Is AARP membership worth it?

[erysichthon]

For me, AAA is the one that “isn’t worth it.” I have road service through State Farm for less than eight bucks a year.

As for AARP, using the hotel discounts a couple of times a year will offset the membership cost. However, I found that I can often get a comparable or better deal in other ways, so I let my membership lapse a few years ago. I re-upped this year because Walgreens gave me a coupon for a free one-year membership (evidently they tracked my purchases and deduced that I’m old).

I have never carried the AARP card in my wallet. Twice, hotel desk clerks have asked to see my card when I requested the discount. In both cases they gave me the discount anyway (after making me squirm a little bit).

[AskNott]

A couple times, I showed hotel clerks my AARP and AAA cards, asking which would get me the better price. Both times they grabbed the AARP card. AAA used to be useful for maps and guidebook info, but the internet and a dozen travel websites took that over. Paper maps? Who does that now? My wife insists we keep AAA for the road service, but we haven’t needed to use that for a long time.

[Bumbazine]

If not for Medicare, I would be dead now.

Since ‘certain people’ in washington are trying to kill me by gutting medicare and social security, and since AARP is the only large organization (that I know of) lobbying to keep that from happening, AARP is my friend.

It’s as simple as that.

[running_coach]

@erysichthon

I have never carried the AARP card in my wallet. Twice, hotel desk clerks have asked to see my card when I requested the discount. In both cases they gave me the discount anyway (after making me squirm a little bit).

Just wait until they give it without asking.

[DinoR]

@jasg

We boomers have done enough damage…

Baby Boomers are the one cohort defined and tracked by the Census Bureau. The last year of birth for the boom is 1964. AARP moved on to trying to recruit members among my generation, Gen X, a couple years ago. :smack:

[kopek]

@Mangosteen

You know what really makes it NOT worth it?

All the junk mail (email and regular) and phone calls you’ll get from AARP and all the other companies that AARP sells your name to.

Don’t start, they really will never let you cancel.

I had no change in junk mail or calls after I joined from before I joined. I have no doubt they have sold my name a time or three but I strongly suspect my employer has as well.

I have found some of the discounts and information useful and overall I’m happy with them but I went in knowing:
a) I don’t care for a lot of their politics
b) Basically its like AAA or any other business cloaked in the illusion of membership

I figure on staying in for the foreseeable future; it basically pays for itself and more for me.

[Mister_Rik]

@Beckdawrek

send out all that paper to every baby boomer in the USA.

That’s soooo last generation. We Gen-Xers are turning 50 now!

I’ve been getting the invites for a couple years now, but haven’t joined.

[ataraxy22]

I’m 104 years old. My 106 year old friend says it is a good deal for “active” things like the climbing wall and the cross-fit gym, but I am not seeing it yet.

[Siam_Sam]

The people I know who like it, like it because they get good discounts at hotels and restaurants. However, the wife and I don’t take that many road trips these days, and the restaurants we frequent usually don’t give AARP discounts.

One good thing for some is I understand they WILL arrange health insurance for you regardless of your age, although it won’t be cheap. Pretty much a last resort.

[ftg]

@AskNott

IMHO, the lobbying is the biggest plus for AARP. Their efforts nudge lawmakers towards preserving Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and research toward curing the diseases that are lying in wait to kill us old folks. There’s plenty of lobbying out there to gut all that stuff, so that only the wealthy can afford to get old, sick, or crippled.

Mind you, they’re not completely altruistic. AARP is also a big insurance company. The insurance is not compulsory, of course, but they’ll remind you now and then that they sell it.

IMHO, it’s their lobbying against poorer seniors that is out biggest issue with them. They have supported legislation that have help insurance companies increase their profits on meds (since they are one of them) and cut back on SS benefits.

They are politically not on the side of most seniors.

(I just Googled “aarp lobbying controversy” and holy crap, there’s a lot more sleazy stuff they’ve done than I was aware of.)

[Eva_Luna]

@silenus

This. Stay away from AARP. As long as you have a AAA membership, you’ll get the same discounts without all the additional deforestation.

I don’t have AAA - it’s more expensive, and I have roadside service through my auto insurance for like $4/year. I haven’t had to use it in 20 years.

[aceplace57]

Consumer Cellular offers an AARP membership.

I resisted joining at first, but the senior discounts are nice.

Still rankles that I qualified as a “senior” at 55.

***you can join AARP at 50. Most restaurant senior discounts start at 55.

[Siam_Sam]

@aceplace57

Still rankles that I qualified as a “senior” at 55.

Ha. You should live in Thailand, where you’re often considered a senior at 35! When I was at the newspapers there, I had to change a lot of stories that had something to that effect before we put them out. Damned young whippersnappers! :mad:

[kopek]

@aceplace57

Still rankles that I qualified as a “senior” at 55.

Our local Major Amusement Park does season passes and set the age at 55. The young lady laughed out loud at my reaction when I found it out and the major savings it was ----- “I never saw anyone so happy to be called old before”.

[Hurk]

@Eva_Luna

Yes, the dreaded moment has arrived - the Marketing Gods have heard about my upcoming milestone birthday and sent me the membership packet in the mail, complete with offer for Free Sporty Tote!

I am, first and foremost, a pragmatist. Is AARP membership worth the whopping $16/year, 25% off if you sign up for auto renewal? Or am I just as likely to find better deals on my own? In what situations might I find it worthwhile? We don’t tend to stay in chain hotels or eat at chain restaurants pretty much ever, and rent a car (domestically, anyway) maybe once a year if that.

Against my better judgement, I was a member twice (I’m 68).

There was absolutely nothing in it for me. The WORST thing about it was looking at “old” (my age) women in the magazine. I’d much rather look at 30-40-50 year-olds.

I have zero interest in traveling (why does everyone think that because you’re old you want to travel?) and almost never eat in chain restaurants. There were no special deals on car or health insurance as far as I could tell.

And, as others above have already said: The junk mailing is like the energizer bunny.

I dumped them at least three years ago and still get crap probably weekly from them.