AARP membership benefits?

August 12, 2010 2:35 PM

Which benefits of AARP membership have you found useful, or heard of being so?
posted by telstar to Work & Money (7 answers total)

When they started sending me brochures a few years back, I thought, "Oh, okay, only ten bucks a year" (or whatever it was), and I joined right up. For the next year, I examined all the stuff they sent, the newsletters and magazines and incessant solicitations for insurance and old-guy gear, and finally got so disgusted I quit. It was just a marketing gambit, the whole thing.

That was then. This is now, and I find they've got the best deal for me on Medigap insurance, so I've re-joined and remain a member. I even wrote a piece for one of their publications.

Their political positions are a bit to my right, but they helped get a half-assed health-care bill passed, so that's something. Your opinions may vary.

All things considered, I'd rather be younger.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 3:10 PM on August 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Similar experience here. I signed up a few years ago. The magazine was lightweight and trashworthy, and the pitches to buy stuff were not convincing. When Medicare time rolls around, I'll take a look and see if anything they offer is useful. I appreciate their lobbying efforts when they side with individuals, and oppose them when they side with corporations.
posted by justcorbly at 3:29 PM on August 12, 2010

I figure they are one of the strongest lobbying efforts to preserve Social Security, which is now quite important to me.
posted by Anitanola at 4:09 PM on August 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was a member for a number of years. I left them when they supported this outrageous health care nonsense.
They are mostly advertising for their own benefit. And that magazine is pure trash.
posted by JayRwv at 4:34 PM on August 12, 2010

in my 4th year of membership & haven't found anything of benefit. yet. i'm guessing that as i get older, that *may* change. i'm really not much of a fan of nonprofit lobbying groups that seem to be most focused on their own longevity. as far as i know, though, it's the only game in town for older folks. what i'm hoping to get out of it is good info on (and possibly good group rates for) health insurance, and maybe some good info on housing options for the aging crowd. right now all i see is travel articles & 'look what celeb just turned 50!' (and got a free lifetime membership in return for letting us pimp him/her out for a month).
posted by msconduct at 5:07 PM on August 12, 2010

If we book a hotel we always ask if they have AARP rates and that is usually cheaper than everything else. We're not AAA or military, government etc. so this is about the best deal we get.

Other than that, ummmm nothing.
posted by 543DoublePlay at 5:15 PM on August 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

Great question. I don't even open the mailings so I do vaguely wonder what I may be missing. I can't stand their materials, they are insulting. I may be older but I still have some aesthetic standards, for goodness sakes.
posted by thinkpiece at 4:22 AM on August 13, 2010 [1 favorite]