My suggestion is to take the AA degree. One, its an item for the resume. Two, you aren't going to play the game of "Transferring Credits". Barring some sort of strange rules, the AA will make you a first semester junior at a 4 year school. There is an interesting twist for entering a four year school with an AA. Some institutions or curriculum do not allow you to bring your GPA if you graduate with an AA. If you don't graduate and transfer directly, the GPA applies. You might have to spend one semester in a different program to get the prerequisite GPA for the program of your choice.
If you find that a clep works, then run with it. Its a money, time and sanity saver. One thing to ask first is does a clepped class count as credit and a class or just one or the other. Many places require 60+ credits of class study plus Y number of classes and a clep may not count for one or the other.
If you have the option of "looking ahead", see if you college allows "double banging". For example, you might need 4 math classes for a total of 12 credits for your next degree. The precalc might count for one math if you actually take it instead of clepping. While it is more expensive for your AA, it might be cheaper to take it at your current college instead a different math class at a 4 year school.
I have two unofficial advisers and mentors at school. One of them has a doctorate in Education and a second Ph.D in Spanish Lit. The other has a doctorate in Chemistry and another in education. They are double doctors.

In class, they only mention their Ph.d's. However, privately they both advised me to get the AA degree because both of them felt that if they hadn't had an early accomplishment in the form of an associates degree, they would have never progressed to Ph.D, let alone two of them.