<p>Hi, my parents really think that buying this might be useful, but it looks like a gimmick to me. Do any of you guys have one or know if it is actually very useful on campus? The only thing which imediately jumped out at me was the amtrak discount.</p>
<p>AAA gives you a discount on Amtrak too. I think it's a gimmick.</p>
<p>not having a AAA discount, I thought the card was well worth it, and certainly paid for itself over four years. Even though my parents live in philly, I still found cause to take amtrak a lot, and the card had paid for itself by the end of 1 year (the 1-800 flowers discount was one I also used repeatedly). During my med school interviews this past year, it was very nice to have when I needed to go up and down the northeast corridor.</p>
<p>My impression was that the only perk people actually used was Amtrak, and that only those without AAA coverage found it beneficial. But then again, if you're traveling to NYC there are easier ways, and it's usually cheaper to fly to Boston, so it's only the DC area that helps.</p>
<p>If you buy it freshman year, you might come out ahead. Anything later than that and it's probably a wash.</p>
<p>I just noticed this old thread - thought I'd add to it in case it's useful to some lurker in the future.</p>
<p>The Student Advantage card is also worth a discount on Greyhound/Peter Pan Bus trips. </p>
<p>I don't know if AAA is also good for that. Whether the SA card is worth it or not depends on how much train/bus traveling you plan to do.</p>
<p>don't get it. unless you are certain you will take 10 trips on greyhound a year and make 5 visits to footlocker.</p>