I’ve had AAA for years. When I was single and prone to locking myself out of my car, they saved my bacon. Multiple times.
The YNAB 34 Day Challenge has really got me questioning all of our recurring expenses. When the $120 bill to renew our AAA membership came in, I had to ask, “Is it worth it?” Roadside assistance isn’t something we’ve needed a lot. We keep our cars in pretty good shape, but when I was a single woman, I loved having the safety net. In my first few years living on my own, my car had manual locks, and I had a habit of locking my keys inside at least once a year. It was totally worth it then!
This reevaluation comes on the heels of reevaluating our Auto Insurance. It turns out we get Towing and Labor coverage from USAA for $19.76 for both cars for a year.
The big difference that we’ve noticed is that when we break down in Colorado, AAA is there in 15 to 20 minutes and USAA takes upwards of 3 hours to dispatch a repair vehicle. On average, we’ve needed Roadside Assistance maybe once a year. That was before COVID, when we actually went places and saw people.
So What Does AAA Get Us?
| Benefit | AAA | USAA |
| Towing – up to 7 miles per member | X | X |
| Bicycle assistance – essentially towing for your bike, up to 7 miles | X | |
| Emergency fuel, delivered at retail prices | X | X |
| Auto Locksmith Services | X | X |
| Extricating via Winch | X | |
| Basic Mechanical Tweaking | X | X |
| Jumpstart | X | X |
| Change a Flat Tire | X | X |
| Roadside EV Charging | X |
What about the discounts?
Discounts are only worth it if you were going to spend the money anyway. I’ve been suckered in by amazing discount packaged in the past, only to find out that I never use them any way. It’s the coupon effect – you end up spending more than you intended because you have a coupon.
| Discounts | Savings |
| Auto Mechanic – $40 off a $600 bill | $40.00 |
| $10 off Uber Eats (use twice) | $20.00 |
| 20% off Harry and David | $10.60 |
| Free Passport Photo | $15.00 |
| Total Possible Savings | $85.60 |
| Actual 2020 Savings | $40.00 |
When I went through the list of discounts, I was surprised by all the different options. If we were traveling and going out, we could save more.
| Post COVID Discounts | Savings |
| Hampton Inn (and other Hilton Family Hotels) | $10/night |
| Denver Center for the Performing Arts – 20% per ticket | $2-$20 |
| Harkins Theaters – $9.50 a Ticket instead of $12 | $5 per movie |
| Regal Theaters – 35% off Tickets | $11.20 per movie |
In the grand scheme of things, these additional post-COVID discounts are paltry. When we go out to the movies, we go to The Alamo, which isn’t covered in the discounts. We also have the option to get bundles of tickets at Costco for a similar discount. While it would be amazing to get a discount at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, I don’t mind giving them $20 extra because of the great work that they do. I can also probably get a better hotel discount by shopping around.
The Bottom Line
AAA isn’t worth it for us right now. It probably isn’t worth it for us in the post-COVID times either. We get the same services for $100 less through our insurance, even though it’s a little bit more inconvenient.
Now to figure out how to stop them from auto-charging our credit card!