Priceless Travel Information, Wonderful Mapping Program, Improving Real-World Service
Written: May 24 '08
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| Full Review |
Years ago, my husband and I purchased a AAA membership. We were, frankly, dirt poor. It was a BIG purchase for us, and we felt it was something of an insurance policy for our yearly road trip. My parents always had AAA, and it seemed like a good idea.
Fast forward six months—there we are, dead at the side of the road in Yellowstone. After an hour of struggling with the truck (and one minor engine fire), my husband hitchhikes to the nearest phone while I hang out with the ‘squitoes and dogs. Hubby’s back (still hitching) four hours later--AAA refuses to render aid because we’re in a national park. No, we’re not on a dirt road, we’re on one of the many paved public roads in Yellowstone. Thankfully, after a total of 6 hours, the mechanic from the garage where hubby made the call drives out—not at the behest of AAA, but because he pities us. After an hour, he manages to get the truck running. No charge. But now we’re 7 hours behind and facing another night we hadn’t budgeted for.
Hope springs eternal. We called AAA from West Yellowstone, hoping that they would come through with their promised “trip interruption” aid. After all, our trip had been solidly interrupted. However, AAA left us cold. Because the original call wasn’t covered, the subsequent trip interruption wasn’t, either. We were left sleeping in our truck at highway’s edge near Kemmerer, Wyoming. Ever been to Kemmerer? Exactly.
We ditched AAA without a second thought, and kept it ditched for a decade.
But then came the epic vacation of 2007. While booking Amtrak tickets, it became apparent we stood to gain by giving AAA another shot. Just the savings on the train tickets was more than the cost of membership. Plus there were rental car savings (Hertz) and various hotel and restaurant discounts. So we swallowed our grudge and sat down before the computer.
AAA’s website, first off, does a strangely irritating redirect the moment you arrive—blank page, with a link in case the redirect fails. I figured this was just a matter of site maintenance initially, but now, a year later, it’s still there. It’s present in other areas/links of the site, too—it’s a small complaint, but there it is.
The welcome page that you are redirected to is an easy to understand, easy to navigate page that is totally geared toward getting members signed in, existing memberships renewed, and non-members signed up. The welcome page also has clearly marked links for travel deals and information, insurance options, and automotive care tips.
Travel Deals and Information
AAA’s site offers a search engine much like that found on Expedia or Priceline. Just click the type of travel you’re interested in, enter the dates, and the available cruises, flights, cars, hotels, and last minute travel deals (which tend toward discounted weekend getaways that must be booked no more than 14 days in advance) pop up. I have found that, while accurate and certainly usable, their search function for rental cars (that’s Hertz) is a bit clunkier and less easy to use than Hertz’s own site, and, provided you give Hertz your AAA membership number, the price comes out the same.
Also available free through the Travel tab are (for members only) maps and state/region tour books (listing lodgings and features, attractions, and numerous restaurants), which we have now ordered twice (and been quite pleased with). Also of great help is the “Trip Tik” program, which is somewhat reminiscent of Yahoo’s mapping system, but better. AAA’s is a bit clumsier a program (irritating “bubbles” popping up over selected cities), but it’s otherwise easy to use and the resulting print maps are . . . well, if you’re short on ink, don’t print these babies out. Selecting “Print Trip Tik,” converts the map to PDF format, and then . . . wow. A map from D.C. to Philly came out at EIGHT pages. But these are eight pages of wonder—everything from construction information and traffic delays/advisories to ferry fares and tunnel information—it’s ALL there (including attractions, restaurants, and other stops, should you select for display). If you’re one of those people who needs to know everything, these are the maps for you. You don’t have to be a member to use this feature. You do, however, need a good printer and much ink.
A special bonus to the travel section is the listing/search engine for restaurants and other establishments that offer discounts to AAA members. Even select pharmacies, the UPS store, and Safeway offer discounts detailed on the AAA website.
Insurance Options
Apparently, AAA offers not only auto insurance, but also home and life. While they do offer online quotes, they do not offer instantaneous, anonymous quotes. In other words, to get a quote you’ll have to fill out all the little fields about yourself, your life, etc. I did NOT fill these out because I’m not in the market for new insurance and I’m not in the mood for the sales calls that often result from filling out such forms. In other words, I don’t know a lot about AAA’s insurances, only that they offer them.
Automotive
AAA’s welcome page offers up numerous car-related links, with information such as car care/maintenance, buying tips, emergency service information, safety information, fun stuff about cars and the environment, and even a DVD designed to help improve safety for teen drivers (this DVD is free to members, $7.00 to non-members). Also available is a “Gas Price Finder,” and, while the locations appear spot-on, the prices are about two weeks old, at least for our area. As you well know, two weeks makes a BIG difference anymore.
Also offered on the AAA site is an online version of their Via magazine, a very pleasant and pleasing magazine with nice travel stories, tips, editorials, and lovely photographs, along with a bevvy of advertisements and discount coupons from various vacation vendors like tour companies, lodgings, and parking establishments.
Now, I would be remiss, after starting this review as negatively as I did, if I didn’t give the story of how AAA redeemed itself:
Back around New Years our car died. Quite abruptly; it was fine and then it stopped—mid-traffic, no apparent reason. It would not restart. We called AAA, who had a truck to us within 15 minutes. Car was towed to the shop, which had it running again the next day—bad ECM fuse. Two weeks later, we’re driving down the Interstate when the car once again croaks. No warning, just running one moment and coasting to a horrifying stop at the side of a busy freeway the next. Called AAA, they had a truck to us in less than 30 minutes. Car to shop, new ECM fuse, and now we’re maybe not trusting the car so much. We’re sticking closer to home. Two weeks later, car dies, NOT the ECM fuse this time, but some other fuse. Call AAA, car to shop, we’re out a car for two weeks this time. By now we barely dare go grocery shopping for fear we’ll wind up loading our groceries into the back of a tow truck to get them home. Next day, we’ve just left AutoZone (buying spare fuses) and are on our way home when, sure enough, dead goes the car. Call AAA, truck there in ten minutes, and the driver pops our hood. See, this time we tried replacing the ignition fuse ourselves and got a bright flash and an audible POP upon trying to insert the fuse. The fuse blew before we could ever get it into the slot. That tells us something, doesn’t it? Driver jiggles our negative to ground wire and BOOM, the car starts. We drive to the shop (he follows), and the next day the shop decides it was the engine ground. Replace that and the car’s been a gem since (knock wood).
I don’t know how much AAA saved us in tow-costs, but I’m going to say at least four times what the membership cost—and the membership had already paid for itself five times over in hotel, attraction, and train fare savings.
My opinion of AAA has improved dramatically in the past year. Enough so that we renewed last month with nary a second thought. And there comes my only serious complaint about AAA’s website—they’re pushing “automatic renewal” pretty hard, offering a discount off the renewal price if you opt for annual auto-renewal. Because AAA tends to start “reminding” you to renew rather early, we decided not to go that route. However, rather than being an “opt in” gig, it was an “opt out,” i.e., you have to choose NOT to automatically renew—otherwise, it snags you and signs you up for it as you renew. Yes, it’s a minor irritation but look out for it.
And that’s it—I’ve found AAA’s website to be easy to navigate, helpful, and fairly un-irritating. I’ve also found that AAA’s services and peace of mind really are worth the membership fee. Before this year, I might have recommended AAA membership just for travelers, but after multiple tows and rides home, I now recommend it to anyone who can better afford one fifty buck hit than four of them. In addition, I recommend the website itself to anyone, member or no, as it provides multiple free services that can be of help to just about anyone with a car.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Annual membership, maps and tourbooks, Trip Tik mapping
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