Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store
Road trip! AAA Discounts for iPhone
After my 1991 VW Vanagon camper ran out of gas late at night in the winter of 1994, and I had to walk four miles in bitterly cold weather to get enough fuel to start it up and drive back to the gas station, I decided to join the American Automobile Association (AAA). Since then, my AAA membership has provided jump-starts when a battery is dead and sent a locksmith when I locked my keys inside a car.In addition to being a full-time Good Samaritan to members in need, AAA also does a great job of securing discounts on just about everything. Unfortunately, up to this point it's been almost impossible to figure out who offers discounts without referring to AAA's website.
AAA just made life a lot easier for iPhone owners with the new and free AAA DIscounts app (click opens iTunes). The app takes your current location, then displays a map with pins denoting businesses in the immediate area that provide AAA discounts. A tap on a pin brings up details about the discounts available, as well as an address and phone number. Tapping the phone number dials the number for you.
The app displays discount locations either in a list or on a map, and will provide point to point directions or a mapped route. If you're a AAA member, entering your membership number activates a special Roadside Assistance button that will not only call AAA, but provide the responder with your current location.
While this app still has a few bugs that need to be worked out (it kept telling me that it could not validate my membership number), it's a great start and a useful benefit for AAA members.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JoshK said 1:51PM on 5-26-2009
I like their app a lot. My parents are kind enough to keep me in AAA and besides road side assistance I never knew where to use it. Now I've put this on my iPhone I hit near me and I see so many places I could have used it. Pretty cool.
I do wish I could search. I am looking at a hotel in Charlotte and I can't seem to find a way to search in the app for a place not near me. I hope they add this in the future.
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CVF said 3:14PM on 5-26-2009
Nooooo! Don't support AAA. They spend a huge amount of your membership dues lobbying against environmental and transit spending. You can do much better, and for cheaper. Check out Better World Club at http://www.betterworldclub.com/ and they even offer roadside bike assistance! And no, I'm not part of the company, only a satisfied customer.
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JoshK said 3:55PM on 5-26-2009
Did you see the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode where Larry David's wife cancelled AAA because of that? Then he got a flat? Good episode. Yeah, good stuff.
I'm off to club a seal. Good day, sir. I said good day!
puhsitch said 12:20AM on 5-27-2009
I don't have a problem with a group that offers a competing viewpoint, even if I disagree with it. If you don't have a strong competitor, you risk getting lazy.
Buran said 3:52PM on 5-26-2009
Awesome, Westy owner!
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Steven Sande said 5:41PM on 5-26-2009
Unfortunately, I no longer own my Westy. It was a great van, and I loved camping in it. I hope it went to a good home... :-(
TUAWSteve
Remarksman said 5:03PM on 5-26-2009
A "Good Samaritan" helps you out for free. AAA does not.
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robogobo said 6:16PM on 5-26-2009
oh, I thought we could get a AAA discount on the iPhone.
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alansky said 7:02PM on 5-26-2009
In a society as thoroughly ravaged by greed and self-interest as ours is, a little perspective is in order when deciding who to do business with. Show me a list of businesses that are entirely on the side of the "good guys" and I'll show you a very, very short list. AAA has helped me out many times when I really needed them. That's gotta be worth something!
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Harbinger said 11:56PM on 5-26-2009
Validation issue here as well, excellent app nonetheless. Thanks for the heads-up!
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jgraziani said 3:24PM on 5-29-2009
Thanks for the shout out on the AAA iPhone app. I work for AAA and it's always good to get feedback about a new product. I'd also like to address the comment about AAA's environmental stances. There is a lot of misinformation on the Internet, much of it promoted by a AAA competitor. If you are interested in the real scoop on AAA's environmental policies, you can find them here: http://bit.ly/AAAenviro. In short, AAA has always support mass transit and public transportation as a way to relieve road congestion, with the added benefit of less pollution from vehicles. More info at the link. Check it out! :)
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