It's really up to the hotel to enforce, if they wish. I use AAA hotel discounts all the time. I think maybe once I was asked to show the card. BUT when I make the reservation, at least at some hotels, they want my AAA number. I've never considered whether they have some way of confirming this with AAA.

I have a USAA member number; I should probably print my profile page as I don't have a bank card. But maybe what the OP was all about was that a bank card did not suffice. I am still unclear whether this thread was started about USAA or not, though.