Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Join AAA. AARP has some extreme political positions and they use the money you send them to lobby on




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For the modest $$ AARP wants, we have found the discounts at the various hotel chains well worth their fee. Hilton change actually requires an AARP number to get their preferred senior rates(generally 10-15% off). We prefer Hamptons for our travels so it has worked well. We also have on occasion found a better car rental rate but usually other beat.
Join AAA. AARP has some extreme political sandman hotel calgary positions and they use the money you send them to lobby on behalf of those positions whether or not you agree. While some are of benefit to seniors, many are more ideologically motivated. I would prefer to keep my hotel discounts separate from my politics.
That being said, AAA advocates some things that I don't agree with either. They just aren't nearly as offensive to me as some of the AARP positions. Suffice it to say, I won't be joining AARP when eligible.
sandman hotel calgary Slowly but surely, AARP 's hotel discounts (once a prime feature) are becoming less useful. Unfortunate though sandman hotel calgary it may be, AARP's decline as a discount source simply mirrors the decrease in big-organization discounts in general. More than ever, you should view a senior (or AAA ) discount as a fallback sandman hotel calgary position to be used only when you can't find a better deal.
I've had AAA for years at DW's insistence. sandman hotel calgary And I just turned 50 last year so AARP discounts have never been a factor sandman hotel calgary for consideration. The AAA discounts I get, which I'm not always that dilligent about pursuing, have always more than paid for the cost of membership. Just a few weeks ago the ignition switch in DW's Tahoe left me stranded on a Sunday afternoon shopping trip at Fry's. What I saved in towing costs made up for two years worth of AAA dues.
Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite sandman hotel calgary thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, sandman hotel calgary or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently? -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
I usually call a tow truck. State Farm sells me towing insurance for $6/yr. Claims are simple. The receipt and a hand written sandman hotel calgary note mailed to my agent's office clerk gets me a check within a few days.
Edit: To OP....... Ref your original question, AARP discounts are no big deal but it's hard to imagine DW and I going through a year where one of us doesn't get back the $12 annual membership cost. We usually book hotel/motel room via Priceline, so no AARP discounts there, but the little town in Minnesota we stay at on the eve of a week at fishing camp has no Priceline participants. But, there is a Country Inn that gives a 10% AARP discount and we take advantage of that and save about what the annual dues are that one night.
I've also had a few experiences where I've asked for a senior discount and been told that I had to be 65 (I'm not). But when I countered with the AARP card, they laughed and marked down my ticket...... Clerks, cashiers, employees, etc., generally want to give you a discount. You just have to ask and give them a reason!
The other side of that coin is that AARP advocates for seniors on some issues where, left to their own, politicians would sell us to the devil for a nickle. It becomes an issue of whether your feelings sandman hotel calgary about the so-called extreme political positions (your words) sandman hotel calgary aggravate you more than your appreciation of their advocacy of issues where the politicians would send us to hell in a handbasket.
I'm sure you disagree, and that's fine, but I'd rather see AARP exist than not. The cost is nil. The puny annual fee is token and only there so they can officially claim you as a member during lobbying efforts.
The other side of that coin is that AARP advocates for seniors on some issues where, left to their own, politicians sandman hotel calgary would sell us to the devil for a nickle. It becomes an issue of whether your feelings about the so-called extreme political positions (your words) sandman hotel calgary aggravate you more than your appreciation sandman hotel calgary of their advocacy of issues where the politicians sandman hotel calgary would send us to hell in a handbasket.
I'm sure you disagree, and that's fine, but I'd rather see AARP exist than not. The cost is nil. The puny annual fee is token and only there so they can officially claim you as a member during lobbying efforts.
I'm not saying they do no good for retirees or seniors, but beyond that they promote political ideology that I don't agree with. I think they abuse their position sandman hotel calgary as a representative of older Americans. They take positions that may or may not have direct impact sandman hotel calgary on seniors and suggest they have the backing of their members, most of whom have no idea what they are lobbying for back in Washington. As a contrast, take the NRA. Their members join for the specific purpose of having sandman hotel calgary them lobby for gun rights. If they get a discount or a perk, that is secondary. With AARP most folks join for the perks and get a political lobby they may not want or agree with or even know about. I think that someone should know that before they join and that the AARP should do a better job of telling members where they stand politically and that their fees may contribute to promoting that ideology. Additionally, there are alternative to the AARP, like ASA or AMAC. Then again, you can get discounts like AARP offers by joining Costco or by working for the government or any other number of ways.
Politicians know how much (or not) AARP can influence votes by putting word out in their magazine, etc. Politicians respond accordingly. As I said, I am not in 100% agreement with AARP but enough so that I prefer to have them exist as opposed to not exist. So, I belong.
sandman hotel calgary I also belong to the NRA and have VERY STRONG disagreements with them on a number of issues concerning how they handle their lobbying. But, like AARP, I belong because I would rather have them exist than not exist.
I sometimes sandman hotel calgary join AARP for the discount when I make hotel reservations; sandman hotel calgary the discount is usually about $15/night but I never met a hotel clerk who asks for proof of membership. A cheap alternative would be to carry one of those temporary AARP membership cards that arrive in the mailings OP mentions.
Please, do you know when this deal happens (what month?) on Walgreen's receipts? I have been looking for it this year--and have done it the past 2--but missed it when or if it happened in 2009. Did you catch it and when did that happen ?
AARP is the largest lobbying group in America, but I keep a membership for the hotel discounts--and, also, because every once in awhile I find some money-saving tidbit or other helpful bit of information in their magazine. Overall, it has been worth it for me...and, anyway, I believe there is strength in numbers for us geezers sandman hotel calgary in Washington, so...just my contribution to the cause.
I sometimes join AARP for the discount when I make hotel reservations; the discount is usually about $15/night but I never met a hotel clerk who asks for proof of membership. A cheap alternative sandman hotel calgary would be to carry one of those temporary AARP membership cards that arrive in the mailings OP mentions.
Of course your personal financial situaion is none of my, or anyone's, bizness...... But you're really looking for ways to scam a $12/yr/couple AARP membership? I can only imagine what lengths you might go to in order to get the benefits sandman hotel calgary of a $15/yr organization without paying!
Of course your personal financial situaion is none of my, or anyone's, bizness...... But you're really sandman hotel calgary looking for ways to scam a $12/yr/couple AARP membership? I can only imagine what lengths you might go to in order to get the benefits of a $15/yr organization without paying!
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