AAA Automobile Club of Southern California

Friendly & fast service.
In and out 5 minutes to renew my car registration and get my new sticker

Quick, easy experience at this AAA office. I stopped in to buy discounted Disneyland tickets (they don’t have single day, single park tickets), and it was very simple. The person behind the counter made sure I was buying the correct thing for me, and completed the transaction within minutes. It was a much better experience than I’ve had at other offices.

I really enjoy the niceness of this AAA, it’s clean and well-​kept. The staff are all very friendly and knowledgeable. We came on a Saturday morning to transfer the title of a car and although there were a few other guests in the store, everyone was helped promptly after a short wait. It was an easy and quick process. This AAA is in a nice strip mall by Del Mar with a Starbucks right across from it. There’s plenty of parking too!

I joined AAA for the very first time after my husband insisted we would benefit from this insurance. I eventually did my homework, paid the $ 80 something dollars by enrolling on-​line six months ago and two days ago was the first time I actually utilized our benefit by visiting the Del Mar branch.
I received an email from AAA earlier that day offering a free tote bag coupon. I had to run errands in the area, so I printed out the coupon and made my way there right after work. We live in the area and never bothered with actually going in the branch since we really had no reason to, but this free bag offer suckered me into going.
When I arrived thirty minutes before their closing time, I was greeted by an older, friendly gentleman at the counter and was assisted right away. He didn’t know of the promo since I was the first customer to redeem it, but that was a quick fix since he walked ten feet over to find the stash of free bags waiting to be picked up. When he asked if I needed further assistance, that’s when I decided to seek more info on rental cars for our upcoming trip to New Orleans.
I met with Bethany right away and told her that I booked a rental through my AAA phone app the week before, but wanted to know why I was being quoted double the amount for the fourth day. I’m glad I went in because she was able to find me a four day, mid-​size car rental for only $ 106 (this includes all those annoying taxes and fees).
The best part was that I was offered a map and travel book specific for New Orleans all for FREE! I guess my membership pays for itself whenever I need to do my homework and study what sites and touristy things we should do when we’re on vacation (especially if we’re visiting a place neither of us have been to). I know I can always find this stuff on-​line, but reading a good ‘olé book is also helpful whenever you don’t have a computer or phone quickly accessible.
Overall, my first time experience went really well, so I intend to go back in a few months when it comes time to planning the next family vacation with the in-​laws. I’m voting for an Alaskan cruise, but who knows if the rest of the posse will be down with that idea. Oh well, at least I know where to go when it comes time to plan for it… wherever «it» may be for our next vacation destination!

FYI they close at 5PM. The hours listed on here are wrong. Don’t fall for it like I did.

Wouldn’t go without being a member. The best thing a person can do is be a AAA member. You will rarely ever have to go to the DMV again. I realized my sticker was stolen off my car and had to get a new one. Actually an officer was ticketing me for parking in DM while picking up my son at the beach (I didn’t see the pay park, and she let me off :)) anyways, she told me my reg was expired. I knew I would have paid it but couldn’t remember so I stopped by my local AAA on my way home and within 10 mins had a new sticker. For $ 20 which sucks because I already paid for it, but the point is, I didn’t have to go to the dmv and wait for half a day, I handled it in 10 mins. They are always so helpful and I love the Del Mar store.

Totally unresponsive and irresponsible with client privacy and «do not solicit» instructions. Let’s face it. AAA is an insurance agency, a sales organization focused solely on selling insurance products. Sure, its disguised as a travel agency but all they want to do is sell high-​margin insurance products. General Manager is insensitive and unresponsive about multiple requests to be put on the «do not solicit» list

My wife and I have used the Del Mar AAA travel services to book Europe trips in 2013 and 2014.
Both experiences were great. The agents were knowledgeable and booked us what we wanted; both trips were fairly complicated with multiple destinations and flights within Europe. We tried to book it ourselves online but couldn’t get it to work so the fee AAA charges for the service was well worth it.
In 2013 we worked with Amy E., who was SUPER, but she’s at a different branch now. In April 2014 we worked with Brandon B. who is also SUPER — they both took all the time we needed, gave us information with no sales pressure and when we went back to do the deal they were each ready and we got booked in less than 45 minutes…
We’ll be going back whenever we need travel agency service, DMV, or discount movie or park tix.

They will not answer their phone from time to time. As I am writing this post… the phone has been ringing on their side for over 5 min. In the Auto depot selection. This is not the first time they have never picked up… they need a secret shopper at this branch… oops phone just picked up and hung
5min 51 sec!

AAA is in the business of ripping people off. For homeowner’s, they are nearly double the price of other companies without discounts! I asked that they apply the so-​called discount to the REAL price of insurance… and the supervisor, Michael, refused.
I asked them to take coverages off that I didn’t need… like coverage for «other structures»…and they refused. I don’t have any other structures!!! No shed or outbuildings… but they added on nearly $ 32 000 in coverage for these phantom buildings!
I asked them to reduce the personal property coverage. I don’t have $ 188,000+ worth of stuff. They refused. So I asked if the house burnt to the ground, do they just hand me a check for $ 188K. Nope. You have to prove you have that much stuff. DUH!!! Of course I can’t prove it! I don’t have it!
AAA commits FRAUD against it’s customers daily. From home owner’s insurance to vacations. Avoid them at all costs!!! That one tow a year isn’t worth the hundreds of dollars extra in overcharges AAA passes on as «discounted premiums».

If you are going to plan a trip, see Amy Evangelista, she is the best travel agent ever! She has visited a lot of places and she knows her stuff. We did all of our honeymoon travel through her, and she got us the best discounts she could. Go Amy!

Office Hours:
Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The AAA Automobile Club of Southern California is super great and helpful! Nick and Bonnie helped me out today. Everyone was amiable and patient as they answered my many questions. Filling out forms can be confusing and tedious, but they made the tedious process tolerable. They are tolerable and service is SUPERB. This AAA office is fully staffed so they take care of you right away and don’t make you wait in long lines unnecessarily. I LOVE this as it shows that they respect your time.
The drawback is that they keep normal business hours so if you work during the same hours, you might need to take time off from work. They are open from Saturday 10am-​2pm, which helps some, unless you work at that time as well.
I did try to call ahead to get some information between 2pm and 3pm on a Thursday afternoon and couldn’t reach anyone. After getting through the automated phone menu, I was directed to a line where it made me wait for a live person to speak with. The phone rang for at least 5 mins. each time I called. This was a bit frustrating as I wanted to get all the information I needed before going into their office. Eventually, I took a chance and stopped into the office, and took as much information with me as I thought I needed. Thankfully they were soooo helpful that it overshadowed the less than stellar phone experience.

Just stopped in at your Del Mar Heights location and had an outstanding customer service experience from Debra, who was working the front desk. She was so helpful and patient responding to Qs about attraction discounts, buying discount movie tix, etc., and I left with a new tour book for SoCal and lots of info and coupons to prepare for an upcoming visit from my nephew. Thanks for reminding me that AAA membership is valuable for so much more than road service! Thanks, Debbie!

Everyone I have had experience with so far are helpful and do their best to assist you. I have AAA insurance for my car, motorcycle and house. They are always professional and take care of me when any incidents occur. The office typically has no wait or a short one at that. DMV Service is the real reason to be a AAA member as it allows you to minimize time in that atrocious place and the hours saved by going to AAA easily pays for the membership cost itself.

Travel is a 2. DMV services are a 4 if all their computers are working.
Very busy office. Cannot call ahead for an appointment.
Travel office is probably fine if you’re going to book a tour or going to Hawaii, but if you are planning anything out of the ordinary — go somewhere else or do it yourself. Booked a flight to New Zealand with them and they had to go through another agency who was aware of only one campervan service when there are actually numerous available. I was told by someone who worked there that the agents at the AAA ofc were familiar with New Zealand travel — which was totally untrue. The agent I worked with was nice, but she seemed put out that I did not plan my trip a year in advance. I went to the office only 3 months in advance and she just couldn’t believe it (my boss didn’t approve my vacation until 3 months before the trip.)
Use for travel at your own risk unless you’re in your 70’s and want canned tour travel, a bland Hawaii trip or a cruise.

I feel so foolish that I have not fully utilized all of AAA’s services before. I did a transfer of title and updated my address all in 10 minutes! The woman who helped us was knowledgeable, polite and efficient. I am going to make a habit of looking up what services I am entitled by being a AAA member.

I was a little bit apprehensive to book my first cruise with a Travel Agent as opposed to doing it myself online through expedia or directly with the cruise line. However, since this is my first time planning a cruise for a large group (17 people), I decided to check out the AAA Travel Agency just to make sure everything for the trip would go smoothly. I am so glad I did! Mary Anderson helped me plan out the logistics for the trip and helped me find the perfect cabins and booked with the cruise line. My payment was directly to Royal Caribbean and Mary was super fast with correspondence — she answered e-​mails quickly and never hesitated to help whenever I had issues. For example, one of our friends could no longer make the cruise so she contacted Royal Caribbean for us and we resolved the issue together.
Mary was great because she never forced anything extra on us such as trip insurance, but she did make sure to offer it and inform us about it.
Our cruise is coming up in June and I feel so much at ease that everything will go well because of Mary’s attention to detail and excellent customer service !
Also, although you do need to be an AAA member for most services, you do NOT have to have membership to utilize the travel services :) So if you need a little extra guidance with your next vacation, see Mary with AAA travel! :)