AARP Travel Discounts Fail to Impress

Some suppliers still offer discounts to AARP members—mainly for hotels and rental cars. The details have changed a bit since my last summer update, but the basic conclusions remain: Many of AARP's discounts are also available to travelers of any age through AAA, credit cards, or other organizations. Still, if you're 50 or over, AARP is useful as a fallback position to be used when you can't find a better deal.

AARP's hotel discount program features deals with 29 brand names, 25 of them belonging to just three ownership/licensing groups:

• Choice Hotels brands are Cambria Suites (new), Clarion, Comfort Inn/Suites, Econo Lodge, MainStay Suites, Quality Inns, Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn, Suburban Extended Stay, and Ascend, the group's new upscale venture. The group's overall policy for AARP members remains 15 percent off the best available rate at participating locations.
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide brands are Four Points, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, Sheraton, St. Regis, W Hotels, and Westin, plus Aloft and Element, the group's new midprice entries. The AARP deal with Starwood is now listed as 5 to 15 percent off, plus occasional other deals and promotions.
• Wyndham brands are Baymont Inns, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge, Wingate Inns, and Wyndham; former Amerihost properties have been rebranded as Baymont Inns. The AARP formula there is 10 percent off the best available rate.

The other three chains are Best Western, which offers "at least" 10 percent at participating locations in the U.S., Canada, and many other locations throughout the world; Hampton Inns, offering 10 percent off "selected" rates, which may not be a deal at all; and La Quinta Inn & Suites, with 10 percent off the best rate.

Over the years, I've found members of AAA and other large organizations get about the same deals as AARP provides. Also, most of the participating chains also offer the same deals to any senior, although the qualifying ages may be higher than AARP's 50 years.

Although not affiliated with AARP, other big chains offer senior discounts. InterContinental (InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites brands) says it offers unspecified discounts to seniors ages 62 or over or to members of a "retired persons organization." And individual locations of other chains such as Hilton, Marriott, and Radisson also offer senior discounts, although not necessarily starting at age 50.

AARP's featured resort deals, with Beaches and Sandals all-inclusives, are unspecified. Here, you're better off with seasonal and other short-term promotions.

AARP offers a few other travel deals:

• Reduced membership—up to 18 percent off—in the MedjetAssist emergency evacuation program. The insurance is limited to members age 75 or under; it's strictly for medical and does not include trip-cancellation.
• Car rental discounts up to 25 percent with Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, and National Car Rental, plus other short term promotions; also, enhanced primary liability insurance coverage of $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 ($100,000/$300,000/$25,000 from Hertz) and a maximum personal liability for collision/loss of $5000 ($3000 from National). Be sure to use the AARP number when you book.
• Cruise/tour discounts—$50 to $200 per person—on AMA Waterways river cruises; Collette Vacations, DuVine Adventures, General Tours, Grandtravel, Hurtigruten cruises, Untours, and Viking River Cruises, plus 5 percent discounts on Right Vacation rentals.

AARP currently lists no airline discounts. For air tickets (and other services) AARP's online Travel Center, run by Expedia.com, charges no booking fees for air tickets or cruises.

I still give AARP the nod for car rentals and the MedjetAssist program. Otherwise, for the most part, the range of discounts you can get through AARP is similar—yet not identical—to deals travelers of any age can get through other sources. For hotels, you can usually do much better through Hotwire or priceline.com. If you belong to AARP, by all means check for its discounts. But don't assume that they're the best you can get—always check your any-age options, too.

(Editor's note: SmarterTravel.com is a member of the TripAdvisor Media Network, an operating company of Expedia, Inc. Expedia, Inc. also owns Expedia.com and Hotwire.)