That 50 percent discount in the AAA ad indeed elusive

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 7/7/2002

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As Lawrence Brennan planned a recent trip to Quebec, an ad in the May newsletter of the American Automobile Association caught his eye.

It promised AAA members savings of 50 percent or more at thousands of locations worldwide. The 75-year-old Scituate resident immediately called AAA to find out what kinds of discounts were available in Quebec, but he was told the ad's claim was a mistake; it should have read savings "of up to 50 percent" with the AAA card.

Undeterred, Brennan asked if there were any hotels in Quebec offering 50 percent discounts to AAA members. When none could be found, he asked the customer service representative to identify any vendor offering a 50 percent discount to AAA members.

"To make a long story short, they couldn't come up with one example, or anything close," Brennan said. "The best they could do was 10 percent off."

Art Kinsman, an AAA spokesman, apologized for the confusion. He said the inaccurate 50 percent off ad was inserted in the newsletter by the national AAA. He said the same newsletter contained an ad from the local chapter, AAA of Southern New England, offering the correct wording of up to 50 percent. Yet Kinsman said even that ad may be misleading, since it conveys the impression of greater savings than actually exist.

"I could see where people might be misled by that," Kinsman said. He said the organization's marketing people are now considering wording for the ad that would indicate 50 percent savings would only be available in some instances.

There's no need to hype the AAA discounts, which are a sidelight to AAA's core businesses. The association offers emergency towing, insurance, banking, travel agency services, maps, and trip-planning advice. But with its huge membership base, AAA is also able to strike deals with many vendors that yield significant discounts for its members.

The problem for many AAA members is finding the time to locate the vendors offering discounts and remembering to ask for them. The AAA Web site calls the discounts the "AAA membership's best kept secret."

Hertz, for example, offers AAA members a number of discounts. I booked a compact car online for a five-day rental out of Logan International Airport and was quoted a price of $154.48, including taxes and fees. The same rental with AAA discounts cost just $119.96, a savings of 22 percent.

The discounts aren't automatic, however. The Hertz customer service representative offered me a 10 percent discount after I told her I was a AAA member, but when I asked about a special $15 discount for AAA members that I had spotted on the Hertz Web site she said I would need to produce the special discount code. It was easy to retrieve, but it pays to do your homework first.

According to the AAA Web site, Marriott Hotels and Resorts offers AAA members the lowest rate available plus an additional 5 percent discount based on availability.

At the Marriott Long Wharf in Boston, the regular room rate for Aug. 6, 7, and 8 was $349 a night plus tax. There was no AAA discount for those nights, but if one pushed the stay to the weekend of Aug. 10, an AAA discount kicked in and the price of the room dropped to $218 a night, plus tax, a savings of nearly 38 percent.

The AAA card offers discounts on a host of other items. Locally, for example, the card yields a 10 percent discount on purchases at pretzel maker Auntie Anne's and at the Hard Rock Cafe. The card is good for a 10 percent discount on Amtrak tickets, $15 off a Mr. Tux tux, 20 percent off on purchases at Reebok Outlet Stores, 5 percent off many services at Sullivan Tire and Auto Service, and $2 off the daily rate at Park, Shuttle & Fly at Logan.

The savings may not approach 50 percent in any of these cases, but they are still worth pursuing.

Manchester dips

The air travel market caught up with Manchester (N.H.) Airport in May, as the bustling regional airport suffered its first down month of the year.

Passenger traffic was off 1.47 percent compared with the same month a year ago. Still, for the first five months of the year, passenger traffic was up 2.67 percent overall, bucking the prevailing trend nationwide since Sept. 11.

Both Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines exhibited strong growth in May at Manchester, with passenger levels up nearly 18 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

Struggling US Airways brought down the overall passenger totals, as its traffic dropped 41 percent during the month compared with a year ago.

At Logan, passenger levels were still down in May, but not by as much as in previous months: 12.7 percent from a year ago and 17.6 percent for the year. In April, Logan passenger traffic had been off 17.1 percent from the year before.

T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., was off 5.43 percent in May and 6.18 percent for the year.

"The Sensible Traveler" will not appear next week, but will return July 21. Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.