Card Member Benefits

[DI]

Anybody use the roadside assitance benefits that may come with their card? 

[Itsmeagain]

Not yet (crossing fingers).

[DI]

Do you know if the roadside assistance with credit cards the same as with insurance companies?

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:
Do you know if the roadside assistance with credit cards the same as with insurance companies?

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The devil is in the details. Most CC roadside plans stink. I use a plan offered through AARP - and not the base plan either. You need a very good roadside plan if you live in Florida - a breakdown could be deadly, specially in summer!

[Anonymous]

Not yet but it was one of the reasons I added a MC. Beats me paying dues every yr if I don't need it. I'd rather have the referral and the cost billed to my card on the rare occasions when i need such service. I was told by Cap 1 to contact Visa about whether my card included roadside. 2 Visa phone reps told me all Visas have the benefit. But the Visa website says only Signature cards do. An email from Visa said only Signature cards do and it's up to issuers if it's offered on other Visa products. Cap 1 wouldn't add it to mine. From what I could tell AMEX no AF cards only offer it if 100 mi from home and Discover only on business cards. A Discover CSR said their personal cards do not. It looked like gold, plat, and elite MC's have it. But in doing research many MC issuers don't actually list it on their sites as a benefit. I had a Citi CSR tell me their Plat Select and Cash Returns MC's don't come with it. It was one thing attractive to me about the B of A AMEX. But after their CLD's I had enough with B of A.

[smallfry]

AAA Plus for years. Worth it for me.

[Itsmeagain]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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The devil is in the details. Most CC roadside plans stink. I use a plan offered through AARP - and not the base plan either. You need a very good roadside plan if you live in Florida - a breakdown could be deadly, specially in summer!

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I used to have the AARP road plan but cancelled when the price increased to 75/yr.  I have a Discover Business account that offers roadside assistance for a fee of $69.95 per incident.  Since I drive a reliable car and have only used the service once in about 20 years, I'll opt for the per-incident charge. 

But it all depends on your expected usage.  If you drive a clunker and have frequent breakdowns, there are several good plans available.  I recall that many auto insurance companies like State Farm and Geico have a roadside assistance plan that is very good and only cost a few bucks.

[smallfry]

$70 per incident? I have an '07 and an '09 and I wouldn't think of a plan like that. I pay $100 for both cars. Long distance towing included. For the extra few bucks I sleep better.

[MidnightVoice]

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@smallfry wrote:
AAA Plus for years. Worth it for me.

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Me too.  Saved me a fortune when I had an early stage driving daughter

[Anonymous]

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@smallfry wrote:
$70 per incident? I have an '07 and an '09 and I wouldn't think of a plan like that. I pay $100 for both cars. Long distance towing included. For the extra few bucks I sleep better.

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Just goes to show how there's no one solution for all. I sleep better knowing I'm not wasting money. I've used assistance no more than 3X in over 10 yrs. At 50 bucks a pop x 10 yrs would pay $500. At 70 bucks a pop x 3 would pay $210.