Calculate This!

By Sandy Klim

There are lots of stories from folks who talk about their car breaking down and AAA coming to the rescue. There's John, a friend of mine in Michigan, whose car broke down in the driving rain. On top of that, he had a huge canoe strapped onto his decade-old Chevy—secured with three pairs of knee socks—now there's a challenge for any tow truck driver.

Or Celia, my dog-walking friend who, ironically, had all of the dogs that she walks in her car when she broke down. Fortunately, her tow truck driver was a dog lover. He made sure Celia and the dogs were properly cared for.

Road service is really a great benefit, but when I ask people about "using" their card for savings, they give me a strange look. I quickly explain that there are so many discounts that you get as a AAA member, your membership can easily pay for itself. For example, last Christmas alone, I easily paid for my membership and then some.

I love to order gifts online. Everything I bought from Target.com and Barnes and Noble.com gave me a 10 percent discount. I ordered about $200 worth of gifts, so I saved $20.

My daughter wanted a good digital camera. I waited until Circuit City had a sale and then used my AAA 10 percent discount. So, I saved another $35 on this purchase alone.

And, of course, there's dozens of attraction ticket discounts. When we decided to go to Universal Orlando, I stopped by my local AAA office and saved more than $17 on each ticket.

During the holidays, I saved over $123 on these few purchases alone! So get ready if you meet me at a party and say you're no longer a AAA member because emergency road service comes with your car's warranty. I may just get out my calculator!

Editor-in-chief, AAA Going Places
letters@aaagoingplaces.com

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