Is an AARP Membership Worth It for Travelers? [Best Benefits]

We may be compensated when you click on links from one or more of our advertising partners. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone. Terms apply to offers below. See our Advertiser disclosure for more details. A membership with the American Association of Retired Persons ( AARP ) is often overlooked as a great resource for travel discounts and benefits. In fact, an AARP membership can provide members with large savings across a wide variety of travel categories. If you ’ re like most people, you ’ re probably thinking that, since you aren ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate retired, you aren ’ thyroxine eligible for an AARP membership and the travel benefits that come with it. Well, that’s where you’re mistaken!

In this post we breakdown how you, excessively, can be eligible for an AARP membership, and the travel savings that come along with it .

What is AARP ?

AARP was founded in 1958 with the mission to “ empower people to choose how they live as they age. ” It is an influential lobby group in the U.S. concenter largely on issues affecting the aged. AARP sells paid memberships and markets policy products and early services to its members. Their flagship membership program provides dozens of discounts and perks and has attracted over 38 million members as of 2018 .

Who is Eligible for an AARP Membership ?

many people are under the stamp that alone withdraw people, or the aged, are eligible for an AARP membership — but this is just not true. AARP used to offer 2 types of memberships : the standard membership for those who were 50 and older, and associate memberships for those who had not even reached the historic period of 50. immediately, AARP offers precisely 1 membership option, and careless if you ’ ve reached old age 50 or not, you can join, excessively ! Better yet, AARP memberships are just $ 16 a class ( $ 12 if you opt for the auto-renew design ), and you can add a spouse or partner for unblock. Bottom Line:  many people are under the stamp that they have to be over the historic period of 50 to join the AARP broadcast, but that couldn ’ metric ton be further from the accuracy. Everyone is eligible for an AARP membership, no count what your age is .

AARP Travel Benefits

so nowadays that you know you ’ re eligible for an AARP membership, does that mean you should mechanically sign up ? Are the travel benefits actually worth it ? hera are some ways that an AARP membership can save you money on your travel expenses.

General Travel

AARP has partnered with the on-line locomotion platform Expedia to offer the AARP Travel Center by Expedia. The Travel Center functions merely like the standard Expedia web site, allowing users to search for flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and other activities, but besides includes all items that are eligible for an AARP discount .

airfare

One of the most popular AARP travel benefits is the ability to save quite a act of money on British Airways flights. Those who have an AARP membership and script through the AARP British Airways discount page can score a $ 65 deduction on all round-trip economy tickets and a $ 200 discount on all round-trip business class tickets. Better however, this dismiss is valid on british Airways-operated flights and BA codeshare flights, including those operated by American Airlines and Iberia Airlines. Hot Tip:  Utilizing 1 british Airways $ 65 economy flight discount would cover your membership fees for over 4 years ! An AARP membership is a no-brainer even if you fly with British Airways once a year .

Hotels

Your AARP membership won ’ thyroxine merely save you money on your flights — members can besides receive discounts at thousands of hotels worldwide, including up to 15% off at hotel chains such as Hilton, Best Western, Radisson, and Wyndham .

rental Cars

AARP memberships can net you up to a 30% discount on car rentals from companies like Avis, Budget, and Payless, vitamin a well as choose barren vehicle upgrades, discounted GPS rates, and an extra driver at no price .

Dining

When you ’ re travel, you ’ ve got to eat, and AARP can regularly save you money on restaurants excessively. AARP memberships offer 10 % to 15 % off at restaurant chains like Bonefish Grill, Carrabba ’ second, Corner Bakery Cafe, Denny ’ south, Outback Steakhouse, and many more.

entertainment

AARP members can save on their entertainment purchases, besides, with merchants like Regal Cinemas and Ticketmaster. With Ticketmaster specifically, members can save up to 40% on tickets to select shows and events, and offers besides include 2-for-1 tickets, Me + 3 ( 4-packs ), and special events with blue-ribbon tickets under $ 40 .

Final Thoughts

now that you know anyone can be eligible for an AARP membership, and some of the big change of location benefits that come along with it, you may be wondering if the membership is worth it. But given that the annual membership price is precisely $ 16 a class ( $ 12 with auto-renewal ), it is heavily to imagine how it wouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be. Between savings on british Airways flights, hotels, lease cars, and popular restaurant chains, if you ’ re person who can take advantage of some of the discounts offered, you can well offset the cost of your annual membership. If your worry people might snicker at you when you pull out your AARP card, they won ’ thyroxine be snickering for long when you tell them how much money you ’ re keep open !