AAA Roadside Assistance Review (2023) (2023)

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What Is AAA?

While AAA, or the American Automobile Association, services the entire U.S., it isn’t a single company. Triple-A began in 1902 as a group of nine motor clubs. Today, AAA is a federation of 32 auto clubs across the country. Some auto clubs provide service in a single state, while others operate in multiple states. Pricing and services sometimes differ slightly depending on the auto club, but they all offer the same basic services and three membership plans.

When you visit AAA’s website, you’ll be redirected to the right club’s site based on your location. For this article, we’ll highlight the membership terms for AAA Carolinas as an example.

AAA roadside assistance reviews vary by auto club. For example, AAA Carolinas has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with accreditation and a 1.3-star customer review score. On the other hand, the Automobile Club of Southern California is not rated by the BBB and has a 1.2-star rating from customers. It’s worth checking the ratings for your local AAA club to learn more about its customer experience.

Positive AAA Roadside Assistance Reviews

In positive AAA roadside assistance reviews, customers mention receiving timely service after calling for assistance. That’s one of the most important qualities of a roadside assistance company. One customer received service less than 10 minutes after the call. Another said the AAA tow truck rescued them from a desert highway and drove them 100 miles to their destination city.

Negative AAA Roadside Assistance Reviews

Unfortunately, not everyone has the best experience with AAA. It’s important to know the company uses its own fleet of drivers along with independent contractors. Depending on who’s available in your area at the time of the call, wait times can vary drastically.

One negative AAA roadside assistance review on the AAA Carolinas BBB page says the customer waited four hours to get locksmith service. Another customer called for a tow around 8:30 in the evening and had to get a friend to pick them up at midnight since the tow truck driver hadn’t shown up.

Our team reached out to AAA Carolinas and the Automobile Club of Southern California about their BBB ratings but did not receive a response.

AAA Benefits Details

Here are the details on AAA roadside assistance services:

• Towing: The Basic plan covers free towing to the responding tow truck’s station, to a AAA-owned Car Care facility within 10 miles or to another facility within three miles. The Plus plan covers 100-mile tows and Premier adds one 200-mile tow. You’ll be charged $7 per mile for tows beyond the mileage limit for each plan.
• Battery boost: A technician can jump-start your car with a battery booster. Some AAA trucks also stock new batteries you can purchase.
• Flat tire change: AAA can replace your flat tire with the spare from your vehicle.
• Fuel delivery: You can get fuel delivered if you run out of gas. Plus and Premier members get enough gas to reach a fueling station for free.
• Lockout service: AAA covers up to $50 (or $100 for Plus/Premier) for locksmith services to unlock your car and make it drivable.
• Winching: If you get stuck in a ditch or in mud, AAA can extract your car. Basic members get one extraction truck and driver while Plus/Premier members get two trucks per service call if needed.

And here are the details on extra AAA services that fall outside the traditional roadside assistance offerings:

• Trip interruption: This reimburses you for food and lodging within 25 miles or for commercial transportation to your destination up to a limit. Trip interruption applies if your car is disabled after an accident or stolen. Premier members can also use it after a mechanical breakdown.
• Auto theft reward: If someone steals your car or stereo, AAA will reward anyone who supplies information that leads to a conviction. The reward is for third parties — you and your family are ineligible.
• Legal defense: AAA can reimburse you for attorney fees (up to a limit) if you plead not guilty to certain traffic violations or manslaughter charges in connection with an accident. The limits increase if you appeal your case to the State Supreme Court.
• Travel accident insurance: This covers accidental loss of life, limb or sight if you book travel through your region’s AAA Travel agency.
• Car rental reimbursement: Premier members get one day of rental car reimbursement each year after a tow.
• Travel concierge: Premier members can access concierge services to book experiences at least 100 miles away from home.
• Home lockout service: You can get up to $100 for locksmith services to open your house door and make a new key if the lock has to be drilled. This applies to Premier members and is available once per year.

AAA Discounts

There are over 100,000 business locations that offer discounts to AAA members across the country. As a member, you can get discounts on shopping, travel, entertainment, business services and more.

RV Roadside Assistance

AAA offers RV roadside assistance through Plus RV and Premier RV memberships (depending on club location). These memberships are required for full roadside assistance on any of the following:

• Motorhomes
• Travel trailers
• Fifth-wheels
• Pickups with campers
• Trailers for boats, motorcycles, ATVs and more
• Motorcycles

Without an RV membership, you won’t get towing, winching or tire service while driving an RV.

Who Is Covered by AAA?

Rather than covering only your vehicle, a AAA membership covers you as a driver or passenger, regardless of whether you’re driving your personal car. That means you can get AAA services whether you’re driving a rental car or riding in a friend’s car. The vehicle itself has to meet AAA eligibility requirements, though. AAA covers bicycles and almost all four-wheel passenger vehicles. It excludes the following:

• Loaded commercial vehicles
• Taxis
• Transport/shuttle services
• Limousines

Other AAA Products

AAA offers car insurance coverage in addition to roadside services. Most insurance policies are underwritten by a few AAA insurance groups: CSAA Insurance Group, Auto Club Enterprises Insurance Group and The Auto Club Group.

AAA car insurance is available nationwide and offers everything from minimum to full coverage. You can read our AAA insurance review for more information.

The auto club federation offers many more products and services, including:

• Homeowners insurance
• Life insurance
• Travel insurance
• Vacation packages
• Car repair locations
• Auto sales
• Auto loans
• Mortgages
• Identity theft protection

If you get stuck on the side of the road, you can reach AAA for 24/7 roadside assistance by calling 1-800-222-4357 (1-800-AAA-HELP). You can also request assistance in the AAA app. The system will direct you to the right dispatch center depending on your location, either by your mobile data or internet connection. Although you purchase a AAA membership from a specific regional club, you can use it anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.

AAA Mobile App

With AAA Mobile, you can do much more than request roadside assistance. The app provides AAA’s TripTik^® map and trip-planning service so you can find AAA-approved hotels and restaurants wherever you go. You can also book hotels and rental cars through the app and find cheap gas and AAA-approved repair shops.

So how much is roadside assistance from AAA? The Basic membership costs $64 per year, the Plus membership costs $94 per year and the Premier membership costs $124 per year for AAA in the Carolinas. Pricing may differ slightly depending on the AAA club in your region.

Roadside assistance from AAA costs more than roadside assistance from some insurance companies like Progressive and State Farm. However, AAA roadside assistance comes with more services than add-on plans from insurance companies. For a head-to-head comparison, check out our State Farm vs. AAA roadside assistance review.

Top Alternatives to AAA Roadside Assistance

When you’re comparing roadside assistance services, we recommend looking into Better World Club, Allstate and Travelers.

• Better World Club: As the name suggests, Better World Club seeks to create a better world by being 100% carbon neutral. The company offers two road service plans that come with trip interruption, free physical maps and discounts.
• Allstate: Allstate offers a comprehensive roadside assistance plan that you can purchase even if you don’t have Allstate auto insurance. It also offers a convenient pay-per-use plan that starts at $154 per towing service with no membership fee.
• Travelers: Travelers offers two plan levels: the basic plan covers towing up to 15 miles while Premier Roadside Assistance^® covers towing up to 100 miles. The Premier plan also includes trip interruption and personal property coverage.

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Cost: Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
• Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Reputation and experience: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
• Availability: Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements scored highest in this category.
• Customer experience: This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the NAIC and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.

Our credentials:

• 800 hours researched
• 45 companies reviewed
• 8,500+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.