Geezer Card

buckland

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I am a bit confused about access, senior, and America the Beautiful cards.
I got my America the Beautiful card when I turned 62, 6 years ago, and I am pretty sure it is lifetime. My question is: Is it both access and senior card? Or, must I apply for an Access card as well?
 

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Thanks Steve ... I find it is best to not be overly confident about such things and later find out I missed the bus. Like at the entrance to the park!
 
It's indeed a confusing topic. I believe the term "America The Beautiful pass" applies to the entire series of passes. Or more properly, they are the "America the Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Series"...

ANNUAL PASS - (for people who don't qualify for any of the other passes or would just prefer to have that one)

MILITARY PASS (for current military members and dependents, Reserve and National Guard members, US military veterans and Gold Star Family members)

4th GRADE PASS (for 4th graders including the summer after their 4th Grade school year)

SENIOR PASS (for US citizens and permanent residents over 62. For this one there are two variants, "Annual Senior" and "Lifetime Senior". And here's a tip: if you buy the annual senior version and later want the lifetime senior one, you can turn in any old annual senior passes for credit on the purchase of the lifetime one.)

ACCESS PASS (for US citizens and permanent residents who are permanently disabled)

VOLUNTEER PASS (for volunteers with over 250 hours volunteering at one or more of the agencies sponsoring the pass)

See this link for details (and follow links in the page for more details and Frequently Asked Questions...

National Park Service Entrance Passes webpage (Note: the policies there apply to all agencies participating in this program, not just to the NPS)

Also- The type of pass should be right on the card, i.e., if it's an Annual Senior pass, the words annual and senior are on the card. If you have the older Lifetime Senior pass with the red cactus flowers on the front, the word "Senior' is on the front and the "Lifetime" part is on the back. The newer ones have both words on the front.
 
Well then... I am all set! Now Just don't lose it...I keep it in the glove box in the truck
 
Old Crow, thanks for your excellent documentation on the access passes. It's appreciated.

A funny aside I'd like to add. For many years prior to becoming geezers, Julie and I each received a Volunteer Pass every year because of our volunteer work. Don't get me wrong, we very much appreciated receiving them. But, if you do the math, it comes out to $0.32 an hour. Annual pass costs $80. 250 hours times 32 cents is $80. It just always struck me as funny, working for 32 cents an hour. But, of course, payment had nothing to do with our volunteering. :)
 
buckland said:
Well then... I am all set! Now Just don't lose it...I keep it in the glove box in the truck
I've got two, one in the wallet and one in the glove box in the truck. (I bought a second one just prior to the cost moving up to $80 for lifetime.) Julie's got one in her wallet.
 
I keep mine on the mirror. So few know what it its I'm not worried about it getting stolen.
 
We each have a senior lifetime pass in our wallets but seldom need to display them. Most National Monuments don't seem interested. We do write down the number of one of our cards on campground envelopes, if not a free site. But we rarely go into the heavily used parks or busy campgrounds where displaying the card seems mandatory.
 
A few more things come to mind about the Senior Pass (for those who may not be familiar with it)...

- Hang tags. These are the light plastic pass-holders you hang from your truck's mirror when you park in a place requiring the pass be visible to rangers. Those need to be stored somewhere you can find it when you need it. When mine gets ratty I ask for another at an entrance station but they often aren't available. If I don't have a hang-tag, I leave the pass on the dash. According to the FAQs, if you leave the pass on your dash, it's supposed to be left signature-side up. At first that seems wrong as the number is on the front. But it's also on the back of the pass.

- Decals. I wasn't aware of this one until reading the FAQs today: Open top vehicles like jeeps and motorcycles can get a free parking decal (since hang-tags can be stolen). Rules for them include:
  • Decals are issued on annual basis, even for owners of lifetime Senior/Access passes
  • Decals are NOT valid for entry at staffed entrance sites - you MUST show your pass
  • Decals must be obtained in person and you must show the following: your Pass, driver's license and vehicle registration. The name on all three documents must match.

- Signs at campgrounds or parking areas may use different terms for the pass. Perhaps this has improved but I remember being confused at seeing signs calling it the "Interagency pass" or "Federal Lands pass" in some cases and the "America The Beautiful Pass" in others. I was wondering why I wasn't seeing the words "Senior Pass". But the others are just names for the entire set of passes.

- There are some situations where it's not obvious a Senior Pass is all you need. Last Fall, for instance, we were on the Kancamagus Scenic Byway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Most of the parking lots were pay lots. Fortunately, we happened to run into a ranger early on and he reminded us that the highway is in the White Mountains National Forest and we could park free with our Senior Pass (but did need to display it).

- If your Senior Pass gets broken or just old and you want another one, your only option is to buy a new one. There is no trade-in or credit for the old one. My old one broke from being in my wallet and I put it in a self-laminating card protector. That happened to be around the time they were increasing the price from $10 to $80 so I also bought a second one.

- Senior passes are also good for a discount at Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds.

- Senior passes aren't always good for a camping discount. If a campground is run by a concessionnaire, there may not be a discount. The oddest no-discount example I've seen was at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area last summer. We camped at Red Canyon campground and the sign said the discount didn't apply because the Forest Supervisor had declared all 8 campsites there as Group Campsites. But they were just regular small spur campsites with barely enough room for one vehicle close to a single picnic table.
 
As a follow up, I went to the local Forest Service office today and purchased my Geezer card. Even remembered to ask for two hangers.
 

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