How my CAA Everyday Membership paid for itself in 24 hours

I’m a lapsed CAA Member. Or at least, I was one until this past Monday. 

Three years ago, my family and I decided to go car-free. We live in a walkable, bikeable urban neighbourhood, close to bike paths and transit, and a short walk away from grocery stores and day-to-day services. So, over time, we realized our car was mostly just collecting dust in our driveway. 

Sure, with kids at university in different cities, and lots of family and friends in far-flung places, we sometimes miss the convenience and spontaneity of being able to jump into a vehicle and go anywhere on a moment’s notice. 

But with a bit more planning and care, we’re making it work using car rentals, carshare, buses, trains, bikes, and good old-fashioned shoe-leather.  

I got my first vehicle in the '80s, and CAA was always a no-brainer for me. And over the years, between battery boosts, a couple of emergency towing calls, and one epic but incredibly embarrassing moment where a CAA truck filled my empty tank in the middle of the 401 in downtown Toronto, that card paid for itself in pure peace of mind. 

But I'd always considered CAA Membership as an auto expense like car payments, insurance, registration, gas, and repairs. So when we unburdened ourselves of those other expenses, I gave the annual CAA Membership fee the heave-ho, too. 

What I didn’t realize was how much additional value there was in my CAA Membership that I'd never taken advantage of, like travel, life insurance, and discounts on museum tickets, meals, and shopping. 

I also didn’t know there was a Membership for people who don’t need towing or roadside assistance called CAA Everyday. At just $30, Everyday offers access to all those other CAA discounts and services, and as a bonus, roadside assistance for my bike.  

But as a skeptical penny-pincher, I still had my doubts. Would I really use it? Could it even save me $30? So, this week, I decided to run a test. 

My 24-hour Everyday road-trip challenge 

On Monday, I was already planning an overnight trip to bring my son back to university in North Bay. As a car-free family, we always need to rent a car for such a trip, which is never cheap. Add gas, meals, and a night in a hotel, and you can see why the idea of saving a few dollars starts to look attractive. 

But could I save $30? I decided to sign up for CAA Everyday and give it a try.  

CAA promo code: saved $4.50  

I got my first big boost when I signed up online. The CAA website offered a 15% off promo code for new Members, and I qualified. 

Rogers: saved $5.00  

Okay, this wasn’t strictly related to our trip, but just after I signed up, I spotted an offer from our service provider, Rogers. I called, and before I knew it, they'd applied a $5 discount to our internet monthly bill. All by itself, that will be worth $60 over the next year! 

Enterprise car rental: saved $7.50  

At the Enterprise counter, I asked how much my CAA Member discount would be worth on our two-day rental, and they told me it would be around $3.75 per day for the kind of vehicle we usually rent.  

Fuel and snacks at Shell: saved $3.37 

I filled up twice at Shell during the trip, totalling around 68 litres with 3 cents per litre off. But even more important for a trip like this are road snacks of chips and beef jerky. 

Dinner at Harvey's: saved $1.57 

It was pretty late when we rolled into North Bay, so, with little time for a sit-down meal, we kept it cheap, fast, and tasty while saving 10%. 

A night at a Comfort Inn: saved $8.22 

After dropping my son off, I needed a good night’s sleep and a free breakfast. And to my delight, one of the hotels we always stay at was on the CAA Partner list as well. 

So how did I do on my 24-hour challenge? The total value of this sample trip was $30.16, so mission accomplished! 

As for the rest of this year, we’ll be taking many trips like this, so we’ll save a lot more. Factor in all the other offers and discounts we’re now eligible for, not to mention the monthly Internet discount worth twice my annual CAA cost, and I’m very happy with the savings. I’m back to being a CAA Member, even without a car, for life. 

Contributor: Dennis Van Staalduinen