10 AARP member benefits you might not know about

Despite being in my mid 40s, I’ve had an AARP membership for 10 years. No, I’m not Benjamin Button; you don’t have to be 50 years old to become an AARP member. In fact, you can join from the age of 18.

Some of you might have done that in the past, such as a few years ago when AARP ran a Black Friday promo, offering a 5 year membership for only $45 (i.e. $9 per year), with the potential to get $20 back or 2,000 Membership Rewards by clicking through from Rakuten and stacking with a Chase Offer that was giving $8 back at the time too.

Considering the value that an AARP membership can provide, paying $9 per year (or $5 per year after accounting for the portal cashback) was an absolute steal and so I jumped on that offer seeing as my membership was coming up for renewal. While that offer isn’t available any more, at the time of republishing this post you can get a 5 year AARP membership for $55, so averaging out at $11 per year. As before, you can stack that sale with shopping portal earnings and a targeted Chase Offer for $8 back.

Off the back of a past deal for an AARP membership, a member of our Frequent Miler Insiders Facebook group asked:

With all the talk about the Black Friday AARP discount/Capital One Portal offer/Chase Offer stack, I’m now an AARP member at the ripe, old age of 36.

Any tips on benefits you really like or deals you take advantage of to maximize your membership or AARP rewards? Thanks!

With our Facebook group having many helpful readers, he got a number of replies and I added a few suggestions of my own. I’m sure he’s not the only person wondering how to squeeze even more value out of a newly (or possibly oldly) minted AARP membership, so I thought I’d put together this post sharing many ways in which you can do that.

For reference, you can find a complete list of benefits on the AARP website, but here’s a list of 10 AARP member benefits you might not know about.

1) Discounted gift cards

AARP sells a number of gift card brands at a discount. You can find all of them here; you’ll need to keep scrolling down and then click ‘See More Rewards’ to continue seeing all of them.

Discounts range from 4% up to 20%, with members having a limit of 5 discounted gift cards per calendar month, so up to 60 per year. Many of these discounted gift card options require the completion of a few tasks like answering quizzes, watching 2 minute videos, etc. That can be worth it though for the savings on offer and points you’ll earn; more about those points shortly.

You used to be able to buy gift cards for 8% off for Kroger and its affiliate stores and Giant Eagle, but those opportunities are no more. You can save 4% on gift cards for Albertsons and its affiliate stores though (e.g. Safeway). Large denomination Airbnb gift cards can be had for 4% or 5% off, plus there are numerous other travel brands available for 5% or 10% off including Best Western, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Fairmont, and more. The 20% discounted cards tend to be for $10 denominations, with the selection rotating each month.

In addition to that, AARP Rewards runs Daily Deals every weekday where they offer 20%-30% off a gift card from 12pm ET to 2pm ET, with the best deals selling out quickly. Those cards are usually for $20 or $25 denominations, but can be a great way to save 20%-30% on $100-$150 worth of gift cards each month for a variety of brands.

2) Discounts on local activities

With an AARP membership you get a free AARP Rewards account. Purchasing a membership earns you points, answering quizzes (even with incorrect answers) and watching videos (e.g. to unlock discounted gift cards) earn you points, etc.

Those points can be redeemed for select gift cards, but the redemption rate is appalling (e.g. 14,000 points for a $5 gift card). A far better redemption option is redeeming AARP Rewards points for savings on local activities and restaurants.

You can find those options here; note that you might need to change the zip code displayed as I don’t think it always defaults to the zip code on your account. The great thing is that you can enter any zip code, so if you’re traveling elsewhere in the US then you can look up deals for there too.

I believe that these local deals are powered by Entertainment.com, the company that produces those Entertainment coupon books that you can often buy at a discount. The great thing about the AARP Rewards Local Deals option is that you don’t need to buy an Entertainment book to take advantage of these Local Deals. Instead, you can just redeem some of the AARP Rewards points you earned for free, with many options only costing 500 points or so.

Those redemptions vary depending on the attraction, restaurant, etc. Options can include BOGO tickets to museums, BOGO entrees at restaurants, $5 off $25 at restaurants, discounts at major retailers, 20% off cleaning services, $10 off oil changes, etc.

3) 10%-15% off at many restaurants

In addition to the discounted dining options available via the Local Deals listed above, there are a few restaurant groups where you can save 10% or 15% at their chains.

For example, Bloomin’ Brands owns Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s, and Bonefish Grill and your AARP membership gets you 10% off when dining at their locations, as well as when ordering over the phone for pick-up. Fleming’s is another Bloomin’ Brands restaurant chain, but they’re not specifically listed as getting 10% off, but it might work there too.

Many Landry’s chains—including Landry’s itself, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Joe’s Crab Shack, McCormick & Schmick’s, and more—also get 10% off both in-restaurant and to-go orders placed by phone. This can be stacked with Landry’s gift cards bought for 20% off from Costco or Sam’s Club.

Focus Brands—owner of Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Jamba, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotsky’s—gives 10% off in-store, in-app and for online orders.

Denny’s gives a Grand Slamming 15% off, as does Cici’s Pizza. Papa Johns meanwhile offers a 20% discount off regular menu prices when ordering online.

If you ever eat at any of these restaurants, the savings could pay for your AARP membership many times over.

4) Hotel discounts

About 10 years ago, my parents visited us from the UK and we surprised them with a trip up to Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Hilton Niagara Falls/Fallsview Hotel & Suites, booking an AARP rate which saved us something like $100 on the cheapest available rate for the few days we were there.

We’ve used the AARP rate for a few hotel chains since then. While the savings haven’t been astronomical, they’ve still more than covered the membership fee which has made membership even more worthwhile.

When selecting the AARP rate on hotel websites, be sure to check the rate terms to make sure that you’re eligible for the rate. While AARP rates are often available for all AARP members, I’ve come across instances where the rate details state that you have to be of a certain age (e.g. 60+) in order to book that rate.

5) Movie tickets

An AARP membership offers purported discounts of 10%-45% on movie theatre tickets for chains including Regal, AMC, and Cinemark, as well as discounts on concessions. You can find the landing page for this benefit here.

6) Discounts on attractions

A few years ago my wife and I visited Grand Caverns in Grottoes, VA. (Side note: while the Luray Caverns are massive, impressive, and pet-friendly if you can carry your pup in a backpack, the Grand Caverns were almost more impressive due to how close you are to all the formations). The entry fee was $20 per adult, but that got reduced to $17.50 per person courtesy of our AARP membership.

There are other attractions that offer discounts to AARP members, but I’m sure there’ll be a few employees nationwide who might raise an eyebrow at a 20-something person trying to get an AARP discount even if it is legit, provided their AARP rate doesn’t require that you also be of a certain age.

7) Rental car savings

There are a couple of different ways you can use your AARP membership to save money when booking rental cars. One is by using AARP rate codes when booking directly with Budget, Avis, and Payless.

The other is to book your rental car using the AARP Travel Center which is powered by Expedia. In addition to getting similar discounts as using the AARP code when booking directly, there are other benefits like an upgrade and a free additional driver. That latter benefit could save you a decent amount of money if you wouldn’t otherwise be eligible for a free additional driver, the value of which would more than offset the cost of your membership.

8) Barclays savings account bonus & higher APY

Through July 31, 2026, AARP members can benefit twofold from a partnership with Barclays bank.

If you open a Select Savings account and deposit $40,000 within the first 30 days and maintain the balance for 120 days, you’ll earn a $400 bonus. In addition to that bonus, you’ll earn a higher 4.00% APY on your balance.

9) Shell fuel savings

You get additional savings on your first fill-up when joining the Shell Fuel Rewards program and linking to your AARP member account, as well as ongoing Gold status which saves you 5¢ per gallon.

10) Exxon Mobil Reward+ bonus points

The partnership between AARP and Exxon Mobil isn’t the most lucrative of options listed in this post, but if you ever fill up at Exxon or Mobil gas stations, it’s worth linking your AARP account to your Exxon Mobil Rewards+ account. That’s because AARP members get 1 extra cent in rewards per gallon on fill-ups, 1 extra cent in rewards per dollar spent in-store, and double points on the 22nd of each month.

If you don’t currently have an Exxon Mobil Rewards+ account, signing up via AARP will get you bonus points too.

FAQs

Do I have to be old to join AARP?

Nope! You can be as young as 18 to join AARP.

How much does an AARP membership cost?

It depends on several factors. A key one is membership length: subscribing for five years will give you a cheaper per-year price than renewing year-by-year. AARP often offers even larger discounts during Thanksgiving week. AARP sometimes gives discounts when opting in for auto-renewal too.

Are there other ways to save on AARP memberships?

Yes, although these can sometimes be targeted or only available at certain times of the year. Walgreens occasionally gives a free AARP membership when spending a certain amount in-store, while there are sometimes Chase Offers giving a percentage back or a fixed-dollar amount when spending $12 or more with AARP.

You can also click through from a shopping portal before subscribing to earn cashback on the membership. You can find the current portal rates here.

What Is AARP Rewards?

AARP Rewards is a rewards program run by AARP that offers points for performing activities such as joining and renewing an AARP membership, completing surveys, answering quizzes, watching videos and more.

Those points can then be redeemed for savings on gift cards, local deals, magazines and more.

How can I find a list of AARP member benefits?

You can find a complete list of member benefits here. Note that while anyone aged 18+ can join AARP, some benefits are only available for members of a certain age. The ten benefits listed in this post are available for everyone though, no matter your age.

Do AARP benefits change?

Yes. For example, in the past AARP members were able to get savings at Walgreens, on British Airways flights, discounted one-way rentals with Avis and Budget, and Ticketmaster ticket deals, but those partnerships have all since ended.

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.