Know AAA
Your Member Services
Automotive—AAA Colorado offers a wealth of automotive services, beginning with AAA's famous roadside assistance program that follows the member, not the vehicle. Other services include Approved Auto Repair and Auto Body Repair facilities, automotive products at AAA Colorado offices, and auto sales and leasing through AAA Colorado AutoSource. All can be accessed through www.aaa.com, including AutoManager, which manages the maintenance of your vehicle.
October is AAA Car Care Month
It's that time of year when Colorado weather becomes even more unpredictable than usual. So it's of vital importance that your car be in tip-top condition as you hit the roads this fall.
October is Car Care Month and the right time to visit your mechanic for a maintenance and safety inspection. Many AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities offer discounts or even free safety checks to AAA members. Let them check your tires, fluid levels, brakes, lights, battery, hoses, belts and even windshield wipers before the first winter snow catches you by surprise.
Proper maintenance and regular inspections can extend the life of your car, and provide a measure of safety to you as the driver, too. Catching a weak belt now may save an expensive repair later.
For information about AAA Car Care Month, go online to www.aaa.com and click on “Automotive” to see a list of AAA Colorado Approved Auto Repair facilities.
AAA Repair Assurance Plan
Worried that your 1995 station wagon might break down on the upcoming family trip? Well, worry no more.
The AAA Repair Assurance Plan will come to your aid to help cover the costs of a mechanical breakdown.
The plan offers protection to cover every factory mechanical and electrical component on your vehicle, including seals and gaskets. If you use a AAA Approved Auto Repair facility, your deductible will be only $50 instead of the standard $100. You pay only your deductible; AAA will pay the rest.
The plan's coverage is good anywhere in the United States and Canada . And AAA will pay for two days of car rental on all approved claims, so you won't be late for the big family dinner.
To find out more, log on to www.aaa.com and click on Automotive, “Repair and Maintenance ” or call 877-244-9790, ext. 8030. Keep in mind that insurance protection should never be seen as a replacement for regular maintenance of your vehicle.
Insurance & Financial Services—AAA Colorado's independent insurance agency offers auto, home, life and umbrella products from several highly rated national insurers, as well as its exclusive brand, “AAA Insurance.” For a competitive quote, call 866-399-9836, or click on “Insurance” at www.aaa.com. AAA Colorado also offers financial services like the AAA Visa card, certificates of deposit and money market deposits. Call 303-753-8800 or click on “Financial” at www.aaa.com for Visa card information. For deposit products, call 800-526-7120.
Handling a homeowner's loss
Mary Nielsen did not imagine she would end up with a large hole in her bathroom ceiling. But that's exactly what happened after a roof vent blew off and rain poured into her attic.
Home damage can happen when you least expect it. It's best to know ahead of time what you can do to minimize your losses.
• Prepare a home inventory. Save receipts from major purchases and take pictures or video of each room in your house. Keep copies of your inventory and insurance policy in a safe deposit box or with a relative.
• Read your insurance policy so you are familiar with your coverage and responsibilities.
• If a loss occurs, notify your insurance agent as soon as possible.
• Take reasonable steps to prevent further damage—for example, covering a hole with plywood or a tarp. Keep all bills and receipts for these temporary repairs.
• Don't start any permanent repairs or throw away damaged items until an adjuster for your insurance company has done an inspection.
• If your claim involves theft, report the incident to police as soon as possible. Failure to do so may jeopardize your insurance coverage. Obtain a copy of the police report to submit with your claim.
• Take pictures of the damage and prepare a written list of damaged or missing items.
• Keep receipts from any extra expenses you incur as a result of the damage. These may include emergency clothing, necessities, and temporary accommodation if your home cannot be lived in.
For additional information on homeowner's insurance and claims procedures, visit your local AAA office, call 866-831-1367 or click on “Insurance” at www.aaa.com.
AAA Travel—Get much more than free TourBooks, maps and TripTiks. AAA Domestic Travel Counselors can help plan your road trip. AAA Travel Professionals understand national and international travel, from guided tours to independent adventure. AAA Colorado's travel store (in most offices and online) contains books, atlases, luggage and other travel items. Call 866-235-7070, visit a AAA office or www.aaa.com.
Where are you thinking of going?
Each month, thousands of AAA members visit the AAA Colorado website, www.aaa.com, to route and map travel, and search for hotel rooms, car rentals and flights. Here are the top five destinations researched in July:
Colorado:
1. Denver
2. Colorado Springs
3. Glenwood Springs
4. Steamboat Springs
5. Aspen
Outside Colorado:
1. Las Vegas
2. San Diego
3. Seattle
4. Orlando
5. Chicago
Great city walks
Have you ever visited a city full of wonderful things to see and do, but didn't know where to begin? One good place to start is a walking tour of key districts and points of interest.
AAA Travel experts have scouted North America 's most popular destinations to create informative self-guided walking tours. Here is a small sample of the itineraries available from the AAA TourBook guides, in print and on www.aaa.com.
Charleston, S.C.: Everyone knows the first shots of the Civil War rang out in Charleston Harbor. But if you want to know why so many of Charleston 's historic structures are bolted together, or why greenish-black is the politically correct color for shutters, doors and house trim, this tour itinerary will reveal all.
Greenwich Village, N.Y.: With quiet streets, shaded parks and a bohemian ambience, New York 's Greenwich Village is as walkable as this city gets. Visit former haunts of creative types like author Henry James, playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay, painter Winslow Homer and poet E. E. Cummings.
Old Town Alexandria, Va.: George Washington lived here, worshipped from Pew 60 in Christ Church , volunteered with the Friendship Fire Co. and presided over Masonic meetings. The George connection is but one of many reasons to tour this charming historic community.
St. Augustine, Fla.: The oldest ongoing settlement in the United States , this Florida city clings to vestiges of its Spanish Colonial past—from the excavated cross marking the spring Ponce de León hoped was the Fountain of Youth, to the massive fortress of Castillo de San Marcos.
Vieux-Québec, Canada: Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vieux-Québec is a unique cultural treasure as North America 's only fortified walled city. A walking tour of the predominantly French-speaking city catapults one back to 17th-century Europe.
Washington, D.C.: With all those memorials, monuments, government buildings and Smithsonian museums, strategic planning is essential. For a rewarding experience, decide which ones you'd like to explore at length, and map a course using AAA's three D.C. walking tours.
For more information, ask your AAA Travel professional or go to www.aaa.com and click on Travel, then TourBooks under "Tools and Resources".
A Colorado GEM
Denver Art Museum
AAA TourBooks include a listing of points of interest around the state that offer a Great Experience for Members: exceptional places for your list of “things to do.” GEMs are chosen solely on merit—an attraction or destination can't apply for GEM status.
Colorado has 28 GEMs and a different one will be featured in each issue.
This issue's GEM is the Denver Art Museum at the south end of the Civic Center on 14th Avenue, one block west of Broadway. Its striking new Frederic C. Hamilton Building was inspired by craggy mountain peaks but has also been compared to a ship, a collapsed building and even a paper airplane.
The museum features more than 60,000 art objects, including compre-hensive exhibits of American, Asian, European, Native American, pre-Columbian, Spanish Colonial, Western and modern art. Notable artists include Cassatt, Degas, O'Keeffe, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Remington and Warhol.
Special events and exhibits are held throughout the year. In September and October, the museum presents seven films that were on the leading edge of film modernism from the 1950s through 1970s. Two new exhibits in early October will showcase seven centuries of Japanese art, and a collection of contemporary Native American art.
For more information, click on “TourBook” at www.aaa.com, visit www.denverartmuseum.org or call 720-865-5000.
Travelers and accidental death benefits
A member recently wrote: Does my AAA membership carry an accidental death benefit?
The answer? A qualified yes.
When members purchase an airline ticket from a AAA Travel professional or on www.aaa.com, it automatically includes $100,000 in AAA Accident Insurance. You don't have to request it, and there's no extra charge for it. However, if you want more life insurance—up to $500,000— members also can request that for an additional small fee.
If you want travel insurance but have not booked your travel through AAA, insurance up to $50,000 in coverage may be purchased through AAA also.
A pamphlet outlining AAA Travel Accident Insurance is available at any AAA office.
EnCompass and www.aaa.com—Your membership brings you six issues of EnCompass magazine a year, and AAA Colorado's website. Online you'll find a 24/7 virtual office for member-only information, a sampling of travel vacations, TripTik maps, insurance and auto information, car sales and leasing, and the Show Your Card & Save member savings program.
Valuable tips in AAA Colorado's e-newsletter
Each month AAA Colorado produces eUpdate, an e-newsletter for subscribers that contains useful information about travel, automotive and insurance topics, as well as member news, vacation packages and other offers for AAA members.
Regular items in eUpdate include fuel savings information (with a link to AAA's fuel finder), descriptions of popular vacation destinations, a travel sweepstakes, and a list of upcoming Colorado events and activities. Also provided are announcements about new Show Your Card & Save partners and special offers on previously owned cars.
Features in recent eUpdates have included:
• How to handle high water when driving on a flooded highway
• How to protect yourself against identity theft
• AAA's new car warranty program, the Repair Assurance Plan, which protects against unexpected vehicle repair bills
To sign up for eUpdate go to www.aaa.com/connect. Your information will be used only for what you requested during sign up, and your email address will never be sold to any other organization.
Feeling robbed by fuel prices?
High gas prices are prompting Americans to plan more before they travel. AAA's website provides several quick and easy tools to help you make the most of your fuel dollar.
• The Fuel Cost Calculator estimates your total fuel cost at current prices for a specific trip. Just enter your start and finish points and your vehicle make, year and model. Use the results to budget, or to compare the costs of driving different vehicles.
• The Fuel Price Finder lets you choose a state, city or zip code to show the best fuel prices near you. Prices come directly from credit card transactions at the actual pumps throughout the day, so you can be sure of accuracy—other fuel price sites rely on their readers to submit information.
For both tools and a variety of other resources, visit www.aaa.com, click on “Automotive” and choose “Fuel Information” from the menu.
Show Your Card & Save Program—This is the member savings program of AAA. Simply show your AAA membership card to save money at hundreds of retail and service shops, travel-related companies, lodging and automotive facilities. Various restrictions apply; for details visit your local AAA office, click on “Member Savings” at www.aaa.com/save, call 877-244-9790, ext. 2054.
Save while traveling
While many members already know about AAA's Show Your Card & Save program, few know that they can search for savings around the country and the world simply by going online.
Visit www.aaa.com, click on “Member Savings,” then choose a “Search for Savings by City” or by country. Once you've entered your destination, up will come a variety of shops, restaurants, accommodations and attractions that offer AAA member discounts.
Examples of city searches include: San Francisco with 114 options to save; Las Vegas , 79; Orlando , 122; New York City , 69; Honolulu , 50.
For more information, call 877-244-9790, ext. 2054.
Save on pet prescriptions
Did you know that your AAA Prescription Savings card can help you save on medications for the entire household, including pets? Many drugs prescribed for humans are also
prescribed (in different dosages) to treat pets with common condi-tions such as diabetes, arthritis or infections.
When your veterinarian prescribes medication for your pet, ask whether you can obtain it at a pharmacy instead of buying through the vet's office (which is often more expensive). If so, use your AAA Prescription Savings card at the pharmacy to save even more.
AAA Prescription Savings is not an insurance plan, and only covers medications dispensed through a participating pharmacy. The exact savings amount may vary. Heartworm or flea/tick prevention medications are not covered.
To find a participating pharmacy or to obtain your free AAA Prescription Savings card, visit any AAA office, go to www.aaa.com/save or call 866-222-7283.
Books and back-to-school shopping
AAA members can receive back-to-school savings when accessing Barnes & Noble's website through www.aaa.com/barnesandnoble. Through the Show Your Card & Save program, members receive an instant 5% discount on more than a million titles.
Barnes & Noble offers books for a wide variety of interests, from bestsellers to textbooks. Also available are audio books, CDs and CD players, iPod accessories, box sets of music, DVDs, and computer games.
Prepare a student for college entrance exams by purchasing a study skills guide or test-preparation book for the SATs and PSATs. Already over that hurdle? Barnes & Noble also offers a wide range of guides to colleges, universities and technical schools.
Come up with a back-to-school gift by checking out the “What America's Reading” feature, which lists the top-selling 100 books. Also look for the latest titles in a given category by using the “BookBrowser” feature that separates categories by interest. The BookBrowser also makes it possible to type in a specific subject to get recommendations.
The website offers other back-to-school gear besides books, including desk lights, calendars, framed prints, bookends, desk accessories and writing instruments.
For more information on the Show Your Card & Save program, call 877-244-9790, ext. 8149 or visit www.aaa.com and click on “Member Savings.”
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