Which card gives the best value?

Ummm Neither. Passport America makes the most sense.

I have had both. My vote would go to Good Sam. First, I believe you have many more campgrounds to choose from that give you the discount and those campgrounds have a wider variety of amenities allowing you to choose a lower-cost campground if you're not looking for a lot of bells and whistles. Second, Good Sam gives you discounts at more places, including Camping World.KOA's, while generally very nice, tend to be on the more costly side. Not compared to the fancy resorts, of course, but on average, I believe more costly than "regular" campgrounds. When I had a KOA card, it was only good at KOA campgrounds, so pretty restricted in ability to use it.My two cents. To some degree, the choice may be based on what a particular individual is looking for.

Both GS and KOA give a 10% discount, but the KOA card is only accepted at KOA branded parks. The GS card is accepted at a much larger selection of parks. KOA parks also tend to be more expensive than other parks in the area, so the 10% discount just makes their pricing a little more competitive.

Dutch_12078 wrote:Both GS and KOA give a 10% discount, but the KOA card is only accepted at KOA branded parks. The GS card is accepted at a much larger selection of parks. KOA parks also tend to be more expensive than other parks in the area, so the 10% discount just makes their pricing a little more competitive.Not true on being more expensive - that is urban legend - they are priced competitive for the area We have both cards - we stay at commercial parks 56% KOA 25% and government campsites 18%

rr2254545 wrote:Dutch_12078 wrote:Both GS and KOA give a 10% discount, but the KOA card is only accepted at KOA branded parks. The GS card is accepted at a much larger selection of parks. KOA parks also tend to be more expensive than other parks in the area, so the 10% discount just makes their pricing a little more competitive.Not true on being more expensive - that is urban legend - they are priced competitive for the area We have both cards - we stay at commercial parks 56% KOA 25% and government campsites 18%So when I see a $10 difference in price between a KOA and another nearby park with similar sites I should just consider that an "urban legend"? For those that use them, certainly the additional amenities at some KOA's may be worth the extra cost, but not to those of us that don't use them. I'm a little old for bounce houses and such... ;)

Good Sam's vs. KOA | Good Sam Community

38 Replies

doxiemom11
Explorer II
Apr 03, 2018
Many of you would be surprised to know that a good share of the Good Sam campgrounds also accept Passport America. Which discount do I want when I go there? The 50% discount. We gave up the Good Sam membership after a year when we found this at many of the campgrounds we went to. Have never stayed at a KOA, their rates are always higher than anyone else's in the area.
trailertraveler
Explorer
Apr 03, 2018
Both KOA and Good Sam memberships provide other benefits in addition to the 10% discount on camping fees. Last year All State Road Help had a special rate for KOA members and KOA issued a $75 gift card to new Road Help subscribers. As has been mentioned, KOA members earn points that can be redeemed as cash towards stays and enough points earns the next years membership.

Good Sam membership also gives a discount at Camping World and Pilot/Flying J. It also entitles you to other benefits. Their Action Line interceded on my behalf in two warranty problems and resulted in saving me over $1000. That is a lot of years of membership fees.

Whether any membership is worth the cost depends on whether you will use it enough to offset the upfront cost.
Edd505
Explorer
Apr 03, 2018
jplante4 wrote:
Edd505 wrote:
While I don't own a RV park I have found if it has Resort in the name it's normal more upscale.

If only this were true.

Guess it's left coast vs east
jplante4
Explorer II
Apr 02, 2018
Edd505 wrote:
While I don't own a RV park I have found if it has Resort in the name it's normal more upscale.

If only this were true.
Edd505
Explorer
Apr 02, 2018
Planning wrote:

+1

And we are thankful that we dodged it as well.

We are at the point in our lives whereby we enjoy comfort and convenience, and are willing to pay for it. We prefer modern, clean, upscale, tending more toward resort style accommodations.

As an RV park operator, do you know if there is a brand or even a type of index that points to this genre of RV park?

While I don't own a RV park I have found if it has Resort in the name it's normal more upscale. You might want to look into Coast to Coast member ship.
Bird_Freak
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2018
I no longer use either. Never really found a nice KOA that was worth the money and found most that would accept GS would give the same discount for a AARP or any other reason.
jdb7566
Explorer
Mar 29, 2018
Frank55 wrote:
Which card gives the best value?

10% is 10%, which is what you get from both. My take? Depends on what you're looking for. I choose campgrounds based on my travel plans, not necessarily price.
MetalGator
Nomad
Mar 28, 2018
A lot of it has to do with what parks you frequent. My wife and I are basically weekend warriors. There are two very nice KOAs within a 2 hour drive from us that we frequent a few times a year. Besides the 10% discount, the KOA card accumulates points and I can cash them in at any time towards the balance of one of our stays. The card basically pays for itself after a two night stay. We also have Good Sam's but I haven't run into many parks that offered a GS discount. However, we have a 10 day trip planed in May and all 3 parks we are staying at offer a GS discount.

Burch
BlindGuynAR
Explorer
Mar 28, 2018
Right now I'm getting a bit more savings from KOA, but that's because I'm staying there a lot lately.

With GS though I just signed up for the RV plus card a few months ago and the .08 cents off the cash price at the diesel pump saved me quite a bit on a recent 3200 mile trip. Another 5k mile trip this summer so plan to save a lot then too.
john_bet
Explorer II
Mar 28, 2018
For our 7 week trip trip last summer we had a GS, a KOA and a PA. Used which ever we needed to when we decided to stay for the night or longer. Not all had parks along the roads at the times we decided to stop. Not driving miles longer or out of our way to stay at a certain one. It all worked well. We also stayed at two military campgrounds on that trip. In my opinion it is nice to have options for places to stay.