I also joined the vip side mainly for the discounts. It is an excellent place for discounts and information. I do however, spend most of my time on the free board so sometimes it seems like it wasn't worth it, but the discounts speak for themselves.

If you do join though, I wouldn't recommend using the pay by phone method of payment. I got charged for the membership, plus something like $30 from my phone company (I think) for the 900 number charge. It is well worth it though, and if you ever need help with anything, there is always alot of people with some pretty good advice.