As luck would have it, the day I mailed my $29 payment to the American Motorcyclist Association for my AMA Life Membership Plus, which includes road service, I got a letter from Signature’s Nationwide Auto Club telling me they plan to bill my VISA card for $99 on April 28 to renew my membership for another year.
I’ve been with Nationwide ever since I got a free introductory membership in its previous incarnation as BMW/Cross Country Motor Club with my ‘91 BMW K100RS in June, 1991. That’s 22 years ago.
In all that time, I’ve used their road service once – July 24, 2008, when I had a flat rear tire on my 2003 K1200GT just west of Kit Carson, Colo. They picked up the tab on a $404 recovery vehicle bill for hauling my bike 115 miles back to the BMW dealership in Colorado Springs. Considering that I’ve been paying for a membership all these years, they’re still ahead of the game with my account.
I discovered the AMA deal last year when I was up for Nationwide renewal, but I didn’t act quickly enough to avoid being charged for another year. So I rode last year with multiple road service plans.
I phoned Nationwide’s customer service number this afternoon and found myself talking with a black woman whose reading skills were sorely taxed as she worked her way through the script she was obliged to read to me to try to talk me into re-upping. I finally told her to stop reading to me because I was making an informed decision to not renew. Period.
So far as I can tell, these guys no longer have a relationship with BMW Motorrad, so there’s nothing special about their service as far as bike brands go.
And removing their card reduces the lump in my back pocket by about a millimeter.
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