Which Roadside Assistance Plan Will Help You the Most?

You can never predict whether you’re going to need roadside assistance for a flat tire, dead battery or other vehicle issue, but if you’re a member of a roadside assistance program, you’ll be covered when it happens.  There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an unfamiliar area and nowhere to go. The even more difficult part is deciding which roadside assistance program best fits your family’s needs.

Roadside assistance programs are most often offered along with new or certified used car purchases, by stand-alone companies, or as add-ons through your insurance, credit card or cellphone company. We’re here to help you pick out the best roadside assistance for your family!

Best Roadside Assistance Plans

Good Sam

Good Sam Roadside Assistance has some of the best services we saw. For example, it offers unlimited towing, jump starts and flat tire repairs. Good Sam Roadside Assistance’s most notable feature is its unlimited towing – most roadside assistance services have limits set between 5 and 100 miles or only reimburse you for the money you spend.

In addition, Good Sam offers unlimited flat tire repairs, jump starts, fuel delivery and locksmith services. For the locksmith, you’re often on the hook for parts and labor. One drawback of using Good Sam is it’s one of the more expensive services we reviewed. Its standard plan costs $80 a year, so a little more than $6 a month.

The Platinum plan costs about $115 a year, or $9.50 a month. Good Sam’s unlimited roadside assistance comes with both plans. Both levels also cover all your vehicles and family members, unlike other services that require you pay extra to add more people to their plans. The main difference between Good Sam’s two plans is the Platinum plan includes discounts on hotels and rental cars.

Allstate Motor Club

Allstate Motor Club pairs affordable plans with generous roadside assistance services. You get $100 reimbursement on towing and locksmith services with the Roadside Advantage Plan, which is more than enough to cover local and some longer distance service calls.

The Roadside Advantage plan is the most basic, and it is one of the most affordable plans we saw. It costs $52 annually, or a little more than $4 a month. This plan includes $100 worth of roadside assistance. This means if you get a flat tire, need a tow, get locked out of your car or run out of fuel, Allstate dispatches assistance and reimburses you for up to $100 of the cost. This is a more generous benefit than other services provide – many offer free towing for a limited number of miles, rather than reimbursing you for the amount you pay.

The Platinum Elite plan costs $99 a year, or about $8 a month. That’s about $20 less than average for premium roadside plans. The Platinum plan includes over $250 worth of reimbursement, so if you need a longer tow, you’re covered for it. In case you get in an accident far away from home, Allstate provides a trip interruption benefit. It provides up to $1,500 toward food and lodging while your car gets repaired.

AAA

AAA is the biggest name in roadside assistance. Its basic plan’s low price and wide variety of benefits, including rewards programs and identity protection, make it our choice for best value. The AAA Classic plan costs $56 a year, which is about $4.66 a month and only a few dollars more than Allstate’s basic plan. For about the same price, you get a variety of benefits, some of which aren’t strictly roadside assistance but valuable nonetheless.

AAA Classic provides free towing for 5 miles, which is usually sufficient in cities. If you get locked out of your car, the service reimburses you $50 for the cost of a locksmith. This plan also includes benefits like identity theft monitoring and membership discounts at hotels, restaurants and other businesses. So, if you’re not a long-distance traveler, AAA’s basic plan can provide peace of mind and benefits other services lack.

The company’s higher-level plan, AAA Premier, is slightly more expensive than comparable plans elsewhere, with a $119 annual cost. Several competing roadside assistance programs’ premium plans come in at less than $100 a year. However, while it may cost more, AAA Premier includes 200 miles of free towing, which is double the distance in most premium plans.