Good Sam - or not so much?

[Foiled Again]

What I don't like about "Good" Sam

The gobs and gobs and gobs of promotional material - and your membership renewal gets lost in the muddle.

A membership renewal that is mailed in March for a membership that doesn't need to be renewed until late August. But of course there's no expiration date printed on the renewal notice. (Probably JFN, but I'm renewing for three years and I'll report on this thread what expiration date is on the new cards - why? Because a maggot on my brain says - yes time does seem to pass faster as I age, but it really wasn't even two years since I last renewed this membership for three years.)

G. S. Roadside assistance - that probably duplicates what you have on your ordinary RV policy and/or Vehicle policy.

G. S. Repair policy - Save money on RV repairs - Yeah read that one closely.

Save money on RV insurance thru Good Sam - reselling Foremost, Geico and a couple of others starting at much HIGHER prices.

Oh and did I mention the endless "look for us on facebook" say something nice about us on "twitter".

And now I look at Tin Can Tourists and Escapees and lo.... there seems to be a lot of overlap. Passport America has some REAL good deals on the internet for mid-week stays but... Time to winnow a few out. Best deal around is the geezer pass from the government.

Paula

[Lily&Me]

I agree with all of the above, Paula, and it only gets a 10% discount at more expensive campgrounds.

We belonged for one year, early on, and never went back.


Maggie

[AWCHIEF]

The only time I have paid for GS membership was the first year and that was 6 years ago. I renew my road service in person at a Camping World. They always have unadvertised renewal specials going on. I always get the road service for at least half off and another free year or two of club membership thrown in as a perk. This year I got 2 year RS for more than half off and two more free years of GS membership. That put my GS membership expire date April 2020. I just ignore their snail mail ads and emails.

Add: I also got a $25 merchandise certificate on the spot and last week received another for $10. Need to spend them by the end of June.

[Lumatic]

Gets you the President's Club discount at CW and road service/towing when you have a vehicle in tow. You can also participate in Samborees.

[PKI]

We'll take 10% off. We like their RV Park listing book. If AAA, Good Sam, or Passport America does not get us a break, the KOA card builds us points. No it's not free, but it pays back and sometimes it's the AARP card that triggers the adjustment.

If you never go to Camping World, then Good Sam may not be such a win. But we find a couple of trips a year helps with what we need. A bit more time at Walmart may shift our focus, but it's a long way back to the camping stuff at Walmart. Food works there but other stuff only when it makes sense.

So, yes, the advertisements are a pain, but we get a ton so GS is no more than the others. The catalogs do provide some wish list entertainment. Besides we are less likely to close the deal if we have to get up and call in an order. That throw it in the cart approach is deadly on the travel budget. Even when discounted, not buying as in the null decision is much less expensive.

Travel safe. Pat

[gabugman]

If nuthin else we like to stop by and leave em a few presents in the dump station after boondocking for a few days.

Bug

[nvestysly]

Good Sam and AARP are clearly the most egregious offenders in terms of junk mail in our household. We are members of Good Sam but not AARP. As single sources of junk mail they are both leaders. The aggregate of credit card offers tops either Good Sam or AARP but the credit card offers come from a variety of sources.

We hesitated joining Good Sam but it came packaged with Camping World when they joined forces several years ago. Other than the junk mail affliction we receive sufficient value from our membership that we will continue for the foreseeable future.

[pmclemore]

I renew when it is time and I have enjoyed good service from their Emergency Road Service. I'm used to discarding a bunch of trash mail anyway, so theirs doesn't bother me.

Pat

[CDONA]

Ditto on the junk mail, AARP, fine print disclaimers, inflated prices in Camping World to finance the discount. I finally got off the GS mailing list, more junk than AARP, I forward my mail, but I tolerate them for the health news. My RV policy covers ERS, automatically.
When you sign up, you aren't the winner of fantastic bargains, you're the $$$ target.

[Rich W]

When you sign up or renew there's a box you need to uncheck about getting special offers, news, etc.. I've belonged to both AARP and GS for a long time, I rarely get anything in snail mail or email. Maybe I'm just living right?

You can probably go to their website and change your profile preferences to eliminate all that unwanted mail.

OTOH, I'm on someone's list for hearing aids. I get a couple of those every week, but they are for local offices.

[Hoosierdaddy]

Everybody should join.....even for just one year in order to take the "Good Sam Pledge" B-)

[m.hony]

How much is a Good Sam membership? $25?
Not sure, but I only stay in a commercial campground once per year.
They ask me if I'm a Good Sam member, to which I reply, "How much is the discount?"
It is usually like $5 discount.
So, pay $25 to save maybe $10-$20?
No way!
The least expensive insurance is with my current automobile insurance. I get a multi-car and multi-line discount because I have life insurance and insurance on a motorcycle and a camper. It includes emergency roadside assistance which is useless. By the time I wait half a day for someone to come change a flat, I can change it myself in 10-15 minutes.
On a cost-benefit analysis I just can't see it working out for me.

[m.hony]

I ain't got no use for Camping World, either. Seems I can get better pricing and better quality elsewhere or online.

[Lily&Me]

We've had threads on this before, but I will repeat myself here ....

If you go for higher end...$$$-$$$+...campgrounds, the 5-10% discount may be important to you. A lot of Good Sam campgrounds, and other high end campgrounds, also give a AAA discount, so if you have that...

If you want or need lots of amenities, Good Sam Parks are usually very nice, tho pricey in my opinion.

If you subscribe to the "spend less, do more" philosophy, or prefer nature to paved with sites close together, any public campground is nearly always less expensive.

Add into that the cost cutting of the Senior Access Pass and Passport America, and you can stay most of the time for under $20 a night....often, much less.


Maggie

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by richw46

OTOH, I'm on someone's list for hearing aids. I get a couple of those every week, but they are for local offices.

You're luck it's just that. I receive mail for cremation services!

[Sbb]

What is the old gezzer card?

[SCOTTinNJ]

You can also overnight for free at most Camping World's with the membership. We've taken advantage of that 3 or 4 times for a quick stop. If I recall correctly, only once didn't we have a spot with electric hookup.

[dstalzer]

Originally Posted by Sbb

What is the old gezzer card?

This is the federal America The Beautiful pass which cost $10 for life once you are 62. It gives free access to lots of federal parks and historic sites and provides a 50% discount on camping fees at National Campgrounds, Corps of Engineer Campgrounds and Forest Service Campgrounds.

Dennis

[n2916s]

Just a quick note on the Senior Access pass (formerly the America the Beautiful):

Camping discounts are not always available if a given campground is run by a concessionaire and sometimes the discount is not 50%.

For example, in Yellowstone the Fishing Bridge RV Park is NOT discounted while all other campgrounds are.

In Grand Teton, an electric site at Gros Ventre is $54 and discounted to $39 with the Senior Access card.

Mike

[WayneG]

I agree 100% on the waste of paper & postage for crap offerings..
On topic of the Roadside assistance, I have that and have not used it yet. I have an 84 Excella Motorhome and now I am towing a trailer with my Polaris side by side on it, and I wonder if I have spent my money wisely with GS .vs. AAA. if I have a breakdown, what can I expect? Has anyone had to use them?