All AAA membership levels include these services and benefits:
Battery change
If you agree to pay the full cost of the replacement battery, AAA service providers will provide it without counting toward your annual roadside assistance allowance.
Travel agency services
AAA offers a variety of free or reduced-cost travel agency services, including personalized travel planning, admission discounts at popular attractions, travel booking (including airlines, hotels, railroads, and other modes), trip planning, and cruises. and reservation, group tours, and international travel guides. Service charges may apply for certain travel reservation services. International driving licenses
AAA offices can issue international driving permits at “special member prices,” a variable discount off the full price, which can vary from office to office, but generally ranges around $20 per permit. Permits require two passport-sized photos and a valid driver’s license and can be issued while you wait.
Hertz Rental Car Discounts
All AAA members get special discounts on vehicles rented with Hertz. Discounts can be as little as a few percentage points or north of 20%, depending on location and vehicle models.
Hertz Gold Plus Membership
All AAA members get free Hertz Gold Plus memberships, which normally cost $60 per year. Gold Plus members get fast pay, the ability to change their vehicle choice on the spot, and other helpful benefits. AAA Plus members earn 675 complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Reward bonus points. AAA Premier members receive 1,100 Complimentary Points.
Commercial discounts
AAA members get a host of exclusive discounts and deals with thousands of merchant partners, including national carriers like Sprint and Best Buy. Offers vary by merchant and product but can vary by up to 50% of full price. To claim their discounts, members generally must present a valid AAA membership card in person or enter the number in the online payment portal.
AAA Free Travel Household Materials
Helpful national travel materials like road maps, local guides, and planners are free with AAA membership. International travel materials belonging to Europe and other regions are free for Plus and Premier members, and 50% off for Classic/Basic members. You can buy at an AAA office or order online.
insurance products
Some AAA clubs offer insurance products from AAA-affiliated insurers: Automobile Club Family Insurance Exchange, Auto Club Family Insurance Company, and AAA Life Insurance Company. Products include life insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, auto insurance, and excess liability insurance.AAA claims that its insurance products are cheaper than other providers, but there are many variables involved and it is difficult to speak generally about the depth of possible discounts.
AAA Approved Auto Repair Discount
Upon request, all AAA members can get a 10% discount on parts and labor costs at AAA-approved auto repair providers, who display the telltale AAA logo in their windows. This benefit is capped at $50 on each repair job. Remember that it is not applied automatically; you must make a verbal request and show your AAA membership card for the current year. AAA-approved auto repair providers are also required to guarantee any repairs they perform for two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Identity Theft Monitoring
AAA members receive supplemental identity theft monitoring, including daily monitoring of Experian credit reports, alterations to suspicious activity email or changes to that credit report, and fraud resolution support following a potential incident of identity theft. Identity Theft. Premier members also get $10,000 in identity theft insurance. These services are offered through ProtectMyID, a subsidiary of Experian.
Travel concierge and emergency assistance
Premier members have access to dedicated travel concierges while on the road. Concierge services include local weather reports, reservation assistance (including golf hours and restaurant reservations), car rentals, show tickets, and more. They can also take advantage of AAA’s emergency travel assistance services, including prescription replacement, translation, replacement of lost tickets and documents, cash transfers, medical transportation, and appointment arrangements.
Home club variability
Remember that each AAA club is different, and some may offer additional services not listed above. To get a full picture of what your local club can and cannot do for you, visit their website or call their local customer service hotline.
AAA Membership vs. Auto Insurance Alternatives
- Many auto insurance companies offer roadside assistance, towing, fuel delivery, removal, and other driver assistance services for free or at a reduced cost. Depending on their cost and how often they are used, these could be a better deal than AAA’s roadside assistance services. These six national insurers offer a representative look at what’s out there. Nationwide
Nationwide’s roadside assistance benefit is available to all policyholders. It comes in two flavors:
- Basic: Available in any vehicle in which the insured travels, whether or not they own the vehicle. Includes complimentary fuel delivery (not including the cost of gas), jump start, towing within 15 miles, ditch removal, replacement of flat tire with usable space, and locksmith services up to $100 per incident.
- Plus: Available only for covered vehicles. Includes towing within 15 miles and up to $500 in trip interruption coverage that reimburses for food, lodging, and alternate transportation when policyholders are stranded at least 100 miles from home.
2. GEICO
GEICO’s emergency roadside assistance benefit is available as a policy add-on that costs at least $14 per year, per car. It includes:
- Unlimited towing not related to an accident
- start battery
- Locksmith services up to $100 per incident
- Flat tire replacement with a usable spare
- Gas delivery up to a full tank
3. Allstate
- Allstate roadside assistance options come in three types: Allstate Motor Club – This is Allstate’s response to AAA. Available to the general public, not just Allstate policyholders. Roadside Advantage plan ($5 per month and $52 for the first year) includes up to $100 in supplemental roadside assistance services (lockout, gas delivery, jump start, and towing), plus $500 in arrest coverage, $750 in trip interruption coverage, and exclusive discounts with travel partners. Platinum Elite Plan ($8 per month for the first year) includes up to $250 in supplemental roadside assistance, unlimited towing, RV and motorcycle coverage, $2,000 in arrest bond coverage, $1,500 in coverage trip interruption reports, and free CARFAX reports.
- Good Hands Rescue – Available to everyone, including non-Allstate policyholders. This pay-per-use scheme establishes fees for basic roadside assistance and towing services. Costs for lockouts, gas delivery (not including the cost of gas), jumps, and tire changes start at $69 per incident. Towing costs start at $99 per incident, plus $4.25 per mile over five miles. These prices are subject to change without notice.
- Policy Add-On – Available only to Allstate policyholders. Includes 24/7 roadside assistance services such as jump starts, gas delivery, and flat tire replacement, as well as towing to nearby auto repair facilities. Cost varies based on location, covered vehicles, existing policy parameters, driving history, and other factors, but is likely to be at least $10 more per year.
Progressive
Progressive roadside assistance coverage is available as a policy add-on. Your cost varies widely, depending on driving history, vehicle make and model, location, packages, and other factors. However, you can expect it to add at least $10 per year to your policy costs.
Includes the following complimentary services:
- Tow within a 15-mile radius or to the nearest qualified repair facility
- Battery jump start
- Extrication and winch
- Gas delivery (not including fuel costs)
- Locksmith services (not including key replacement costs)
- tire changes
- Up to one hour of disability-related work
StateFarm
State Farm Emergency Road Service is available as a policy add-on or on an a la carte basis for current policyholders who have not purchased the add-on in advance. The add-on typically costs at least $10 per year, while a la carte services are available at special rates negotiated by State Farm.
Includes the following complimentary services:
- Work needed to fix the immediate cause of the failure, if possible
- Towing to the nearest qualified repair facility, regardless of distance
- Oil and gas delivery (excluding the cost of materials)
- Extrication and winch
- Battery jump start
- locksmith services
Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual’s roadside assistance service is available as a policy add-on for at least an additional $10 per year. Includes the following complimentary services:
- Towing to the nearest qualified repair facility, regardless of distance
- Battery jump start
- tire change
- Gas delivery (excluding fuel cost)
- locksmith services
AAA Membership Benefits
- Timely service in a variety of emergencies. AAA’s flagship roadside assistance service is available 24/7. Whether you’re on a country road in the middle of the night or an urban highway in the middle of rush hour, you can trust AAA to answer your distress call and dispatch in-network assistance promptly.
- It can dramatically reduce the cost of owning vintage cars. Depending on the time of the call (after-hours service typically costs more) and the distances involved (longer jobs cost more), an emergency tow can cost anywhere from less than $50 to more than $100. That means a single Complimentary towing per year is usually enough to cover the cost of a classic membership. If your primary vehicle is an older car that’s prone to breakdowns or battery problems, you’ll likely need at least one tow per year, probably more. You may also need other discounted or supplemental AAA services, such as locksmith, car rental, jump start, and battery replacement. AAA will not cover the full cost of repairing mechanical defects, replacing old parts, or completely replacing your car,
- Can be used with any vehicle. When it comes to servicing non-member vehicles, AAA adheres to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy: Customer contact person will not ask if you own the car that needs service, as long as you Do not do it. make it obvious that it’s not yours I freely admit to using my own AAA membership to help friends in need and have never been questioned or challenged.
- Includes Potentially Valuable Travel Benefits and Merchant Discounts. AAA Premier members can take advantage of potentially valuable travel benefits, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance and global emergency assistance. All AAA members have access to free or low-cost travel agency services, plus discounts with thousands of merchants across the country and the world, some of which are up to 50% off list prices. For diligent members who travel often or spend lavishly with partner merchants, these perks and discounts can cover the cost of membership.
- AAA offers its insurance products. AAA offers its auto, home, life, and excess liability insurance policies. Although it is difficult to generalize about the extent of any possible discount, AAA claims that these policies are cheaper for members than comparable products offered by competing insurers.
- It has a trusted network of auto repair partners. AAA has a trusted network of auto repair facilities that offer 10% discounts ($50 maximum on work worth more than $500) to AAA members. That’s a substantial break in the cost of essential or recommended auto repairs. Additionally, AAA-approved repair providers are required to guarantee their work for two years or 24,000 miles, providing valuable peace of mind for people who own older vehicles.
Drawbacks of AAA Membership
- Not profitable for infrequent users. If your car is in good working order and you don’t regularly take advantage of value-added services like travel booking, insurance coverage, dealer discounts, and home closing assistance, you probably won’t get your money’s worth. AAA at any price point. While a case can be made to carry AAA membership solely for merchant discounts, it takes some effort (and remembering) to consistently maximize them. And if you don’t spend much at AAA partner merchants, those discounts won’t matter anyway.
- Classic/Basic membership perks aren’t nearly as generous. AAA Classic/Basic membership comes with four free roadside assistance calls a year, but many of its other benefits are less generous. For example, your vehicle lockout coverage is only worth $60 per visit, which probably isn’t enough to cover long or complicated calls. It also lacks courtesy battery replacement, which can be worth $100 or more. And Classic/Basic members who invoke the towing benefit usually have no choice but to go to the responder’s facility, where repairs can be more expensive.
- Costs vary by the local club. AAA clubs are free to set their membership fees, so costs can vary significantly from region to region. There’s a little rhyme or reason to this variation, and the costs aren’t necessarily related to local living costs, so the only way to know for sure how much you can expect to pay each year is to check your local club’s website.
- Comparable services from insurance companies may be more profitable. Some insurance companies offer better deals on roadside assistance and value-added services. For example, Allstate Allstate Motor Club is $99 for the first year and includes a host of complimentary or complementary services and coverages that exceed what is available at any AAA price point.
Final word
AAA is much more than a trusted provider of free 24-hour roadside assistance. Members receive a host of free or discounted auto services, exclusive or discounted travel products, member discounts on in-house insurance coverage, and more.
However, these services and benefits only have value when they are used. Many people maintain AAA memberships for the benefit of roadside assistance, rarely if ever taking advantage of the organization’s other offerings. For those with unreliable cars, that’s certainly a profitable strategy. For members with reliable vehicles, it is not. Before you agree to pay $50 or more per year for another club membership, make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
