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You Can Save Money on Hotels With an AAA Membership

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    It’s no secret that Emily and I love having Big Travel with Small Money.  But did you know you can also have Big Travel with Small Money as an AAA member?

    AAA Membership Can Get You Big Travel With Small Money

    AAA Membership

    Link:   AAA Membership

    Most folks may not realize that an AAA membership is more than help with flat tires.  You can also get travel discounts.

    You can get discounts on:

    Emily and I renewed our AAA membership because the $48 annual fee is worth paying to get the discounts.  Some readers use their AAA membership to save on car rentals.  There are lots of ways to save on car rentals, so Emily and I use our AAA membership to save on hotels instead.

    You get the discount by selecting the AAA rate from the hotel website.  When buying a room in person, you can show your AAA card.

    Hotel Discounts

    Your AAA membership rate can sometimes save you money, get you better cancellation policies, or include breakfast.

    1.   Chicago

    Let’s say you are attending Frequent Traveler University Advanced in Chicago.

    You could stay 1 night on September 27, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and pay ~$172, including taxes.  But it’s a non-refundable advanced purchase rate.

    However, as an AAA member, you would also pay ~$172, but it’s completely refundable!  So if your plans change, you could cancel your reservation.

    You Can Cancel an AAA Rate Without Penalty

     2.   Maui

    Let’s say you wanted to spend the night of September 13, 2014 in Maui.

    For 1 night at the Hyatt Regency Maui with breakfast, you would pay ~$380, including taxes.

    You’ll Pay More Without an AAA Membership

    But the AAA member breakfast rate is only ~$312, a savings of $68 ($380 Hyatt Bed & Breakfast Package – $312 AAA Breakfast Rate).

    With an AAA Membership, You’d Save ~$68 Per Night

    The cancellation policy for the Hyatt Regency Maui for the Hyatt Bed & Breakfast package and the AAA Breakfast rates are the same.  While the AAA rate usually has a better cancellation policy, it isn’t always the case.

    If you don’t include breakfast in your rate, you’d save $34 (~$380 Hyatt Bed & Breakfast rate – ~$346 Hyatt Daily Rate.

    I Can Eat $34 Worth of Breakfast, but Can You?

    As an AAA member, you would pay ~$283, a savings of $63 (~$346 Hyatt Daily Rate – ~$283 AAA Discount rate).

    Even I Can’t Eat $63 Worth of Breakfast!

    Stay Credits and Points

    You get stay credits to get you closer to elite status and earn hotel points when paying an AAA member rate, unlike other discounted rates such as Priceline, hotels.com, and TravelPony.

    So you could stay October 11, 2014, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego on an AAA breakfast rate of ~$364, $40 less than the Hyatt Daily Rate ($404 Hyatt Daily Rate – $364 AAA breakfast rate).

    And you’d earn Hyatt points and stay credits towards Hyatt Platinum or Diamond elite status.

    You Can Enjoy a Night in Sunny San Diego With Breakfast

    Bottom Line

    You can get travel discounts with an AAA membership.

    The $48 annual fee is worth it to me to save money.  Some folks use their AAA membership to save on car rentals, but Emily and I use our AAA membership to save money on hotels.  Sometimes AAA rates include breakfast or have better cancellation policies!

    And unlike other discounted rates, an AAA rate earns hotel points and hotel stay credits.  So you can earn hotel points and stay credit while having Big Travel with Small Money.

    Where do you use your AAA membership to save money?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)