I say it's worth it.... When activated you can ask for directions, they can unlock your door. I was flying out of Dulles once and couldn't remember if my doors were locked. No time to go back so called Onstar and they verified that they were locked. Yes the 911 always works but if you crash on some old back road and it's not activated it's not calling 911 for you. The satellite phone is a nice backup when your phone goes dead or no signal too!!