Don’t book flights with AAA

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure of her reasoning but my mil thought that there was some advantage to booking a flight through AAA. She spent several hours yesterday choosing her flight and then had to call them several times because they wouldn’t accept her credit card. She got a confirmation number and thought everything was great.

This morning she went to the airline website (Air France) to check her reservation and the confirmation number didn’t work. She called AAA and they told her that the reservation hadn’t been confirmed because there was a price change. So unlike the 24 hour booking rule with airlines that protect the consumer and allows you to cancel if you change your mind or get a better price 24 hour rule is there to protect them.

I then looked at the fine print to see that the terms of the booking show that you must call a AAA number within 24 hours of booking to confirm the flight and that bookings are not finalized until you do that and are subject to price changes.

So now she is attempting to book the flight again (not through AAA) and of course it’s more expensive and she’s super annoyed.

[Anonymous]

I did not even know you could book a flight through AAA! I thought AAA was only for car stuff and discounts.

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t sound like a AAA problem.

[Anonymous]

Only elderly use AAA...I can't believe it's still in existence. I guess it's barely hanging on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only elderly use AAA...I can't believe it's still in existence. I guess it's barely hanging on.

+1
And it seems to work just like every other aged out obsolete service. A confirmation call in 24 hours? My. I bet you can order up some handy travelers cheques in the same call to save time.

[Anonymous]

Most modern day travelers know you always book direct (with the airline, hotel, rental car, etc.) Never use a third party - you cede control and also limit your recourse options if anything goes amiss. Always always book direct.

[Anonymous]

AAA is good for bringing a battery, changing tire, tow.

[Anonymous]

AAA is good for one thing -- roadside assistance. With AAA, the roadside assistance is tied to the driver, not the car. That means if you're driving grandma's car and it gets a flat, you're covered.

Most assistance from auto insurers is tied to the specific car.

[Anonymous]

Um don’t hate. I’m Gen X and let’s not get rid of all services that involve actual humans please. AAA kicked ass when I moved to a new state and had to register three cars while both of us started new jobs, kiddo starting a new school, getting our house/ insurance in order. That staff were soooo helpful.

[Anonymous]

This was a simple psa that may be useful for someone.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. That does sound very iffy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAA is good for bringing a battery, changing tire, tow.

I still use them for hotel discounts (booked directly through hotel) and cheap attraction tickets too.

The days have long passed since I went to an actual AAA office with my mom to pick up state maps and travel brochures.

[Anonymous]

Always book the flight directly through the airline. The same goes for the hotel. There is little to no financial advantage when using a third party to make your reservations and a lot can go wrong when you add a middleman to the mix. Chance are that AAA uses a subcontractor (4th party?) to make the bookings which causes an even longer delay and even more chances for errors.

[Anonymous]

They are awesome. It has the most members ever at over 60 million.

[Anonymous]

I often use my AAA discount at hotels — always booked directly with the hotel website. It saves me a fair bit of money.