Community Forums

milehighjosh · 07-07-2013, 09:41 PM

Ah advice on these membership programs? One over the other? Both? Thanks!!

vsheetz · 07-07-2013, 09:49 PM

Passport America can readily pay for itself in just a couple stays. We use it often. Check the restrictions on days/dates, etc as they vary by CG. I have found that often a CG will relax the rules if you just ask.

jzick · 07-08-2013, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milehighjosh

Ah advice on these membership programs? One over the other? Both? Thanks!!

Passport America parks discount 50%, generally, for a few nights. Most PA parks restrict discounts to non high season and for just a few nights. There may be some that restrict which sites are available with the discount. Discounts and rules are different park to park. We use PA typically for overnight trips and recover our cost quickly. Good Sam discounts are normally in the 10% range, few restrictions, and available many times for longer stays. There are probably a lot more parks available that accept GS than PA. The big negative to GS, IMO, is the mountain of junk mail you will get after signing up.

milehighjosh · 07-08-2013, 10:18 PM

Thanks for the advice. :-)

tedgard01 · 07-08-2013, 10:29 PM

Good Sam's has other benefits other than camp discounts, like at Camping World, etc. Check the website for all the benefits. If you can, get a Life Time membership. You can get 6 cents per gallon of gas at Flying J/Pilot stations for example.

UFO Pilot · 07-08-2013, 10:33 PM

If you join Good Sam be prepared for the never ending spam and junk mail. I have tried every suggestion to stop it or slow it down to no avail. Passport American can pay for itself in 2 or 3 nights of use per year.

pcurt23 · 07-09-2013, 06:58 AM

I have used PA. The way I do it is to sign up on line just before going into the park where I am going to use it. That way, it is paid for during that stay and any other PA stays are bonus. The most PA stays are available during the off season.

**TonyDi** · 07-09-2013, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UFO Pilot

If you join Good Sam be prepared for the never ending spam and junk mail. I have tried every suggestion to stop it or slow it down to no avail. Passport American can pay for itself in 2 or 3 nights of use per year.

GS is famous for sending junk mail. I too have tried to limit what the send, but to no avail. I like their programs, just not the way they solicit.

tedgard01 · 07-09-2013, 09:43 AM

It is as simple as using your spam filter in email. No problem.

GaryKD · 07-09-2013, 10:02 AM

Hi milehighjosh,
Join both. The benefits are different and may not apply to the same CGs. After a year or two you'll be able to make a decision as to which one suits you the best. Maybe both will be of benefit and you can remain a member of both. That is what I did.

myredracer · 07-09-2013, 10:03 AM

We have membership with KM Resorts in Wa. For a few extra dollars in our annual dues, we have access to P A, Coast-Coast, RPI, Thousand Trails and a bunch of others. If you plan to do much travelling, if you stick with just one, you may find that you are limited to the number of cgs you can find. We traveled through 3 states last summer and ended up having to stay at campgrounds from several different providers. Sure, our membership isn't cheap, but we will have it paid off within 3 years and after that, it's next to free camping after that.

One thing we found is that the little descriptions in the books can be misleading. They can say things like near great shopping, close to historic district, walking distance to beach, etc. and then you find that the cg is next to the interstate or a railroad or an airport. It's good to read independent reviews on the internet. Some cg organizations have consistently better cgs than others.

rgvtexan · 07-09-2013, 12:27 PM

X2 on the Passport.
My Senior Discount is as good as the GS and no dues.

UFO Pilot · 07-09-2013, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedgard01

It is as simple as using your spam filter in email. No problem.

I wish there was a spam filter on my USPS mailbox.

Jim_HiTek · 07-09-2013, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UFO Pilot

If you join Good Sam be prepared for the never ending spam and junk mail. I have tried every suggestion to stop it or slow it down to no avail. Passport American can pay for itself in 2 or 3 nights of use per year.

Here's how to slow, and eventually stop the huge amounts of junk mail you get from GS and all those other companies,

1) Start here: Stopping Unsolicited Mail, Phone Calls, and Email | Consumer Information

Follow the instructions and be prepared to wait for the junk mail and solicitations to slow to a trickle.

2) Since you've done business with GS, they can legally send you tons of junk mail even after you've signed up to stop it as in 1), so, here's what you do to stop their stuff:

Nearly every solicitation you receive from GS will come with a prepaid, envelope. Leave your name and address on the solicitation, write a big 'NO' across the sign up form. Stuff all the material that came with the solicitation back in the envelope...including some of their offers that came without a prepaid envelope.

Mail it back to them. Do that for every solicitation you receive from them!

It will only take 2-3 months of doing that and they'll take you off the list...because it's GS after all, and they hate paying much for anything, and the stuffed envelopes they get back without money costs them $2-$3 each.

It really worked for me, my brother, and several friends.

Then, all those stores you visit that offer you a discount if you fill out a sign up form? Just use a bogus address.