How do You use AAA?

[calmloki]

Now that the sun is making some appearances in Oregon we are about to head north again. There is a AAA building close to us, so we went in and sprang for an intro annual membership @$52. Was amazed at the crowd of people there, and was told that AAA does all kinds of insurance and credit cards and travel booking. News to me! Asked about getting a trip map for our route, just to see what it was like. They couldn't do that, but did give us a paper map, A la old time Mobile gas station map. Nice! I like paper maps.

Then checked USAA and find I'm paying them $1.62/car/month for roadside assistance as well.

These aren't deal breaker amounts, but I'd sure like to know what groovy things you all are using your AAA memberships for. What do you really value about them? Travel agent?
The guy helping us seemed more into health and life insurance.

 

[audreyh1]

I use them for international driver permit when needed. You don’t have to be a member for this service. We don’t have an office in this area, closest is 250 miles, but they will also do it by mail.

I have a membership but mainly use it for room discounts which are often very good.

We have only a Tesla and Tesla Roadside Service would take care of car trouble issues, but we often rent cars and I like to have it for that.

 

[mystang52]

Well, for one thing the car rental discounts available through AAA are the best I can get (I use Hertz almost exclusively). It's been quite a few years but I used them once for a battery boost and once to change flat tire.

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve been renting through Costco most of the time which excludes Hertz, but I see Hertz has lots of AAA benefits including Gold membership. I did rent Hertz once because I wanted to rent a Model Y.

 

[savory]

In some parts of the country, AAA will provide support if you are on a bicycle ride and your bicycle can’t be ridden , such as a flat. The program I am aware will pick you and bike up and transport you up to 10 miles back home. You must be on a road and not a bike trail for example.

 

[aaronc879]

I just got Passport pics from them last week. It was free for my level. I think you would have to pay a few dollars but not sure. I pay closer to $100/mo. I have used AAA several times over the years for towing, both my vehicle or any vehicle I happen to be in that's needs assistance. I have used them for a tire change when I got a flat tire 1500 miles from home. They are good for paper maps if you are going to go somewhere that may have limited cell service(data service).

 

[prudent_one]

When you joined, didn't they give you a "guide to benefits" or something like that? Our AAA does that and I found it's the easiest way to see everything they offer all in one place.

 

[Beldar]

Passport photos, notary, etc.

 

[tutan]

Back in the mid 1990s, my beater broke down and AAA towed it to a nearby and possibly a favorite mechanic of that towing contractor. That was a costly repair. I then changed to the higher priced Plus membership which will tow to anywhere up to 100 miles. I used the service a few times to tow to my favorite mechanic and also to my house. Have not needed it since 2018 when I replaced my last beater. But have kept the Plus membership.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I use them for: Passport photos, international driving license, car title transfers, notary work. There are still fees to these things, but not awful. I also use their Hertz rental car discount most of the time I rent a car. It's usually the best price I've found. I have never actually had to use them for roadside assistance, but it's there if I need it. Years ago, I used to get paper road maps from them, but I haven't done that in a long time. They did away with the the old TripTik route maps that they use to generate. At one time, they had a computerized version you could generate yourself on their website, but I'm not sure if that still is available or not. I didn't really like what it generated anyway.

 

[Koolau]

I use them for: Passport photos, international driving license, car title transfers, notary work. There are still fees to these things, but not awful. I also use their Hertz rental car discount most of the time I rent a car. It's usually the best price I've found. I have never actually had to use them for roadside assistance, but it's there if I need it. Years ago, I used to get paper road maps from them, but I haven't done that in a long time. They did away with the the old TripTik route maps that they use to generate. At one time, they had a computerized version you could generate yourself on their website, but I'm not sure if that still is available or not. I didn't really like what it generated anyway.

I used to really appreciate the Trip Tip service. We dropped our membership quite some time ago. Our car insurance has towing. I think I'll stop in and see what AAA has to offer these days. My car insurance towing has not been very reliable.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I just signed into my account and checked. They do still offer the online TripTik capability. But it really isn't anything that you can't find on your smartphone during your trip.

 

[Lorenzo]

Every year when my membership renews ($111 last year if I'm not mistaken) I ask myself why DW and I have AAA. Car insurance includes towing. Maps are on my smartphone (though I fondly recall those paper Trip-Tiks). International drivers license cards are hardly required anywhere anymore. I guess if i had a flat tire I would call AAA rather than change it myself. I think my wife has used them for this. They also will bring a new battery to you and install it for no extra charge, but I haven't needed that.

 

[Koolau]

I just signed into my account and checked. They do still offer the online TripTik capability. But it really isn't anything that you can't find on your smartphone during your trip.

I don't use my phone for travel, but wonder if the phone has access to road-work, etc. that the TripTik always included.

 

[c998877]

I've used AAA since I was 16 - over 40 years. I've run out of gas on a freeway going uphill, had a battery die at a work lunch, had a tire changed a couple times, get printed maps for local and vacation places, and I try to remember to use the card for discounts.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I forgot about hotel discounts. I always check if my AAA discount makes a hotel room cheaper and it frequently does.

 

[rodi]

We use it for car title transfers, etc. Less wait than the DMV.

 

[stevenr]

Jump start/battery replacement within 20 minutes, flat tire change, passport photos.
You can also save a few bucks if you use one of their affiliated auto repair shops.

 

[More Cowbell]

40+ year member.

I upgraded to Premier before a long road trip last year and picked up some paper maps as backup. Most folks in my car club have AAA Premier.

So far in 2025, I needed 2 flatbed tows on the same day because once I got to the nearest dealership I decided it was not where I wanted to get my car serviced. Didn’t even unload the car off the truck. I had the tow truck driver take my car to a dealership 25 miles away during rush hour, and tipped him for the hassle.

Also had 4 documents notarized since upgrading to Premier last year. That was a service I hadn’t anticipated needing, but my financial institutions don’t offer notary service. Premier allows 5 free notarizations per day, Plus and Basic levels receive notary service for a fee.

I’ve had passport photos taken at AAA in the past.

I used to renew registration at AAA every year, but now renew online at the DMV once that was available. Did title transfers at AAA too.

 

[Montecfo]

I was just there today to get international driver's license. Not a member, have not been for years. Just don't see anything that compelling to pay for. And buying insurance in case I might need a tow or a jumpstart makes little sense to me. I have roadside assistance with my insurance and it is cheap. We get all the hotel discounts in other ways.

I did look around as what they had there some luggage, backpacks and maps.

Someone needs to tell me why anyone needs a travel agent these days. I am sure there are reasons.

 

[More Cowbell]

I was just there today to get international driver's license. Not a member, have not been for years. Just don't see anything that compelling to pay for. And buying insurance in case I might need a tow or a jumpstart makes little sense to me. I have roadside assistance with my insurance and it is cheap. We get all the hotel discounts in other ways.

I did look around as what they had there some luggage, backpacks and maps.

Someone needs to tell me why anyone needs a travel agent these days. I am sure there are reasons.

The more one drives, and the heavier the traffic, the higher the chance of incidents. In my car club members collective experience, the roadside assistance offered by insurance companies has been much slower in response time than AAA when incidents happen away from major population areas, like on twisty mountain roads or desert byways. Caveat: AAA service response time in other areas of the country may differ greatly. But your local driving enthusiasts can give a good read on your area.

Also, AAA provides service to the AAA member, not a specific car. This has allowed my car club’s more generous Premier AAA members to “donate” tows and key lockout services to non-AAA club car club members who have a need during club rides. Isn't insurance roadside assistance tied to the insured car?

 

[Masquernom]

We have auto and home insurance through AAA. It was the cheapest at the time we moved here.

 

[Car-Guy]

I had AAA many years ago and had a really bad experience with them. Never again.

 

[SecretlyFI]

I use it for hotel and restaurant discounts and when I had life insurance, one of my term policies was through them. I had comparison shopped and their policy was the least expensive by far. 10 year, level term $1 million policy for $545 a year. I bought it when I was 45 and kept it for the 10 years until I was 55 and didn't need life insurance anymore. For comparison, I started the same type of policy through my professional organization the year before ($1 million, 10 year level term) and it was $672 a year.
I've also used it quite a few times for roadside assistance and they've been fast, helpful and professional.

 

[harllee]

I have had AAA for years but I am looking to replace them because of a recent bad experience. One day during the week (not a holiday or anything) my car would not start at my residence--dead battery. I called AAA, they kept calling me back and told me they could not find anyone in my area to come out ( I live in a very populated area). After several hours I made my own arrangements, paid out of pocket for someone to come out and got a new battery. The guy putting in my battery said that all the local garages had quit coming out for AAA calls because they paid so little. So in my opinion AAA is worthless.