In fact, several credit card companies offer services through third party providers for things such as identity theft, travel planning and even roadside assistance. These services are not always marketed to credit card customers very well, and J.D. Power & Associates reports that only about 2/3 of people are even aware of their benefits, and even fewer people are using their credit cards to their full advantage. For this reason, many credit card companies are dropping extra benefits from their cardholder agreements.

In August 2015, Discover issued a new cardholder agreement that stated they intend to “simplify the suite of cardmember benefits that it provides by eliminating certain benefits in order to provide a better customer experience.” What this really means is that they are eliminating benefits to save themselves money. With recent laws in effect that restrict credit card companies on the kind of late fees and interest rates they can charge, many lenders are looking at cutting cardholder benefits and other services to save money and help their bottom line.

In fact, Sears MasterCard recently dropped its rental car collision coverage, travel assistance and roadside assistance benefits, and Bank of America is discontinuing its roadside and travel assistance benefits for its MasterCard Better Balance Rewards cardholders as well. With these heavy hitters leading the pack, it’s a logical assumption that other credit card companies will be following their lead and dropping third party services for their cardholders as well. So whether or not you have one of these cards listed above, you should start looking around for another provider for these services.

Even if you do plan to continue using your credit card company’s services, keep in mind that most credit card companies still charge their cardholders a fee to use their roadside assistance and these fees can run up to $70 per call. At that price, you should consider going with Best Roadside Service’s roadside assistance plan. In fact, a year of roadside assistance with Best Roadside Service, which includes up to 6 calls per year, only costs between $65-$80 depending on the plan chosen. Additionally, Best Roadside Service offers travel assistance, travel concierge services, travel discounts, coupons, a 24-hour emergency hotline, discounts at national automotive maintenance shops and more. Your discounts from these partners might just pay for your annual membership! You don’t have to have a particular credit card to have these services and you don’t have to pay a crazy interest rate to earn them. Individual plans are less than $80/year and vehicle plans are just $65 annually.

Why Choose Best Roadside Service

Going with a company that specializes in roadside assistance is also the only way to ensure you get the best and fastest service. Credit card companies are essentially playing the middle man to their cardholders – creating an additional step and costing the customer more time when they do need help on the side of the road. Best Roadside Service, on the other hand, has an average response time of just 34 minutes. And their service providers respond to over 70,000 calls per month. In the last 50 years, Best Roadside Service has unlocked over 170,000 doors, changed over 340,000 flat tires,  towed over 6.8 million miles and delivered over 60,000 gallons of fuel!

But not all roadside assistance plans and providers are created equal. Whether you want to purchase a plan for a particular vehicle, no matter who is driving it, or a plan for an individual, no matter what vehicle they are driving – you’ll want to compare plans,  and go with a Better Business Bureau A+ rated company that has been providing roadside service for over 50 years to consumers just like you.

The bottom line is that your credit card company is more concerned with their bottom line than customer perks and benefits. Ditch the middle man,  and purchase an independent roadside assistance plan for you and your family from Best Roadside Service!  

The post Credit Card Companies Drop Roadside Assistance Coverage appeared first on Best Roadside Service.

Many people may even have a pleasure car that they only drive when the weather is nice or on the weekends or for special occasions. These so called “Sunday Drivers” usually don’t see a lot of miles – they may be antique or vintage cars or they might be sports cars that just aren’t efficient or practical  enough to drive every day. Whatever the case may be, many people choose not to purchase roadside assistance plans for these vehicles since they aren’t driven as often as their everyday car. But this oversight can lead to costly and aggravating headaches were something to happen during a beautiful afternoon drive through the country.

Here are just a few reasons why you should consider an emergency roadside plan for your Sunday Driver.

1. 1. The car is an older antique or vintage model.
      You love the fact that your car represents another place and time in automotive history, but its age also means that it may be more prone to breaking down or having mechanical issues. Nothing can ruin a Sunday Drive more than being stranded on a back road. With a company like Best Roadside Service, which has an average response time of 34 minutes, you’ll be back to cruising the open road as quickly as possible.

1. 1. You take your pleasure car for road trips.
      Many people use their pleasure car exclusively for road trips and travel. This can be a fun way to get from point A to point B, but being on the road for long periods of time can also make you more likely to experience roadside issues. Best Roadside Service plans provide 24-hour emergency roadside assistance whether you have a flat tire, run out of gas or experience a total breakdown.

1. 1. You like to stay active when you travel.
      If you’re traveling in your pleasure car, a roadside assistance plan can also give you access to travel coupons and discounts. At Best Roadside Service they even offer their members custom map routing and turn by turn directions through their 24 hour hotline. That way you’ll never get lost, and you’ll be able to afford and enjoy more when you get to your destination.

1. 1. You have other cars that need coverage.
      With Best Roadside Service, we give you two kinds of coverage options. You can purchase a plan that covers your vehicle, no matter who is driving it, or you can purchase a plan that covers you as an individual – no matter what vehicle you are driving. If you own a pleasure vehicle, an individual policy may be the best choice because you will still receive roadside assistance and all the benefits of the plan whether you’re driving your day-to-day car or your Sunday Driver. Individual plans are just $79.95 a year if you sign up online today!

1. Your Sunday Driver needs frequent maintenance.
   If your Sunday Driver is an antique or older vehicle, it may need more maintenance than a newer vehicle. With Best Roadside Service, we offer discounted prices at national automotive repair shops including Jiffy Lube, Meineke, Maaco,  Aamco and more. These discounts can save you a lot of money on vehicles that need frequent repair or maintenance and can keep your pleasure car driving for many miles to come.

Having a pleasure car can be a fun way to spend weekends, vacations, and enjoy beautiful fall weather, but to truly enjoy your pleasure vehicle, make sure it’s covered with a roadside assistance plan that provides all these benefits and services so that you’re never left on the side of the road. Contact Best Roadside Service to order your plan today! 

The post Why Your Sunday Driver Needs Roadside Assistance appeared first on Best Roadside Service.

Grandparent’s Day became nationally recognized in 1979 when President Jimmy Carter signed a Presidential Proclamation to observe the Sunday after Labor Day as Grandparent’s Day.  On this day people are encouraged to celebrate their grandparents by spending time together, giving gifts and including grandparents in school or church activities. The goal of this special day is to help children appreciate their grandparents, to learn from them, to hear their stories and become closer. This year, Grandparent’s Day falls on Sunday, September 13th, 2015.

Grandparent’s Day Special

At Best Roadside Service, we’d like to help you celebrate Grandparent’s Day by offering a $10 or $15 discount on a gift membership for the grandparents in your life. If you sign up online today, you can save $10 on a vehicle coverage gift membership. This plan will cover a vehicle, no matter who is driving it and costs just $65 with the discount. This is a great gift for a grandmother and grandfather who often ride together or drive the same vehicle. You can also save $15 off an individual coverage plan, which covers an individual no matter what vehicle they are driving, which is great for the grandparent who often drives more than one vehicle. The discounted price for this plan is just $79.95.

An emergency roadside assistance plan makes a great gift for grandparents, and it’s something they will enjoy the benefit of all year long. The average age of a first-time grandparent in the United States is just 50 years old. That means grandparents are younger and more active than ever. Most are probably still driving, many are still working and commuting every day and nearly all will do some sort of vehicular travel this year.

However, as grandparents age it can become more and more difficult and dangerous for them to do some tasks, especially those related to a roadside emergency such as changing a flat tire. A Best Roadside Service plan can help in these risky situations. All of our plans come with our 24-hour emergency assistance hotline which is entirely operated in the United States. Our average response time is just 34 minutes, so we will get help to them fast and efficiently. Our plans cover flat tires, replacing fluids, up to three gallons of gas, locksmith service, towing, jump starts and more.

Nowadays, families in the US are often spread apart, and long car trips or travel may be required for grandparents to see their children and grandchildren. If the grandparent in your life travels often, a roadside assistance plan may be just what they need so you both can feel secure while they’re on the road.

And since grandparents are younger and more active than ever, many of them enjoy travel and activities, especially if they are retired. Best Roadside Service offers its members travel discounts, coupons, concierge service, custom map routing and even turn by turn directions from our emergency hotline in case they get lost. Additionally, members can enjoy benefits for auto services such as oil changes, tune ups and other mechanical services at national companies such as Jiffy Lube, Maaco, Meineke and more. So no matter where your grandparents live, they can use their benefits fully.

Grandparent’s Day is a wonderful way to celebrate the people in our lives that we care about. Show your grandparents how much you care about them and their safety by giving them the gift of Best Roadside Service so that they can continue to enjoy the travel and activities in their life with peace of mind.

The post Give the Gift of Roadside Safety This Grandparent’s Day appeared first on Best Roadside Service.

Four Important Questions to Ask About Online Reviews

Do you really want your insurance company to know your roadside assistance needs?

Many roadside assistance companies are really car insurance companies such as AAA and Allstate. If your car insurance and roadside assistance company are the same, your insurance company will look at your roadside service calls and use that information to hike up your rates. Yes, this does happen, and yes, it can be why your rate got hiked. Your roadside assistance company should be focused solely on providing you with the best service – not with selling you insurance or finding reasons to hike up your rates. Best Roadside Service is independently owned and is not affiliated with any auto insurance company. Our singular focus is to provide our members with the best roadside assistance – day or night, 365 days a year.

Do you really want a roadside assistance company without an A+ Better Business Bureau Rating?

If you’re searching roadside assistance clubs that have an A+ rating, the field narrows quickly. Best Roadside Assistance takes pride in our stellar A+ rating. Do we ever make mistakes? Yes. Do we work our hardest to make it right? Yes! Finding good old fashioned customer service with another roadside company can be a difficult task.

Do you really want your roadside assistance through a political lobbyist or non-American organization?

AARP is a political organization that lobbies in Washington D.C for senior benefits. Their roadside assistance service is actually maintained by Allstate (and we already covered why you may not want an insurance company’s assistance). Do you really want a company who is more focused on wooing D.C. politicians than your safety and service needs?

Additionally, roadside clubs through companies like BP (British Petroleum) are not even owned and operated in America. How can you expect a company to give you the best service possible when they’re not even in the same country as you?

So, do you really want a roadside assistance company just because it has good online reviews?

After you ask yourself the last few questions, you’ll see you’ve narrowed the playing field down significantly. An American-owned and operated company that’s not affiliated with an insurance company or political organization that has a A+ BBB rating and is the most competitively priced? That’s Best Roadside Assistance! And since we don’t pay any review company for “membership” (i.e. – rankings) that may be why you haven’t seen us on some online review sites. But here are some things you may be interested to know about us.

Since 1962, we have:

• towed over 6.8 million miles
• unlocked over 170,000 doors
• changed 340,000 flat tires
• delivered over 68,000 gallons of fuel to stranded motorists
• we did this with an average response time of ONLY 34 minutes.

Best Roadside Assistance has some of the most friendly customer service reps that are right here in the U.S. Don’t believe us? Give us a call at 855-278-4858 or contact us online right now . We have individual or vehicle coverage options as well as corporate and fleet coverage. We can help you sign up right over the phone, so call now!

The post Can You Really Trust Those Online Reviews? appeared first on Best Roadside Service.

But no matter how you travel or where you’re going, it’s good to be prepared. We’ve compiled a list of ten things you may not think to bring on your road trip, but that will help you out in a bind and make your trip more enjoyable.

1. Maps. In an age of GPS technology and Smart Phones, maps are sometimes overlooked as travel relics. But what happens when your GPS loses satellite service or there’s no cell reception or your batteries die? Having a map of your route can be a life saver. Depending on where you are traveling you’ll want to have a state map for each state you’ll be traveling through. If you are traveling cross-country an atlas may be a good investment. Members of some roadside assistance companies, such as Best Roadside Service, can also get customized trip mapping as part of their membership.
2. Road Flares. A flare can be an actual life saver if something happens to your vehicle during a trip. Especially if you are traveling on rural roads that may not have a large shoulder to pull off on, putting road flares around your vehicle will help ensure other motorists see you in the dark and can move around you safely. It will also help the tow truck or roadside assistance truck find you on a dark roadway.
3. Cash and coins. In a credit-based world, many people choose not to carry cash, and when you’re traveling you may not want to have too much on you. But it’s a good idea to keep a small amount of cash and especially coins on your person or in your car. When an unexpected toll road comes along, you’ll be prepared or when you’re almost out of gas and the back-roads gas station only takes cash, you’ll be covered. Coins are also useful for air machines in case your tire pressure gets low, car washes, and pay phones, in case you lose cell reception.
4. Cell Phone Battery Back Up. Cell phones tend to die at the most inconvenient times, and you can’t always get plugged in or wait around for your phone to charge. Fortunately, battery back ups have become extremely affordable and are small and easy to carry with you. Having one on your trip may just save the day.
5. Coupons and Discount Books. Eating out, staying in hotels, renting cars and travel attractions can add up and become expensive. Look for coupon booklets at places you pass through – especially at rest stops and in hotel lobbies. If you know where you are going in advance, research discount codes and coupons on the internet. You may also want to become a member of a roadside assistance company, which often offer discounts and coupon booklets for free to their members.
6. Tire Gauge and Spare Tire.  A low or flat tire is nearly inevitable when traveling long distances. Having a reliable tire gauge will help you pinpoint the tire that is leaking and make sure all your tires are properly filled. Additionally, make sure you travel with a spare tire, in case worse comes to worse and your tires goes completely flat. Not having one can become a time consuming and expensive situation.
7. Bottled water. Keep bottles of water in your car to keep you hydrated on those long stretches when there aren’t gas stations or rest stops or when you just don’t want to lose any time by stopping. Make sure the bottles are safely accessible from the driver’s seat if you’re traveling alone.
8. Gas Can. Keeping a can of gasoline (safely capped and stored in your trunk or cargo area) may get you out of a bind. Especially if you will be driving through rural areas where gas stations may not be accessible, it’s good to have a little fuel insurance.
9. A Cooler. Stopping every time you want a snack or a cold beverage can extend your road trip and delay your destination. Putting a small cooler with a few ice packs in the car means you can pack meals in advance or keep food and drinks cool between stops. That way that egg salad sandwich you didn’t finish for lunch might actually still be edible in a few hours when your hunger strikes again.
10. Roadside Service. Although you can certainly think ahead and pack thoughtfully, you can’t be prepared for every single situation. Becoming a member of a Roadside Assistance Company before you hit the road means someone will always be there for you if you break down, get a flat tire, run out of gas, or just want customized mapping, discounts, coupons, travel deals and more. Most roadside service plans are very affordable and if something does come up, they will save you money and stress in an emergency situation.

This summer, hit the road with a sense of adventure, but don’t forget to be prepared to make the most of your trip. And remember – it’s not just about the destination, it’s the journey!

Here are just some of the benefit partners that Best Roadside Service works with to provide you with the best services, discounts and benefits in the industry.

The post Don’t Forget These 10 Things on Your Summer Road Trip appeared first on Best Roadside Service.