AAA Talk

AAA Names Five and Four Star Restaurants/ Lodgings

We all know about the great towing and road service of AAA. We know they help with travel arrangements and can get your discounts on hotels and travel. We know they are a trusted news and statistic source for all driving related issues. You can also add food critic to that list as well.

AAA just recently releases their list of five and four restaurants for several cities throughout the United States. These restaurants represent the best of the best in cuisine from gourmet to down home. Odds are you'll pay out the teeth to eat their food, but at least you know it's the best. As you can probably guess, the five star restaurants are the very best with four star not too far behind.

While the restaurants are broken down by region, there are 179 named across the U.S. These restaurants and lodging make up just .3 percent of the more than 59,000 AAA approved and diamond rated establishments in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Read more about AAA Names Five and Four Star Restaurants/ Lodgings

AAA: Your Travel Agent

We have all seen the commercial on the television with William Shatner for Priceline and the little gnome for Travelocity, but did you know what you can plan your entire trip using AAA. AAA has an online travel agency that can help you out.

Lets start with the discounts. AAA has an enormous amount of discounts on everything from tickets to theme parks to restaurants. Before you head out on your trip, make sure to check them out for great deals.

The hardest part of planning a trip is getting the best deal on flights and hotels. If you go to a large urban area, then you have to deal with potentially dozens of hotels and more than one airport. The AAA travel agency gives you the ability to find the best deals on flight, flight and hotel and, of course, flight, hotel and car.

Why surf the web on all these travel sites that you have no idea who they are or if they are reputable. AAA has been around for every and if you already have a membership, then you know how reliable they are. If you have any problems, then you can call customer service and talk to an actual person. That's a lot more than you would get if you picked one of those other travel sites. Read more about AAA: Your Travel Agent

AAA as a news source

I spent seven years as a reporter writing about everything from winter weather to the State of the Union and everything in-between. Any time we had a story about driving, road conditions or winter preparedness, the one place my editors always wanted me to go to was AAA.

AAA is more than just a service for road emergencies and mapping out your trip. They are an important source of news and information about travel. AAA collects statistics and does studies on driving behavior, crashes, sleeping at the wheel and much much more.

If it involves driving on the road, AAA probably has done a study on it. When I needed information on what drivers should keep in their car for winter, I called AAA. When I needed to know how many people were expected to be on the road for Thanksgiving, I called AAA. Read more about AAA as a news source

AAA Contractors

One of the things I enjoy about AAA is that I know whoever is called in has been vetted by the company, and I am guaranteed good service. When you are in an area that you are not familiar with and you need someone to tow you or fix a flat tire, the last thing you want to do is have to flip through a phone book.

This is doubly true if you're stranded on the side of the road in the middle of snow storm. I once had to ask the 911 operator to send someone, I didn't care who. That is just a recipe for disaster. You don't know if these people are qualified, they may damage your car, charge you way to much, etc.

When you get a AAA contractor, you know you are getting someone that AAA has checked out. These people get a lot of business from AAA and they want to make sure those customers are taken care of. The last thing they want is to irritate their best customers and get a negative review. I am sure those contracts are updated regularly and no one wants to lose a AAA contract. Read more about AAA Contractors

Is AAA Worth the Cost?

I was a AAA hold out for a long time. Why? I'll admit that it was because I was totally and completely cheap. I am a instant gratification kind of person, and if the results weren't immediate, then I had a hard time putting my money into it.

When my boss finally convinced me to invest in the yearly membership, I was skeptical. I basically did it for the long distance towing, but found out it was much more than just a quick tow back home. Roadside assistance included everything from tire changes to a battery charge.

I remember one time my tire was flat and they came put a new tire on. Sure, I had to pay for the tire, but it certainly saved me a lot of time and effort. I once changed a tire in the dead of winter by myself and it was not a happy occurrence. Read more about Is AAA Worth the Cost?

My First AAA Experience

"I love AAA and will always keep them handy."

For the longest time, my commute to work was only about five minutes. While my coworkers talked about getting AAA, I could never understand the use. Why pay for something that my insurance provided anyway.

They would break down and get a tow and praise the great AAA, but I got the same thing from my cheap insurance. Why should I pay all that money for something I felt I already got. That all changed when I got my new job.

Suddenly, I found myself traveling more than 80 miles each way on a daily basis. It was mostly interstate driving, and for the first year, I had no problems at all. My boss was a great guy and thought that I should probably get AAA just in case. Their membership included four 100 mile tows per year, while my insurance was like 25 or 50 miles. Read more about My First AAA Experience