Stoan Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 So I got an email because I opted for Auto Renewal, and the prices look a bit... off. Email: 2019 GOLD PASS - RENEWAL - EZ PAY 2019 ALL SEASON DINING - GOLD - EZ PAY 2019 SEASON PASS DRINK PLAN - EZ PAY $11.00 / mo ** $12.50 / mo ** $7.99 / mo ** 9/6/2018 ** Pass(es) are on the 12-month Easy Pay Payment Program It used to be 9 months, but the fine print says 12. Individual comes to Pass - 132, Meal - 150, Drink (whopping) - 95.88. Total cost 377.88. Now I am pretty sure those are wrong. If I click the login to the portal to confirm the renewal the numbers are totally different. (This forum's formatting for inserting tables is terrible btw.) I'll be calling customer support later today, but I'd suggest checking your paperwork before auto renewing. 2019 GOLD PASS - RENEWAL - EZ PAY Zachary Smith $99.00 2019 ALL SEASON DINING - GOLD - EZ PAY Zachary Smith $95.00 2019 SEASON PASS DRINK PLAN - EZ PAY Zachary Smith $29.99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VortexBFForever Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 I got my Auto-Renewal email too, for my Platinum Pass! Apparently it now costs $190.00 to renew, compared to $189.00 last year, $185.00 a couple of years before, and $180.00 the first year or so (2013, 2014) that I had it. I have just the pass and no add-ons, and as far as I know the price I have is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hampshire24 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 I can confirm the Gold Pass renewal price of $99 ($105.99 after fees), as I also got my renewal email this morning. A few things I’m wondering though: Isn’t there usually a bonus with renewing passes? (Like free Fast Lane for a day in the current year) I am considering upgrading to Platinum for 2019, as I am contemplating going to Knott’s Berry Farm, Carowinds, and Cedair Point. Will I get the price of $190 mentioned above or will I have to pay a higher price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chad_1138 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 4 hours ago, Hampshire24 said: I can confirm the Gold Pass renewal price of $99 ($105.99 after fees), as I also got my renewal email this morning. A few things I’m wondering though: Isn’t there usually a bonus with renewing passes? (Like free Fast Lane for a day in the current year) I am considering upgrading to Platinum for 2019, as I am contemplating going to Knott’s Berry Farm, Carowinds, and Cedair Point. Will I get the price of $190 mentioned above or will I have to pay a higher price? I'm curious to know this. We are going to upgrade our 4 passes to Platinum as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony29 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 I got my renewal today as well, we have 2 platinum passes, all season dining and drink and 1 fun pix, first payment is $122 and then 11 payments of $57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Where is @BoddaH1994 to explain how terrible this is? With 12 payments it sure sounds an aweful lot like a SIX membership. There will be months you are making payments and can’t use it! And what happens if your credit card expires? Doom and Gloom I tell you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 15 hours ago, King Ding Dong said: Where is @BoddaH1994 to explain how terrible this is? With 12 payments it sure sounds an aweful lot like a SIX membership. There will be months you are making payments and can’t use it! And what happens if your credit card expires? Doom and Gloom I tell you! ...just make sure your read all the fine print. All of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdf21972 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 22 hours ago, Hampshire24 said: I can confirm the Gold Pass renewal price of $99 ($105.99 after fees), as I also got my renewal email this morning. A few things I’m wondering though: Isn’t there usually a bonus with renewing passes? (Like free Fast Lane for a day in the current year) I am considering upgrading to Platinum for 2019, as I am contemplating going to Knott’s Berry Farm, Carowinds, and Cedair Point. Will I get the price of $190 mentioned above or will I have to pay a higher price? The benefits for the early renewal will probably be announced when they make official announcement for 2019 season passes on sale. You do qualify for the renewal cost for platinum pass of $190 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldschool75 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Where is [mention=23]BoddaH1994[/mention] to explain how terrible this is? With 12 payments it sure sounds an aweful lot like a SIX membership. There will be months you are making payments and can’t use it! And what happens if your credit card expires? Doom and Gloom I tell you! It was stated in the earnings call they were switching to 12 month payment plans. I’m guessing they are anticipating more pass sales with the lure of lower monthly payments. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 5 minutes ago, Oldschool75 said: It was stated in the earnings call they were switching to 12 month payment plans. I’m guessing they are anticipating more pass sales with the lure of lower monthly payments. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Yes, plus it is a revenue generator for 12 months as opposed to 6. Probably amortized over 12 months as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 The 12 month program might lure our family to a platinum pass this year. Our 5 year old keeps asking about going to Cedar Point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 But, but, but. This isn’t even cancelable. With a SiX membership one can cancel anytime after month 12! Month 14, month 19, month 45. Anytime. Here you are committed for 12 month blocks. What if I change my mind? I am stuck! Where is the long screed about how terrible this is for the guests?!?!? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 2 hours ago, King Ding Dong said: But, but, but. This isn’t even cancelable. With a SiX membership one can cancel anytime after month 12! Month 14, month 19, month 45. Anytime. Here you are committed for 12 month blocks. What if I change my mind? I am stuck! Where is the long screed about how terrible this is for the guests?!?!? I think what you're not understanding is that I am very involved with the industry and am an expert in consumer behavior. If I say something is a bad idea it's because it's a bad idea, not because it affects me personally. I know how people act and how companies react to that. That is both my education and my field of work. I've done this for a long time now. Remember the first year of the meal plans when the Haunt picnic thing was a $5 upcharge? Remember how I warned people not to do it because it sends the message to the company that it's okay to treat it as a discount program rather than a meal plan? Cedar Point began to pilot a program where you paid an additional $4 for restaurants like Chic-fil-a a little while later. Fortunately it failed. I thought the $5 picnic was a great deal, but you have to use your buying power to your advantage. Remember how I warned that customer service issues in foods and other places would create a breaking point with consumers and they would see a sharp attendance decline? How's that going for them? Remember how I speculated that they would need to compat the notion that a drop in attendance may be a result of changing behaviors amongst their base? Did you hear some of the best analysts question that on their quarterly conference call? This was probably before you were on KIC, but I also accurately predicted that Winterfest would return at some point, despite everyone at the park (many of which are still there) assuring myself and everyone else that Winterfest would never happen again? I'm telling you- almost everything I come up with ends up being accurate because I've seen all of this before, not because I'm some sort of oracle or I have leaks in the industry. Often times I post from the perspective of the consumer. Do you really think I care that there is a waiting period in the drink plan? No, of course not. I do worry about the reflection that the lack of disclosure from the company onto the guests. I couldn't care less about the payment plans or "memberships" either. I don't use them. I think the passes are way too cheap as is. Sometimes you have to make a distinction between quality and quantity when it comes to your customer base. So I guess now you have two options: you can either read my posts and maybe you can actually learn something about the industry, or you can just scroll past them and then go to King Island and go ride some rides and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 I'm personally not a fan of memberships and payment plans at parks, as you are opening a line of credit that can impact your credit history if you're not careful. This is especially true with Six Flags, which levies late fees for past due balances and aggressively collects any debt due on an agreement. That said, as long as you're careful to manage your account and understand what you're getting into, monthly billing can be very convenient. 2 hours ago, King Ding Dong said: But, but, but. This isn’t even cancelable. With a SiX membership one can cancel anytime after month 12! Month 14, month 19, month 45. Anytime. Be sure to read that agreement; depending on your renewal date, you must give notice 45-75 days before you want your Six Flags membership to end, even after month 12. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 @BoddaH1994 That is all very interesting but doesn’t address your previous strong objections to the SIX membership program. That program appears to me to be more consumer friendly than what CF is offering here, the subject of this thread not meal plans, winterfest or picnics. What do you have to say about what CF is offering? @malem Yep I am aware of that as several years ago I did cancel a SF membership and changed to an annual pass. Still beats the approximately 364 day cancellation policy CF is offering here. I actually want to go back to the membership program but need to time it right to soft-lock in the low price and also get them processed for the gold benefits. That is if the sum total of the payments is equal to the cost of an annual pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustbeaweasley Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 This was our first year as gold pass holders. I know we got in for cheap with free parking once last year when we purchased them. Are there usually any incentives when you renew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony29 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 There are a lot of people that cannot put down that much cash at one time. We are on a very strict budget and doing the monthly payments is the only way we can afford our platinum passes. This will be out 3rd year, I like the cheaper monthly payment but 12 months is a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdf21972 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 13 hours ago, mustbeaweasley said: This was our first year as gold pass holders. I know we got in for cheap with free parking once last year when we purchased them. Are there usually any incentives when you renew? The benefits for the early renewal will probably be announced when they make an official announcement for 2019 season passes on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustbeaweasley Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 3 hours ago, jdf21972 said: The benefits for the early renewal will probably be announced when they make an official announcement for 2019 season passes on sale. I was just curious as to what they’ve been in past years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoan Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 1 hour ago, mustbeaweasley said: I was just curious as to what they’ve been in past years. Free ticket on Sunday, free fast pass on Sunday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 On 8/8/2018 at 4:00 PM, King Ding Dong said: @BoddaH1994 That is all very interesting but doesn’t address your previous strong objections to the SIX membership program. That program appears to me to be more consumer friendly than what CF is offering here, the subject of this thread not meal plans, winterfest or picnics. What do you have to say about what CF is offering? @malem Yep I am aware of that as several years ago I did cancel a SF membership and changed to an annual pass. Still beats the approximately 364 day cancellation policy CF is offering here. I actually want to go back to the membership program but need to time it right to soft-lock in the low price and also get them processed for the gold benefits. That is if the sum total of the payments is equal to the cost of an annual pass. I’m on the fence about it, to be honest. I don’t use the payment plans so I don’t really have a basis to form too much of an opinion. I will tell you that when I was a banker, I dealt with a lot shady practices when it came to things going on peoples’ credit. Sometimes gyms that had a 12 or 24 month commitment would try to claim as much as a $2000 early cancellation fee. This would be the remaining months plus whatever penalty they put into the contract. A couple of times it was simply that the person’s wallet was stolen and they didn’t get around to changing around all of their cards within 30 or 60 days. Stuff happens. From an ethical standpoint, I would prefer the olds payment plan since (as I understand) your pass just becomes inactive if the payment won’t process. Honestly if getting a Gold Pass putting you in a situation that may affect your credit is unsettling, at least to me. Others may feel differently, and that’s okay - but this is just my off the record professional opinion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvingKI Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 I love the payment plans. With buying 3 gold passes, meal, drink and fastlane plans it helps.. I don't want 12 months, but I do like 6 months as you start paying in October, it is payed off and ready to go by the time next season starts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.