sure what the benefits are, but here is one old thread that discusses that http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/aarp-49173.html

Yes, I know I am an old fart.

unless your body ages more slowly than normal everyone else knows too.

AARP gives you a free membership trial. You can try it and report back.

 

[73ss454]

I joined at around 50 and stayed in a few years. Didn't see any benefit so I stopped paying dues. I get letters all the time from them trying to get me to join, they must have spent a pretty penny with all the mailings.

I say Nay!

 

[rescueme]

I heated my home this winter with all the insurance offers I got in the mail over the past year (even though I have not been a member of AARP for years).

I also don't agree with some of their political agenda (I'll leave it at that ...)

I use my DAV membership to get the few discounts I need, BTW.

 

[martyb]

My mom signed me up with AARP after I turned 50. I was a member for just that one year, saw that I did not agree with their politics, so chose not to renew. They send me crap in the mail nearly every single week, even though I have written notes & returned them in the postage-paid envelopes, I have emailed via their contact links, and have even called them directly, telling them to take me off their contact lists. On the phone, they indicated they would comply with my wishes. However, to this day, I continue to get solicitations from them, begging me to come back, trying to sell me stuff. AARP does not respect my wishes not to receive their junk mail. Based on my experience with them so far, I don't see any reason to do business with them.

 

[TromboneAl]

Not worth it. AARP stands for the Latin phrase "Please send me lots of junk mail."

 

[Midpack]

I will never join AARP either, simply because of their selfish political positions. I don't care what benefits they might provide. YMMV

 

[samclem]

Not worth it. AARP stands for the Latin phrase "Please send me lots of junk mail."

I get about one solicitation per month from them. I always scrawl a note to them regarding their politics and happily let them pay for the postage back their offices.
Just doing my part.
I'm wondering if I wrote my note on a brick and taped on their little "business reply" envelope if they'd have to pay the postage for that?

 

[Nords]

My mom signed me up with AARP after I turned 50. I was a member for just that one year, saw that I did not agree with their politics, so chose not to renew. They send me crap in the mail nearly every single week, even though I have written notes & returned them in the postage-paid envelopes, I have emailed via their contact links, and have even called them directly, telling them to take me off their contact lists. On the phone, they indicated they would comply with my wishes. However, to this day, I continue to get solicitations from them, begging me to come back, trying to sell me stuff. AARP does not respect my wishes not to receive their junk mail. Based on my experience with them so far, I don't see any reason to do business with them.

Your mother must hate you.

But the junk mail is why I feel fortunate to have escaped their attention thus far. My Dad seems to have evaded their clutches, too.

 

[East Texas]

I joined AARP when I turned 50 and have enjoyed their magazine and also getting the discounts. As for all the junk mail, just like most businesses who send you [-]crap in the[/-] junk mail, all it takes is to call them and have them remove you from all their solicitation mailings.

With AARP and Reader's Digest, I was pretty emphatic - I only want to receive the magazine and absolutely nothing else. AARP complied with my request. Readers Digest sends me a monthly solicitation under the guise of a "bill" and it just ticks me off to no end. I shred them without even opening them until the month after my subscripton expires and then I know it's a real bill. I could simply log online to pay; however, you get a special price on the paper bill. And that also irritates me. If my spouse didn't like the RD so much, I'd cancel it.

 

[martyb]

Your mother must hate you.

At least she paid the membership fee...lol. Unfortunately, I've been "paying" for it ever since. I'm not sure if she's still a member or not.

samclem, good idea with the brick thing...!

 

[martyb]

As for all the junk mail, just like most businesses who send you [-]crap in the[/-] junk mail, all it takes is to call them and have them remove you from all their solicitation mailings.

That's absolutely NOT the case with AARP. As I said in my previous post, I have contacted them multiple times, in multiple ways, requesting to be removed from their mailing/contact lists, to no avail. They promise I will be removed, yet I continue to receive the solicitations for membership, life insurance, etc. etc. They ignore my wishes. I will call them again in the morning.

 

[easysurfer]

I joined AARP last year. I do like their magazine (though I've been procrastinating and haven't read the latest issue). I joined partly to see what they have to offer and partly for humor. I look younger than my age, so I want to show my membership card to some friends who will get a chuckle out of that.

Don't want to get too political, but I just say that everyone has to decide for themselves what's the best to join or not.

Oh yeah..one more thing...I'm did send in the give me more info on life insurance. Now still waiting on the free flashlight. Hope the flashlight isn't dependent on if I sign up or not

 

[martyb]

I just did a quick search on Google for tips on how to get oneself removed from AARP's mailing list. I found this:

"I can tell you how to get off a mailing list, anyones in fact, real quick....Cost them money.

All that mail has some sort of Business Reply Envelope where they pay the postage for its return. Contracts with the post office, they HAVE to pay for any return mail using those prepaid envelopes. And the amount is higher than regular postage.

The max amount the postal service will take is 70 lbs with a combined width, height and gurth of 108 inches..

So simply take one of their business reply envelopes, use some shipping tape and apply it to a cinder block, which are still fairly cheap. That will run them $30.00 or so in return postage.

Do that a couple of times, and they will get the message.

You can write them all the letters you want to get off of a mailing list, and that never works.. this does...

If the keep sending you stuff, switch to using an old bald tire..
a Pickup truck sized one..they get the message fairly quick.

Not only does it work, it gives one a feeling of satisfaction.

Also considering that these places all sell mailing lists back and forth, believe me.. it will get you off of a lot of other people's mailing list real fast..

a bald 31 x 10.50 truck tire costs them about $75 or $80.. and by postal contract, they have to pay for it..whether they like it or not.

I'll guarantee this works real well..

I learned this off of a lady who was a customer of mine about 10 years ago. She was trying to get off of some company's mailing list, and after a zillion letters to them, nothing worked.. her son who worked for the Post Office told her about this.

So she tried it several times.. Not only did she get off that mailing list, but a whole bunch of others..plus she was rewarded with a scathing letter from that company's president.

Which she promptly framed and put on the wall in her office.
gotta love happy endings like that one."

 

[Amethyst]

I looked into AARP years ago on husband's behalf. Nothing they offered (insurance, discounts) was as good as we already had on our own. I doubt that much, if anything, has changed since then. It seems to me they may be appealing to folks whose credit ratings are not stellar.

Junk mail helps fill up the recycling bin, which apparently makes the county happy.

Amethyst

 

[W2R]

My sweet, now-deceased mother (bless her heart) bought me an AARP membership for my 50th birthday. I guess she thought it was a joke, although at the time I was horrified since I didn't feel old enough for AARP. I never saw any benefit for me, and I never renewed it. Still, I have been getting continual ads and offers from AARP for the 13 years since.

My opinion is that an AARP membership is worthless, to me at least. Maybe if you travel a lot and have no options for any other discounts you might like their discounts.

 

[powerplay]

I actually joined AARP for a couple years and that was 7-8 years ago. They still send me mailings to rejoin although I haven't really seen much if any benefit to their membership. The newsletter/magazine was interesting when I was a member though not enough so to keep me paying the membership. There are other things I would prefer to spend my $$ and time on than AARP. Each to his/her own I guess.

 

[mickeyd]

I never have joined AARP even though they sent me applications for 10 years or so (gotta give them an A for persistence). It is clearly no more than a marketing organization that takes advantage of old fogies like us using scare tactics and taking advantage of ignorance.

I always recommend that no one fall into their snares.

 

[rescueme]

...takes advantage of old fogies like us...

Hey, speak for yourself, fella ...

 

[FIRE'd@51]

My understanding is that you must join AARP to enroll in one of their Medicare Supplemental polices, although once you have the policy you can let your AARP membership lapse and continue to keep the Supplemental policy.

 

[mickeyd]

Hey, speak for yourself, fella ...

Opps, sorry bout that. I meant to type geezers not old fogies. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Goonie]

I joined AARP when I hit 50, and just did another 5 year renewal a few weeks ago. I enjoy reading both their magazine and their newspaper. The $12.60 per year membership fee more than pays for itself in hotel discounts when we travel or go to bluegrass festivals. We're currently vacationing in Florida for a couple of weeks, and hotel discounts for this trip alone amount to over $300.

I have no need for AARP's insurance offers, since I already have everything I want and/or need. So AARP junk mail, to me, is like any other junk mail.....I use it to start our bonfires, or I shred it and toss it in the compost pile, or I lay it down in the gardens and use it as mulch. In my view junk mail is like cow manure....to some folks it's just a bunch of cr*p....to others (like me) it's good for the gardens!

Obviously being in the minority here, the only thing that I'll say concerning AARP's political views and opinions, is that I have no major difference of opinion...nuf said. Besides, I only discuss political matters in 'face-to-face' situations, and never over the internet.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

AARP sent me a letter to join when I was 48. Back then it was just $10, and as a joke, sent them $10, telling the wife they'd have to send back my check since I wasn't 50. Well, they gave me a membership, so every year I'd cough up the $12 or so; liked the magazine and articles, and liked supporting a worthy cause. This year they wanted $16 (I think), so I said no. Like '73SS454' and 'martyb' said, got bombarded with tons of mail, etc. Too bad for them--no more $$ from me.

 

[East Texas]

That's absolutely NOT the case with AARP. As I said in my previous post, I have contacted them multiple times, in multiple ways, requesting to be removed from their mailing/contact lists, to no avail. They promise I will be removed, yet I continue to receive the solicitations for membership, life insurance, etc. etc. They ignore my wishes. I will call them again in the morning.

I guess they just like me better than they like you. (I hope you think that was funny and not sarcastic...) It's time for the old "I've called several times about this matter and evidently I'm not speaking with the right person...." Good luck.

 

[travelover]

I always check for an AARP discount at hotels, though I've never been asked to show any proof of membership. It just seems to be a way to offer a lower price for bargain hunters while saving face for the establishment.