Passport America worth it?

[KyDan]

I know I'm asking for opinions. Some will love Passport America and some won't.
Let's talk about it-
PA says half off regular price in participating CGs.
Right off I saw several CGs that do participate but they charge extra for
cable TV, extra for wifi and maybe extra for electric.
Sometimes half off isn't really half I guess.....

My thoughts-- Cost $40 per year. At least the ad in recent Trailer Life mag
has it for that.
One stay at a -participating- CG could easily pay for that.
The catch I see is the word participating.
I just visited the website and clicked on Florida. Nearly EVERY CG listed has
blackout days for prime time- Dec thru March or even longer.
Some other states have few participating CGs at all.
Others have several.
We tend to look for state or national parks wherever possible.
Of course those parks don't participate. (But I'll soon be eligible for golden
age NP pass!!)

I guess they could be a real bargain or not depending on where you go
and when.

Thoughts??

[TURBS]

We looked into something similar but found most participants were further than we wanted to travel for short trips.

The few that were close to us wasn't somewhere we wanted to stay anyway.

One of them charged us an early check in once. Plus told us we had to run our hw heater on gas only.


I just looked and passport America has 6 places in iowa and of those 6 2 are close to me.
One is a mobile home/campground "not"

And the other is a roadside "trucker" / rv stayover lot. Hmmmmm double "not"

I'll have to check into the others.
Turbs

[EdJunior]

Well, you pretty well summed it up. Many campgrounds do have limitations on when and how long the discount is for. Many only do the discount during weekdays (usually Wednesday thru Saturday for example). But I have found enough that will work with me that makes it worth it for me. I think the last time we renewed, we did a 3 year and saved a little money.

Sometimes if you call the campground to make the reservations, they will extend or modify their online rules. Some do not, but the only way to know is to ask.

[Witch Doctor]

WE bought PA and it is really useless, The only time they will honor it is if they are empty, each location makes it own rules, I will never waist my monies on them again. I traveled from Virginia to Oregon and got a discount once and that is at the park we bought it at. Do not waist your monies, and most of them are real DUMPS.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

WE bought PA and it is really useless, The only time they will honor it is if they are empty, each location makes it own rules, I will never waist my monies on them again. I traveled from Virginia to Oregon and got a discount once and that is at the park we bought it at. Do not waist your monies, and most of them are real DUMPS.

We have used them (MANY) times, Our experience is 100% (OPPOSITE) of the above post! Youroo!!

[jimh]

i did not renew mine. had it 3 yrs and never used it. the few times i wanted to, i was either too big or it one of the black out dates.

the mobile home park that rents to rv's...i stayed in one several yrs ago in DesMoines. it was a unique experience...owners were friendly but felt like i was invading a tight nit neighborhood. didn't have passport at the time.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by youroo

We have used them (MANY) times, Our experience is 100% (OPPOSITE) of the above post! Youroo!!

Youroo, I guess that's why they sell them. I guess it depends on what you want to spend your good old American Dollar on... Any decent CG that I would want to spend time at would not HONOR it I guess they were not empty....

[jimh]

i have used camp club once in mountain view, ar. the campground was no longer a part of it because they didn't meet standards. i didn't see anything wrong with it. they honored the rate anyway.

[bikendan]

we joined Camp Club USA, instead of PA, because they had more campgrounds near our area, than PA.
no, PA bought CCUSA but didn't add the majority of those we used, to their roster.
so, we haven't bought it.

we don't mind the restrictions and have never been refused, as long as we camped during the specified times.

if you only camp on weekend and holidays or during the summer, then any 50% off club is not worth buying.
if you have the flexibility to camp in off-peak times, then go for it.

if PA adds more campgrounds in our area, then we'll be happy to join.

[Freds342]

I bought a one-year membership When it was up, I bought a three-year membership at a discount and got three added months free.

I just renewed again for three years and three months for $109, less $30 for three other people I signed up.

It always manages to more than pay for itself the way we use it.

[KyDan]

Thanks for all the input.
Guess I'll hold off for now.
It sounds like PA -could- be a good buy especially if you're going to
less popular destinations or even some popular ones if you go off season.

After DW retires in a year or so we hope to do some serious traveling
just before and just after "traditional summer". I think some of those
sites in S. Fla would accept PA if we went in May or September.

I'm all for off season RVing to places that traditionally have good weather
during parts of their off season! Less crowded is fine with me!

Happy Camping!

[Oaklevel]

The answers are right on........ It depends on your needs or uses.... If you use a campground the accepts it is a great value if you don't its not..

Our local campground only accepts it during the week we rarely camp during the week locally . Other campgrounds that we go to don't accept it so we don't have it....

[J_KHawthorne]

We have used PA campgrounds many times on our road trips and are very satisfied with them. We also take a look at the reviews in RV Park Reviews :: Campground Search when planning out a road trip, and this has avoided some disappointments.
We use the PA CG's for overnight stops only and the membership more than paid for itself after just a few stops.
Our final destination CG's are usually National & State/Provincial Parks, Corps of Engineers parks &etc., and the PA savings are put to good use in these!

[ynott96]

We purchase Passport America membership when we bought our 2008 Forest River 374 motorhome.....and have thoroughly enjoyed the advantages afforded through this membership. Our first trip west from Florida we recouped our membership cost within the first two stops! Since then we have NEVER been disappointed with a Passport America campground!
George

We camped over three months in 2012!