Blog: Save money with auto club discounts

TAMPA - AAA (also known as the American Automobile Association) not only assists you when you having car trouble (locked out, broken down, no gas), they also have great discounts from amusement park tickets to hotels to movie tickets.

I have been a member since 1990. My membership was bought as a Christmas gift from my parents. The funny thing is, I can’t remember what came first, my license or my AAA membership.

Over the years, I have saved lots of money -- not only with various entertainment tickets, but with hotel stays, car insurance rates, rental cars and maps.

Examples of AAA discounts:

• Restaurants: save 10% or get a free appetizer at some of your favorite places to eat such as: Outback, Green Iguana, the Hard Rock Café and Denny’s just to name a few.
• Amusements: Discounted tickets at Disney, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center, Universal, Wet n’ Wild and more.
• Movie Tickets: Discounted tickets at AMC, Muvico, Regal Cinemas and more.
• Shopping: Various savings at Barnes and Noble, Premium Outlets, Payless, Target.com, Sears Optical and more.

How good are the savings?

AAA may pay for itself if you take advantage of the savings like going to Disney with the family and using your AAA discount at a hotel and eat at a restaurant where they honor the AAA discount.

A coworker was locked out of his car and paid $150 to have a locksmith come out and open his car. AAA will do it for free for its members. With $150, my coworker could have paid 2 years worth of AAA membership.

Membership fees begin at $64 year, and you can add family members for as little as $15. They offer different membership levels, too.

To learn more about AAA, visit http://www.aaasouth.com

So get going! Start saving! Look for more money-saving tips to come soon.