AARP discounts

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WilliamDoran

Confused about dryer sheets
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Messages
2
Location
Aptos
Recently I’ve been getting these mailers from the AARP to join. Does any of you benefit from the discounts offered? Which discounts are the best?
 
Most of the discounts are also available to AAA members.
 
For the modest $$ AARP wants, we have found the discounts at the various hotel chains well worth their fee. Hilton change actually requires an AARP number to get their preferred senior rates(generally 10-15% off). We prefer Hamptons for our travels so it has worked well. We also have on occasion found a better car rental rate but usually other beat.
nwsteve
 
Walgreens has a deal if you buy $15 worth of merchandise you get a free one year membership.
 
Join AAA. AARP has some extreme political positions and they use the money you send them to lobby on behalf of those positions whether or not you agree. While some are of benefit to seniors, many are more ideologically motivated. I would prefer to keep my hotel discounts separate from my politics.

That being said, AAA advocates some things that I don't agree with either. They just aren't nearly as offensive to me as some of the AARP positions. Suffice it to say, I won't be joining AARP when eligible.
 
AAA seems like an expensive alternative to AARP.
 
AARP's 2009 Hotel Discounts Underwhelm - SmarterTravel.com

Slowly but surely, AARP's hotel discounts (once a prime feature) are becoming less useful. Unfortunate though it may be, AARP's decline as a discount source simply mirrors the decrease in big-organization discounts in general. More than ever, you should view a senior (or AAA) discount as a fallback position to be used only when you can't find a better deal.
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I've had AAA for years at DW's insistence. And I just turned 50 last year so AARP discounts have never been a factor for consideration. The AAA discounts I get, which I'm not always that dilligent about pursuing, have always more than paid for the cost of membership. Just a few weeks ago the ignition switch in DW's Tahoe left me stranded on a Sunday afternoon shopping trip at Fry's. What I saved in towing costs made up for two years worth of AAA dues.

I will say that I often find better deals at hotels than what the AAA discount would get me, and from what I've seen they are usually the same as AARP discounts.
 
ziggy29 said:
Just don't call AARP when your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere or ask them for maps of where you'll be traveling next month.
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I usually call a tow truck. State Farm sells me towing insurance for $6/yr. Claims are simple. The receipt and a hand written note mailed to my agent's office clerk gets me a check within a few days.

Edit: To OP....... Ref your original question, AARP discounts are no big deal but it's hard to imagine DW and I going through a year where one of us doesn't get back the $12 annual membership cost. We usually book hotel/motel room via Priceline, so no AARP discounts there, but the little town in Minnesota we stay at on the eve of a week at fishing camp has no Priceline participants. But, there is a Country Inn that gives a 10% AARP discount and we take advantage of that and save about what the annual dues are that one night.

I've also had a few experiences where I've asked for a senior discount and been told that I had to be 65 (I'm not). But when I countered with the AARP card, they laughed and marked down my ticket...... Clerks, cashiers, employees, etc., generally want to give you a discount. You just have to ask and give them a reason!

The above is particularly fun to embarass DW who wouldn't ask for a discount if it meant getting free $20's at the withdrawal window at the bank.

BTW, I'm not a huge fan of AARP. But I'd rather have them exist than not. And they don't cost anything to belong to.
 
flyfishnevada said:
Join AAA. AARP has some extreme political positions and they use the money you send them to lobby on behalf of those positions whether or not you agree. .
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The other side of that coin is that AARP advocates for seniors on some issues where, left to their own, politicians would sell us to the devil for a nickle. It becomes an issue of whether your feelings about the so-called "extreme political positions" (your words) aggravate you more than your appreciation of their advocacy of issues where the politicians would send us to hell in a handbasket.

I'm sure you disagree, and that's fine, but I'd rather see AARP exist than not. The cost is nil. The puny annual fee is token and only there so they can officially claim you as a member during lobbying efforts.
 
youbet said:
The other side of that coin is that AARP advocates for seniors on some issues where, left to their own, politicians would sell us to the devil for a nickle. It becomes an issue of whether your feelings about the so-called "extreme political positions" (your words) aggravate you more than your appreciation of their advocacy of issues where the politicians would send us to hell in a handbasket.

I'm sure you disagree, and that's fine, but I'd rather see AARP exist than not. The cost is nil. The puny annual fee is token and only there so they can officially claim you as a member during lobbying efforts.
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I'm not saying they do no good for retirees or seniors, but beyond that they promote political ideology that I don't agree with. I think they abuse their position as a representative of older Americans. They take positions that may or may not have direct impact on seniors and suggest they have the backing of their members, most of whom have no idea what they are lobbying for back in Washington. As a contrast, take the NRA. Their members join for the specific purpose of having them lobby for gun rights. If they get a discount or a perk, that is secondary. With AARP most folks join for the perks and get a political lobby they may not want or agree with or even know about. I think that someone should know that before they join and that the AARP should do a better job of telling members where they stand politically and that their fees may contribute to promoting that ideology. Additionally, there are alternative to the AARP, like ASA or AMAC. Then again, you can get discounts like AARP offers by joining Costco or by working for the government or any other number of ways. :flowers:
 
flyfishnevada said:
With AARP most folks join for the perks and get a political lobby they may not want or agree with or even know about. :flowers:
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I think you may be overstating that a bit. AARP discounts aren't a big deal and most everyone knows that. Just read the thread we're in right now.

Politicians know how much (or not) AARP can influence votes by putting word out in their magazine, etc. Politicians respond accordingly. As I said, I am not in 100% agreement with AARP but enough so that I prefer to have them exist as opposed to not exist. So, I belong.

I also belong to the NRA and have VERY STRONG disagreements with them on a number of issues concerning how they handle their lobbying. But, like AARP, I belong because I would rather have them exist than not exist.

Obviously your feelings about some issues AARP supports are strong enough that you wish AARP did not exist. Fine. Don't belong.

It's all a matter of personal beliefs, values, etc.
 
RunningBum said:
AAA seems like an expensive alternative to AARP.
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Especially for those of us who don't own cars. :ROFLMAO:

I sometimes join AARP for the discount when I make hotel reservations; the discount is usually about $15/night but I never met a hotel clerk who asks for proof of membership. A cheap alternative would be to carry one of those temporary AARP membership cards that arrive in the mailings OP mentions.
 
mn54 said:
Walgreens has a deal if you buy $15 worth of merchandise you get a free one year membership.
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Please, do you know when this deal happens (what month?) on Walgreen's receipts? I have been looking for it this year--and have done it the past 2--but missed it when or if it happened in 2009. Did you catch it and when did that happen:confused::confused:?

AARP is the largest lobbying group in America, but I keep a membership for the hotel discounts--and, also, because every once in awhile I find some money-saving tidbit or other helpful bit of information in their magazine. Overall, it has been worth it for me...and, anyway, I believe there is strength in numbers for us geezers in Washington, so...just my contribution to the cause.
 
CuppaJoe said:
Especially for those of us who don't own cars. :ROFLMAO:

I sometimes join AARP for the discount when I make hotel reservations; the discount is usually about $15/night but I never met a hotel clerk who asks for proof of membership. A cheap alternative would be to carry one of those temporary AARP membership cards that arrive in the mailings OP mentions.
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Of course your personal financial situaion is none of my, or anyone's, bizness...... But you're really looking for ways to scam a $12/yr/couple AARP membership? I can only imagine what lengths you might go to in order to get the benefits of a $15/yr organization without paying! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

PS. I know you were saying that tongue in cheek..... just kidin' ! ;)
 
youbet said:
Of course your personal financial situaion is none of my, or anyone's, bizness...... But you're really looking for ways to scam a $12/yr/couple AARP membership? I can only imagine what lengths you might go to in order to get the benefits of a $15/yr organization without paying! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

PS. I know you were saying that tongue in cheek..... just kidin' ! ;)
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:ROFLMAO:I thought it was scam enough to book a hotel reservation claiming AARP membership and then go on over to the AARP site and join up. We have many levels of [-]cheap basta[/-] frugality on this board.

Have we scared OP away? I'm not clear on his level of frugality. Youbet, I imagine a couple could get a $15 freebie by walking into a movie theater backwards, or so I've heard.
 
I told my wife that I would not join until I became eligible to be retired. That happened in November of 2008. My wife ordered the membership for me immediately.

Quite honestly, I've found nothing of interest int heir magazines, and have found no discount that wasn't already available for AAA. I don't know why I would join except that my wife has some reason to feel like she should that is beyond me.

Z
 
Thanks everybody! I am kinda inclined towards joining AARP after going through some of the responses here and the website. Every big group is lobbying today and though I might not subscribe to their political views, I don’t see why that should stop me from joining any group if it gives me any benefits. Some deals on the AARP site looked interesting. Anybody used these yet?
1. Grocery discount from the Grocery coupon center

2. Gold’s Gym membership for $49 plus up to 20% off monthly membership

3. Up to 20% at over 2,200 locations in the U.S. and Canada from Best Western

4. Competitive Car and home insurance rates from The Hartford

5. Consumer Cellular- 5% discount off monthly fees and usage charges, and a 30% discount off select accessories
 
travelover said:
I've noticed a similar trend on other forums with stealth spamming. Many seem to be paid offshore operators with some English skills.
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Yep. I wonder if AARP realizes this sort of sleazy behavior only reinforces the low opinion many of us have of their organization.
 
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