The Wizard wrote:So, more people than usual turning 62 this year?
Price increase from $10 for senior lifetime pass to $80. New price starts AUG 28, 2017.
Understand.
But since I turned 62 in 2012, I bought mine then and keep it in my wallet, and use it fairly often.
To my knowledge, you actually have to BE 62+ right now to buy one; you can't buy at age 60 and have it become active later.
So unlike SS, there's no advantage in delaying purchase of this pass...
Yes, they are in short supply by mail order, but may be available from a local BLM, BOR, or Forest Service office. It might take some calling around at this late date.
One cannot enlighten the unconscious. | "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." -Jeff Spicoli
Online application takes about 60 seconds, and you can use your confirmation receipt as a pass until the real one arrives. The convenience is well worth the extra $10 per pass.
Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it. - Will Rogers
I bought mine about 15 years ago for $10 and used it on Cape Cod and Saratoga, it is nice to have it. Over the years it has gotten brittle, had to reinforce it with plastic tape.
Last edited by likegarden on Sun Aug 06, 2017 7:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
spectec wrote:Online application takes about 60 seconds, and you can use your confirmation receipt as a pass until the real one arrives. The convenience is well worth the extra $10 per pass.
two weeks ago I took a relative to Yosemite and was checking entrance fees online. Discovered the senior pass while browsing. They are sold at the park entrance. I had paid $30 for the car then remembered the pass and asked to buy one. Gal at the gate asked for my ID and gave me a $20 dollar refund plus a card. How cool is that? The youngsters in the car all said "we're bringing the old fart (that would be me) from now on".
A week later I went to Crater Lake. I just flashed the card and the guy handed me a park map and waved me and a carload full of my Aussie relatives through the gate. I kind of felt like a VIP at studio 54.
seychellois_lib wrote:two weeks ago I took a relative to Yosemite and was checking entrance fees online. Discovered the senior pass while browsing. They are sold at the park entrance. I had paid $30 for the car then remembered the pass and asked to buy one. Gal at the gate asked for my ID and gave me a $20 dollar refund plus a card. How cool is that? The youngsters in the car all said "we're bringing the old fart (that would be me) from now on". A week later I went to Crater Lake. I just flashed the card and the guy handed me a park map and waved me and a carload full of my Aussie relatives through the gate. I kind of felt like a VIP at studio 54.
BTW Crater Lake is awesome!
I drove from New York to Nashville last week, stopping at Shenandoah National park as a detour. Saw the $25 entrance fee and then the $10 senior pass right on the sign. Since we had our mother with us, she got hers from the ranger in about 30 seconds. Too bad she will likely never use it again.
I have had mine for 3 years and bought it at the park entrance for Big Bend. Best investment ever!!!! Remember you can also use it for discounts when camping. During the last 3 years for vacation I would camp at a park for 2 or 3 days (tent sites will be $10 -15 a night) and then hit a hotel on the way to another park. Rinse and repeat. It saves a ton.
That's part of the algorithm it uses to verify your age (probably through credit bureau reports). Last 4 of the SSAN is spread all over the place, so I don't think giving it a government contractor is very risky. They claim they don't store the info - once your age is verified it's deleted.
Here's their explanation:
=========================================================== What is the Your Pass Now service?
YourPassNow offers digital validation services when transactions, like the sale of a Senior Pass, require the customer to demonstrate eligibility. Utilizing a secure enterprise platform, YPN takes data supplied by the customer (like name, date of birth and the last 4 digits of your ssn) and verifies it against a variety of authoritative data sources. The validation of eligibility is completed within seconds.
Does YPN retain my information?
No, the supplied information is captured only for the purpose of each validation. Once validation is confirmed, your information is deleted.
=========================================================
Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it. - Will Rogers
Reminder: FedGov is the entity that issues your SSN. "Believe me", they have it already in plenty of databases, as does Experian, and the Dark Web (where it's for sale), etc. The Chinese supposedly have all the FedGov civilian personnel files from the OPM breach, for goodnesssakes. That horse left the barn long ago.
One cannot enlighten the unconscious. | "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." -Jeff Spicoli
Could be some small difference in the way your name is spelled in the various data bases. I run into this sometimes because I am a "Jr", but later in life I dropped the suffix long after my father died. So if my info comes back unverifiable, I just resubmit the info with the other spelling variant. That usually solves the problem.
Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it. - Will Rogers
DW and I each have them. Can the pass be replaced if lost, damaged, dog ate it, etc.? From the way the pass looks (with a number and my full name), it seems that they know we have the passes.
dm200 wrote:DW and I each have them. Can the pass be replaced if lost, damaged, dog ate it, etc.? From the way the pass looks (with a number and my full name), it seems that they know we have the passes.
recreation.gov wrote:What if my Senior Pass is lost, stolen or damaged?
-If lost or stolen, you'll need to buy another one.
-If damaged, it can be replaced as long as a portion of the pass is identifiable and you show proper identification.
dm200 wrote:DW and I each have them. Can the pass be replaced if lost, damaged, dog ate it, etc.? From the way the pass looks (with a number and my full name), it seems that they know we have the passes.
I just went and got a second pass with just that in mind. For $10 I'll put the second one away somewhere safe just in case. Just the fact that I could go in and get another pass tells you that there is no system that tracks these passes effectively. The Forest Service person at the office I visited manually logged the pass number in a book with a carbon copy.
Also, you MUST have the physical card with you when you want to use it. There is no way to look anything up using a computer from most park ranger entrance stations.
dm200 wrote:DW and I each have them. Can the pass be replaced if lost, damaged, dog ate it, etc.? From the way the pass looks (with a number and my full name), it seems that they know we have the passes.
I just went and got a second pass with just that in mind. For $10 I'll put the second one away somewhere safe just in case. Just the fact that I could go in and get another pass tells you that there is no system that tracks these passes effectively. The Forest Service person at the office I visited manually logged the pass number in a book with a carbon copy.
Also, you MUST have the physical card with you when you want to use it. There is no way to look anything up using a computer from most park ranger entrance stations.
I guess we will just need to make sure we keep them in good condition and know where they are.
dm200 wrote:DW and I each have them. Can the pass be replaced if lost, damaged, dog ate it, etc.? From the way the pass looks (with a number and my full name), it seems that they know we have the passes.
I just went and got a second pass with just that in mind. For $10 I'll put the second one away somewhere safe just in case. Just the fact that I could go in and get another pass tells you that there is no system that tracks these passes effectively. The Forest Service person at the office I visited manually logged the pass number in a book with a carbon copy.
Also, you MUST have the physical card with you when you want to use it. There is no way to look anything up using a computer from most park ranger entrance stations.
I heard that passes would be increasing in 2017 so I drove to John Ding Darling on Sanibel (half hour drive)and purchased mine on the spot for $10. Used it at Bryce for free admission rather than the usual $30 entry fee. There is a phenomenal list of places on the National Park internet site, where it can be used. The list includes a lot more locations than just National Parks. You can find a list for your specific state if you plan on doing a staycation.
Call sites close to you and find out if they have the passes. With a short drive you might save the hassle of an on-line purchase or delays in having the pass mailed to you.
Everyone I know has bought the senior passes at a national park or at a national historic site. It would not have occurred to me to purchase one any other way as we are close to several historic sites and a park. We happily use the card several times a year. At one park many people drive to an unpaved parking lot and hike in without needing to make a payment anyway.