Looking to sign up or upgrade for AAA? Then you seem to be persuaded by some features provided by them, or some word of mouth of existing AAA members. Well, its not compulsory that only these two examples could be the one which could have made your mind to sign up for this membership, it could be any.
The case could be different for you, for example if you are a millennial whose any of the family member had earlier taken a AAA membership, with you as a family member inside the plan. Then you could have become pretty familiar with the organisation, and now wish to get an individual card, or upgrade it. If this is so, then may you enjoy and be responsible with your freedom.
But by assuming, that you are not much familiar with ‘AAA’ and its membership, let’s try and understand some background of this organisation.
American Automobile Association, famously described by its acronym AAA is a non-profit automobile organisation, which was first established in 1902 by the amalgamation of several automobile organisations in the US at that time. It’s membership base, which was counted in thousands at that time, has now reached to the calculation of millions with over 60 million members. The organisation is today present across international regions too, like Canada, giving it an international presence.
Today, AAA is known to be providing a range of services to its members, like roadside assistance in case of any tire issue, engine breakdown, fuel refill, tow assistance etc. Not just that, it also dares to provide auto insurance to its members, which offers few coverages under the ambit of motor insurance. Just to mention, AAA also provides notary services, although this service is not limited to just the members.
Do I have to be there for AAA to tow my car
So now to proceed with the topic in heading, let’s first see that how many membership plans there are exactly in AAA, and what features and services they have to offer, and at what cost.
Types of Membership in AAA
AAA offers three membership plans, namely:
- Classic
- Plus, and
- Premier
The organisation gives a Card to its members as a proof of membership. Let’s see a detailed view of all these cards.
Classic
So first in the list comes to be the Classic membership plan. This plan is recommended for those who live and drive by in the town itself, and are not much of a traveller. This is the most affordable plan amongst all the three available options.
It offers all the basic services like towing, flat tire assistance, 24×7 support etc, although there is a limitation to non-paid services, depending on the scale of help asked. Like the towing service is available to 3 miles for free, post that, the towing service would be charged at applicable rates (depending on the state you are in)
Services like re-fuelling are free, where you’ll only need to pay the price for the fuel only. It could come in handy in situations if you run out of gas in some area which is not too close to the gas station.
Classic plan gives you the option to make 4 free requests for roadside assistance in a year. The accessibility to AAA maps and Tour Book Guide comes by default with this membership.
Lock & Key service will also be provided to the extent of $50. This service could prove to be helpful for those situations, where you accidentally lock out yourself.
To add one more feature, it would also avail you with the support of Emergency Transport Assistance.
So how much the Classic plan costs? There is no uniform answer to it, as the membership plan changes from state to state in the United States.
For eg- The cost of classic membership in Indiana is $81 per year, whereas the same membership would cost you $66 per year in Ohio.
So, check out your region’s AAA website, to get the idea of the amount you are supposed to pay for the Classic AAA membership in your region.
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Plus
Just like the name, you get many things added with the Plus membership. So given the fact that you may need the services in this plan and you could afford it as well, you may surely choose to have it.
Two similarities that this plan has with the Classic plan, is the limit of 4 free roadside assistance requests in a year, and the flat tire assistance. Apart from this, there are many additions in this plan as compared to the Classic option.
In terms of towing assistance, this plan could fetch you a maximum of 100 miles of towing service, absolutely for no extra charge, if unluckily you are stranded somewhere very far, and need to get the vehicle towed for more than 100 miles, then you will need to pay the appropriate charges for it.
Emergency Refuelling assistance is also included in this plan, where unlike the classic plan, even the fuel is complimentary, which means that you might need to pay for the fuel as well.
For those unlucky ones, whose future looks out to get them locked out from their car, they could seek the assistance for Lock and Key to the tune of $100 under this plan. The coverage in Lock assistance is twice than that of the previous plan.
If you are a wanderer, and like to have some family or friends outing on some caravan or vanity van, then there is an option to avail coverage for Recreational Vehicles(RV) as well by adding few extra bucks under the plan’s price breakdown. This feature has potential to save your camping mood.
Now let’s talk about the charges, which you could be asked to pay to avail AAA’s Plus Membership. Just as mentioned earlier, there is no uniformity in the prices, as it could vary state by state. To give a basic idea, Plus membership would cost $108/year in Ohio, and $165/year in Indiana, without RV coverage.
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Premier
There is almost always a feeling of feeling special with the premium scale of services for almost anything.
The premier membership plan would give you the freedom to make 5 requests for roadside assistance per year, which is ‘one more’ available request than the Plus and Classic plans.
At some places you will get the usual free towing assistance till 100 miles, while at some place AAA Premier membership could fetch you the same assistance for nearly 200 miles.
Flat tire service is as usual available at your call, and just like the Plus plan, the Emergency refuelling would be done for no charge at all, which means that even the fuel would be complimentary.
Coverage for getting locked in or out of your car is greater than both Classic and Plus memberships, as the Premier plan offers to cover Lock & Key assistance till the extent of $150.
Similar to the Plus version, Premier also has the option for RV assistance by pushing in some extra cash in the membership.
As usual, the cost of Premier membership would be the highest of all, but how much is it? Just to repeat, price uniformity is not available, hence to give a basic idea of the pricing, look the prices for Ohio AAA, and Indiana AAA, which are $148/year and $225/year respectively.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, THAT FEW SERVICES AND SCALE OF SERVICES MIGHT DIFFER FROM REGION TO REGION.
Now that you are somewhat familiar with the different plans, let’s look at the option and process, through which you could upgrade your AAA membership.
How to Upgrade AAA Membership
There are various ways for doing it, and all of them are listed below
Phone
Try calling your AAA branch to find out about the due procedure to do so, including the payment options. Making a telephone call could not only help you in upgrading your services, but could help you in knowing more about the options to do so. And whichever option seems feasible to you, then you may duly proceed with it.
But anyways, if you need any sort of help for membership upgradation, feel free to call at the designated number of your AAA branch, and you might find further help from there.
Call on this number: 1-800-222-8252 for further assistance and visit this link for reading the terms of membership AAA.com/MemberTerms
Web
When you are living in 21st century, why not reap the benefits of internet. If you want to upgrade your membership at the comfort of your home > Visit your regional website > login > find the option which resembles ‘membership’.
After that, you might see the option of membership upgradation, and if you see one, click on it, and follow the steps as the page suggests, and you will be able to successfully become a Plus or Premier AAA member by sitting at the comfort of your couch.
or you can also click on this link and follow the procedures https://northeast.aaa.com/membership/my-aaa/upgrade-now.html
Mobile Application
You can do the same thing which you are ought to do in the option above, right in the mobile application of AAA.
Download the mobile application of AAA:
- Apple Devices : https://apps.apple.com/app/aaa
- Android Devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/aaa
First you need to login, then you will need to look out for options which says “upgrade membership”, then after a few next steps, you will be asked to pay, and done.
Did this post help you in getting the required answer for your query? If Yes, then it’s possibly nice for you, if not, then try getting in touch with your regional AAA on their respective contact number, as they would definitely be able to help you for membership upgradation.
