I don't really understand the "ilk" in the OP's title?
To me PA is like a time share - they don't work for everyone, but when we came up the west coast last year they saved us a lot of money. One place in Oregon, we were only going to stay two nights but when we got up the last day it was raining and blowing like mad. Called the front office and they said to stay as long as we wanted to at the PA rate. We stayed two more days - drove down to one of the beaches and watched the storm waves come crashing in.
If you understand them and use them, they save you a lot of money. Read the rules, FAQs, and call them when you have questions. Take an hour to learn about them and do a hair bit of advance planning.
Bill