Discount Club Offers Attractive Price Breaks

There’s good news for mature travelers who are running to keep up with the rising cost of travel. They’re about to get a SecondWind.

That’s the name of a new nonprofit travel club being launched by the Senior Travel & Recreation Activities Council (STRAC), the largest nonprofit California organization promoting senior travel.

STRAC’s SecondWind Travel Club will provide an average discount of 15% to 20% on attractions, accommodations and transportation. Overall, the discounts range from 10% to as high as 50%. The club is for travelers age 55 and over. Cost is $8 per year, $5 for a spouse who must be at least 55 years old.

A special ID and discount card will help identify members for reduced prices at attractions and accommodations.

Some examples:

Continental Airlines will offer a 30% discount to SecondWind members; Laughlin Flamingo Hilton, a 30% discount; Sonoma wine country inns (in Sonoma and Healdsburg), 50% discount; San Diego Sports Arena Travelodge, 40% discount. And some on the local scene will include: Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, 20% discount; Movieland Wax Museum, 25% to 40%, according to season, and La Mirada Civic Theater, 50%.

Others offering SecondWind discounts include Universal Studios, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Sea World, the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose, Magic Mountain, San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Medieval Times, Tibbie’s Music Hall, Santa’s Village and Glen Ivy Hot Springs. There are also discounts for yearly events such as the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

All discounts are subject to the normal conditions required by each vendor. These might include the restrictions that seniors normally encounter, such as as advance reservations, a midweek travel limit or a blackout during holidays.

All current discounts and special offers will be found in an 86-page travel directory, available soon, according to a STRAC spokesman. The initial guide will contain 135 senior offerings that club officials say will be as good as--and in many cases better than--the discounts offered by national clubs.

Another feature of SecondWind will be that the age of 55 will be accepted by vendors presently using a higher age limit for seniors. For example, SecondWind members can take advantage of Disneyland’s Magic Years Club offerings, which usually are reserved for those 60 and over.

Club members will also receive a quarterly newsletter outlining discounts from new vendors, special activities and seasonal promotions just for SecondWind.

Members will have access to a toll-free telephone number providing information on discounted mature travel in the United States and other countries.

Since STRAC was formed in 1982, it has grown to include more than 180 travel industry members, mostly in California, but recently expanding to Nevada, Arizona and other Western states.

For more information, write STRAC SecondWind, P.O. Box 1142, Redondo Beach 90278.