Do RVers Benefit from AARP Discounts?
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is a huge organization that offers members a wide range of discounts, services, resources, and information. Below is an overview of the pros and cons of an AARP membership to help you determine if membership is right for you.
Join at any age
Here’s a news flash… You don’t even need to be retired to join AARP and take advantage of all the benefits and discounts offered to members. In fact, you don’t even have to be over 50. They offer a full membership for those 50 and over as well as an Associate membership for those under 50.
Get access without joining
The fact is, for just $16 per year, you can join AARP at any age, and many of their benefits would be enjoyed by people of all ages. There is one even lesser-known fact about AARP, and that is that you can sign-up, and access many of their vast resources, without even paying the $16 annual fee. But to access ALL the discounts and to receive their magazine, it will cost you the equivalent of $1.33 per month.
Membership benefits and AARP discounts
Membership provides a variety of discounts and savings. It includes a 10% discount on qualifying pharmaceutical products at Walgreens, or Walmart, and Vision Care at Target. Discounts are also available on hearing aids, dental care, long term health insurance, supplemental health insurance, home, auto, property, and pet insurance.
AARP members also have access to free online games. They also enjoy a wide range of online classes and events for entertainment, education, job tips, self-improvement, and fun. The AAPR website and magazine include a wide selection of articles about investing, retirement planning, money management, and other financial discussions and resources. These benefits can benefit people of all ages.
Perhaps people who have not yet reached retirement age would benefit the most from some of this sage advice. This fact alone might be reason enough for people to join before retirement.
Does AARP offer camping discounts?
However, if you’re thinking about joining AARP solely for the discounts it offers on camping, I would recommend against it. My research indicates that some campgrounds may offer a 10% on your stay with an AARP membership. But I could not find a full listing of these RV parks in the AARP database.
Additionally, I believe that many of these parks also offer Good Sam or Passport America membership discounts and those discounts could be up to 50% off.
Camping discounts may not be a great reason to join AARP. But membership does provide access to additional discounts on other products and services. These discounts include travel arrangements, discounts at some restaurants, on groceries, gas, and auto services. Additionally, AARP teamed up with Consumer Cellular to secure discounted cellular plans for members. AARP membership opens a wide library of popular online and print books at a discount.
Virtual communities
The point is, you don’t have to be over 62 & retired to benefit from an AARP membership. The name says, “Retired Persons” and more and more people are finding ways to retire in their 30s and 40s. Virtual communities within the AARP membership are geared for all types of interests and you can join these groups online to find like-minded people who share your interests and passions. With 38 million members, you’re sure to find connections in these virtual communities.
Job search
Additionally, AARP offers a free job search platform to help their members over 50 who still want to work find a new job that’s right for them. The job search function focuses on the benefits of hiring experienced workers. This online tool can be filtered by location, part-time vs full-time work, and more.
Senior discounts
For just $16 per year, AARP offers its members a lot of valuable resources. AARP membership also gives discounts but many of these same discounts are available to all seniors whether you’re an AARP member or not. Senior discounts are often available to people over 50. Or in some cases, over 65 if you just remember to ask.
Many restaurants offer senior discounts. And many grocery stores have a particular day of the week where all groceries are sold to seniors at a discount. Auto services, travel agencies, and other service providers may also offer senior discounts if you remember to ask.
From this prospective, AARP might be a bigger benefit for people who are younger than 50. Younger people don’t qualify for senior discounts, unless they have an AARP affiliation. Additionally, the financial planning strategies available through AARP are more effective the earlier they are incorporated in a person’s work life. Therefore, younger people who join AARP might benefit the most from their membership.
Conclusion
AARP has a lot of good benefits, and you may be able to save money with a membership. Now you know what the pros and cons of AARP membership. Only you can decide if joining AARP makes sense for you. If you’re joining just for the camping discounts, it’s probably not worth it. You can get higher discounts from other memberships.
One of the best parts about RVing is engaging with the community of traveling enthusiasts. iRV2 forums allow folks to chat with other RVers online, and get other perspectives on everything RVing, including products, destinations, RV mods, and much more.
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Peggy Dent is an author, writer, and full-time RVer, traveling around the US and Canada. She’s traveled more than 130,000 miles in a motorhome, over the past 20 years, and is currently writing for the RV industry. You can contact her through her website at www.APenInYourHand.com
Well the biggest issue with AARP is their left wing politics. I can’t support them given the ideals they believe in and support with the members monies.
Amen, brother.
I kinda think you owe it to your conservative readers to compare AMAC benefits as well. And I say this having no idea if they are at all competetive or not. 😉
The best discount offered by AARP is RV insurance. They have teamed up with The Hartford for quality insurance at a very reasonable cost. There insurance cost is 1/5 the cost of other major insurers ($500 vs $2500 for my class A). I’ve been with them for five years with no problems or major price increases including one claim.
And if AARP isn’t your cup of tea perhaps AMAC might be. Many discounts available there too. https://amac.us/
AARP supported Obamacare. I quite when I found that out!!
Not interested in AARP since they only seem to support left leaning Democrats and I am a proud conservative.
That was meant for Pat Richter.
If you like political lobbyists the go ahead and join AARP. I feel one of the biggest threats to our democracy is political lobbyists and AARP has a lot of muscle. If you are a member you have no right to speak against ANY lobbying organization; think about it!
Also, when a business offers a discount to members of an organization they have to charge nonmembers more. So if you get a discount your children have to pay more! It’s discrimination pure and simple!
Before you pay your $16; THINK!
Nice summary! We’ve gotten the most value from the hotel discounts and the discount with 1800flowers
Like others have stated, I don’t agree with AARP’s politics. We have a membership that we use for discounts at numerous places, including campgrounds. Their emails go into the spam folder. When it comes time for renewal we wait until the last minute to renew for the best price. We have never paid more than $9/year for membership, and we normally get 3 times that back in discounts in a given year.
AARP pushed for Obamacare even though it’s members opposed it 50 to 1. They receive a royalty fee of 4.95% of every premium dollar paid by seniors buying Medigap insurance through the organization. They support illegal immigration. They’ve sided with radical environmental groups to oppose coal, gas, and nuclear power. They’re not an advocacy group for seniors. They’re pure evil.
True. So sad. So true.
I hve been a member for about 6 yrs. I agree with some f the things and disagree with others that they do. Pretty much like I agree and disagree with some of the things our city, state, county and federal government do. I get 20 times my membership fee back in the discounts we receive by being members. If you want to talk about those discounts making my kids pay, then what about what they will ay by so many ignoring climate change!