Experience with Roadside Assistance

Old Jul 19, 2008, 9:38 pm
  #16  
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amex/partner called a 2nd service for me after something like an hour. still took a long time. i kind of wonder about VIPs etc waiting. i guess they just have other people wait in their place. ironically in my case i was waiting in place of a family member.
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Old Jul 31, 2008, 9:41 pm
  #17  
 
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AAA vs Amex

Last two times I got a flat tire, I called AAA and was told someone would be there in 90 minutes. So i fumed and changed the tire myself.
"Justice delayed is justice denied"
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Old Aug 1, 2008, 4:29 am
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by ISAWBONES
"Justice delayed is justice denied"
As spoken by Michelin, the God of tires, himself.
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Old Oct 11, 2012, 5:41 am
  #19  
 
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Experience with Roadside Assistance

Trying to decide whether AAA is worth the money, given the Roadside Assistance benefit with AMEX platinum card. Anyone utilized? Any reason to keep AAA?
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Old Oct 11, 2012, 10:48 am
  #20  
 
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Amex contracts with pretty much all the same tow companies as AAA - from my experience the Amex service is superior...one example I had from a few years ago...AAA won't pay for a tow if you drive yourself into some deep snow and need to get pulled out...Amex will credit you $100 for the tow

I've used the Amex service for jump starts and tows and have never looked back.
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Old Oct 11, 2012, 11:34 am
  #21  
 
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AAA

Originally Posted by umustbjokim
Trying to decide whether AAA is worth the money, given the Roadside Assistance benefit with AMEX platinum card. Anyone utilized? Any reason to keep AAA?
AAA is probably better than Amex for discounts. Points are great, cash is better. The AAA car insurance discount through Commerce can pay for a good chunk or all of the AAA membership. I've heard a AAA membership with a trip to Disney can be profitable because of discounts available, but have no personal experience. AAA hotel rates can be the lowest for a given room.

I keep an AAA membership along with CC's that have roadside benefits, because roadside assistance seems to be AAA's main focus, not an add-on.

Actual AAA benefits vary by membership level and your local AAA club. Because of this it is hard to compare AAA with Amex without knowing which AAA club is involved.

If your roadside needs are expected to be simple such as out of gas or a battery boost, you may not need the extra services that AAA offers.

As noted, the quality of the roadside service isn't really with AAA or Amex but is with the companies they contract with, so the real question is the cost of services provided that you would otherwise have to pay for out of pocket.

Going the other way, AAA w/o Plat, AAA has some benefits that aren't as good as Amex Plat or other CC's, but are similar. This doesn't apply to your situation, but I mention it for anyone else reading. They can include status with Starwood and free Hertz #1 gold w/some extra points, A concierge (on paper, more like Visa's Signature than Amex's), travel/trip insurance, and other items that you need to read the fine print about. They may vary depending on your AAA membership level. The Amex Plat is better here, but a AAA membership is a lot less than a Plat annual fee, if you don't need all the Plat benefits.

Originally Posted by sirikit
AAA won't pay for a tow if you drive yourself into some deep snow and need to get pulled out
The local club here offers "Extrication or Winching Service – if car is stuck in a ditch, mud, or snow, it will be freed if it can be reached from the highway with the service provider's ordinary winch or tow cable." with basic membership and offers "Extended Extrication Service - extends coverage to include 2 service vehicles and 2 technicians for up to 1 hour of service" with premier level. A friend had his snow plow equipped 4x4 pulled out of a ditch with AAA Basic or Plus. I don't think they are supposed to do that, but the tow truck driver did.

US-Centric post disclaimer: the above refers to AAA and US Amex benefits used in the US. benefits in other countries may vary, and perhaps the US Amex plat gives better roadside coverage outside the US than an AAA card would. YMMV, and read the fine print

Late 2012 edit: AAA Premier level members have access to a limited concierge service now. One AAA Club page states "Services are provided by World Access when traveling at least 100 miles from member’s primary residence. "; World Access is a subsidiary of Mondial Assistance. The 100 mile distance is what defines a "Covered Trip" unlike the American Express Platinum Concierge Service; instead of "Don't leave home without it" AAA is "You stay home without it" Even with these limits, the service still may be of some use. The quality of the concierge service is unknown at this time.

Last edited by reft; Dec 6, 2012 at 7:24 pm Reason: fix grammer; later on, update about AAA Premier Concierge
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Old Oct 12, 2012, 7:29 am
  #22  
 
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Perfect - thanks to both of you for info. That helps a lot.

Re the Disney discounts - I have looked into that into past. Varies by local affiliate and no love for me there.
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Old Oct 13, 2012, 12:58 pm
  #23  
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I have had both at one point. Ended up cancelling AAA and using Amex plat. Basically the plat pays for the first $50 of any charge that you may need for roadside assistance. Usually 5-6 times a year. I have never had any issues with roadside assistance at all.
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Old Oct 13, 2012, 9:52 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by sahiljain22
I have had both at one point. Ended up cancelling AAA and using Amex plat. Basically the plat pays for the first $50 of any charge that you may need for roadside assistance. Usually 5-6 times a year. I have never had any issues with roadside assistance at all.
Same here. We only really had AAA for the roadside assistance, and the Amex coverage has been sufficient to cover that, so no need for AAA.
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Old Oct 14, 2012, 12:46 am
  #25  
 
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I've had good experience with Amex roadside assistance. I needed a tow and a locksmith within a few days of each other. I called Amex, they got my address, and in both cases within about 30 minutes the tow truck or locksmith called me to let me know they were outside.

As an interesting side note, I struck up a conversation with the tow truck driver as he was taking me to the mechanic and asked him about how he got called. He told me that credit card companies or AAA contract with various 3rd parties to manage roadside assistant things, then those 3rd parties contract with smaller local 3rd parties who have direct relationships with the tow truck companies. Here's the chain: Me>Amex>Larger 3rd party>Smaller 3rd party>Local tow company>Individual drivers. It's amazing that there can be any profit in there for anyone, and it's amazing that it only took 30 minutes.
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Old Oct 14, 2012, 11:04 am
  #26  
 
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How much do you really get?

Hello - I am confused - it seems above one person says $50 back from Amex Pt and another says $100. I have an Amex Pt that double insures me (wastefully I assume) for what I pay $3 every 6 months for each car to State Farm (I think). I have never used either but I thought I got $50 from both. It seems to me these days that $50 hardly buys a candy bar so I'd really value experience on what the real cost is when you use this service. If I break down locally I can get a friend or even my wife to come tow me or have my local garage step in. But if I break down in the middle of Utah I would have thought the tow fees would be 5 bucks a mile or something similarly awful and after a few minutes the $50 reimbursement would be long chewed up. Are these insurances really of any true value when you need them? Thx
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Old Oct 14, 2012, 5:30 pm
  #27  
nrr
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The two times I called AAA for a tow (each day was warm weather, no rain--so there shouldn't be a spate of calls one would expect in the winter), in each case the two truck took over 90 minutes to arrive, on the 2nd tow, they weren't even sure if they could do the two)--when my AAA came up for renewal (a few days ago) I cancelled. I now have towing through Toyota (due to their special deal for new cars). I don't know (and hopefully won't, if my car doesn't break down) how long they would take to tow me--what experience have others had with AMEX?
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Old Oct 18, 2012, 6:11 pm
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by nrr
The two times I called AAA for a tow (each day was warm weather, no rain--so there shouldn't be a spate of calls one would expect in the winter), in each case the two truck took over 90 minutes to arrive, on the 2nd tow, they weren't even sure if they could do the two)--when my AAA came up for renewal (a few days ago) I cancelled. I now have towing through Toyota (due to their special deal for new cars). I don't know (and hopefully won't, if my car doesn't break down) how long they would take to tow me--what experience have others had with AMEX?
Just had the opportunity to use it a couple days ago. i needed a tow so I called the number and was told by the agent that it was worth $50/incident.

He asked me my current location and the location where I needed a tow. The place I needed a tow was about 5 miles away. When I asked if the cost of the tow would exceed my credit, he told me that it was under $50 and would be covered without any further work on my end.

The tow company took exactly an hour to get out to my location (they estimated a max of a hour) and didn't require a signature or my Plat card. Just took down the license plate.

So far so good.
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Old Oct 18, 2012, 8:26 pm
  #29  
 
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Costco Amex AAA

I have all of them, AAA used to have long distance towing (I think it was 200 miles) and I used it twice. I use AAA for hotel discounts and when I go abroad. A lot of European automotive clubs has reciprocal agreements and you can get free maps, and discounts on various things (hotel, museums, other attractions)
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Old Oct 19, 2012, 5:20 pm
  #30  
 
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Used AMEX for a jump last month, no problems whatsoever. Very similar to the support I get from my car insurance - GEICO. Still nice to have, though.
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