There are numerous camping clubs around the country and more starting every year. How real are the discounts? Are they right for you? What types of camping clubs should you belong to?
There are three main types of Clubs.
50% off clubs. Started by Passport America several years ago, there are several of these now. Campgrounds become affiliated with one or more of these clubs and offer club members a whopping 50% discount during off peak times. However, the individual parks choose when they will offer the discount.
Traditional camping clubs that provide other services or benefits such as Good Sam, Escapees, AAA and many others. These clubs were formed with other purposes in mind and the discount offered is a secondary benefit. The discount is usually 10-15%. The camping club usually specifies that the member campgrounds must provide a discount at all times.
Timeshare Membership campgrounds. These parks sometimes offer reciprocal agreements with other timeshare membership parks. There are several of these in different regions of the country that offer reciprocal arrangements, like Thousand Trails and Coast to Coast. The purchase price is steep, usually in the thousands, your membership and annual dues usually allow you free camping at your base park and camping at reciprocal parks sometimes for as little as a few dollars a night.
Before you consider any of these clubs, ask yourself what type of camper am I?
Are you an occasional camper that goes out only on Holiday weekends and maybe for a week’s vacation? If so, the 50% off clubs probably won’t help you as the discounts that members offer you usually aren’t available when you are likely to camp. The traditional camping clubs might break even but are unlikely to save you much.
On the other hand, are you a frequent camper, do you camp a lot in the off-season?. Are you retired? Do you travel a lot? If so the 50% off clubs could save you a lot of money. Just be sure to take a close look at the participating campgrounds in the areas you like to camp. Are your favorite parks and campgrounds on their list?
Rarely does a membership at a timeshare membership campground save you money. These memberships are fine if they suit you. However they really only make sense if you are planning to spend a substantial amount of time at the base campground where you bought the membership.
There are many, many people that join each of the discount camping clubs and swear by them. However even the biggest of discount clubs is only offered at a small minority of campgrounds and Parks in the US. Whichever club you join is going to severely limit your choice of places to stay (and get a discount). Because of that loss of flexibility, many campers feel that their best choice is to make no choice at all.
