I have literally never (in hundreds of hotel stays over the last 20 years) found the AAA discount better than I can get simply by being a loyalty program member or and other offer the hotel brand is offering. Unless you are walking in off the street (I posted about that experience once on these boards) and are quoted a $499 price for a $199 hotel room, and you get a $50 discount with AAA. I expect to encounter this once or twice in my remaining lifetime. In the 1980s and 1990s it was more common to get a worthwhile discount with AAA because it was harder to compare prices and it was more common for me to stay at non-chain properties.
I stopped checking years ago. In fact I’m booking a hotel right now and the Hilton Honors and AAA rates are identical. I believe all three of Hilton, Marriott and IHG guarantee that the loyalty rate will not be higher than any other direct booking rate.
I can’t remember the last time I used the AAA discount at a hotel. I have used it at the occasional museum or attraction that offers it but that is $2 to $5 and pretty soon I will be getting a better price by being old enough.
You don’t calculate the value of the discount from the rack rate. It’s from the best available rate (with the same cancellation terms) available to you without AAA.
I have AAA because I have looked into the program offered by my credit cards and I’m not convinced they are as good, and confirmed by experiences of people I know who ditched it and relied on the credit card coverage. I can add a towing rider to my auto insurance but it would cost more than $85 PER CAR and only applies to our cars, not rentals or any random borrowed car I happen to be driving.
That’s what they would be going off of. They don’t need perfect information, just playing the percentages.
If you call them for service on a 5 year old car, their data tells them it’s a one-off. You call them for service on a 30 year old car, their data tells them it’s the start of a pattern.
Yeah, but it’s not like governments don’t know this which is why every state has an insurance ombudsman that is in charge of enforcing that all insurance agencies in the state are complying with relevant statutes.
States can vary widely on the allowed practices but what they’re all pretty uniform on is the form of communication and disclosure that must happen. Insurance companies hate having any sort of regulatory scrutiny because it becomes a whole thing so they’re generally willing to be quite flexible about making their customers happy if it feels like the fuckup is on their end and the customer knows what their rights are.
It’s very easy to call up a company and ask them for proof that various forms of disclosure that were meant to be sent to you were indeed sent and if there’s an area where they can’t find proof of compliance, then you get kicked up to a higher level of decision maker who has a wide latitude to make things right with you. Double check that they did indeed follow any appropriate behaviors before you look into any other next steps.
Since AAA is an automobile club, your AAA membership covers you rather than your car . That means that YOU are covered for Emergency Road Services in any vehicle your are driving or riding in as long as that TYPE of vehicle is covered. You could be in a friend’s car and, if it breaks down, you are covered.
I’ve heard that many hotels have a policy that, if a customer ever asks “Do you offer a discount for _____?”, the answer is always “Yes”, and it’s all the same discount, and even if you’re a senior citizen AND a student AND a veteran AND an AAA member and whatever, it’s still all just one discount. So that discount card might not be worth as much as you think.
They don’t care what kind of car you are driving. You have the service available to you in any car you might be driving. It is coverage for you personally, not a particular car.
The one time I tried to use AAA, they were utterly useless. I had a flat on Mass. 122 about halfway between Petersham and Barre. They claimed they could not find 122. Eventually I decided to change the tire myself (with, eventually, the help of a kind Mass. State cop). Four hours later they called to find out if I was still there.
I’ve been a gold card member since I think 1998. I’ve never used the tow service on my own car but once. I’ve used it about 8 times for friends, boyfriends and my brother’s various POS cars. All they require is for me to sign the slip for the tow operator.
I don’t think they even have my car info. I don’t see it stored in the app.
I agree with others. This is just a billing mixup.
They don’t usually even have me sign anything if I don’t need a tow - for example, if all I need is a tire change/repair. I guess giving my account number when I call is good enough for them to get paid
Maybe they’ll take our advice.