I can understand how whitelaker (OP) feels. I also visited a CW immediately upon buying an AS and they offered me a $25 certificate if I joined for two years. No mention was made of an expiration date.
When the certificate arrived in the mail...it was already expired!
While it may be true that the onus is upon the buyer to "read the fine print", .... the long-term reputation of anyone who is even slightly misleading... will not soon be forgotten.
I agree, it was "shifty".
Now, whenever I see the Good Sam logo, I read the fine print, and I hold them accountable for their sales-promises. (Most of my business with them is thru CW parts or campsite discounts.... which are are the same discounts available thru AARP.)
(P.S.- The insurance advertisements they send me are also misleading. They continually imply my regular auto-insurer will not "cover me" like Good Sam will, nor provide the same benefits. That is not correct. In fact, my State Farm agent provided me with the contact of the underwriter who, it turns out, is the same underwriter Good Sam quoted.... but for the same premium and same coverage I have a deductible
half of the GS policy.)