PSA: Trakt Not Honoring Original Price Paid If Auto-Renewal Turned Off

[DarWun 349]

This is a PSA for any Emby users that have also subscribed to Trakt VIP. In September Trakt increased the subscription from $30/year to $60/year. In the Trakt forum a user asked about the price increase for existing users, and one of the moderators responded with: "If you’re existing VIP member, nothing changes and you keep your existing pricing. This means a Trakt OG on the $15/yr plan keeps their pricing. And it means Trakt VIPs paying $30/yr keep that pricing. As long as you remain an active VIP, you’re grandfathered in at your price point. If you have issue or a failed renewal, just contact support and we will honor the price."

Unfortunately, this has turned out not to be true. if you currently are an active VIP that previously paid $15 or $30 for your annual subscription and for some reason the auto-renewal expired (or was cancelled) you will lose the ability to renew at the previous price point - even if you contact support. The only option is to renew at $60/year. Support responded to one user who reached out to ask for the original price point to be honored  prior to their subscription expiring with: "Thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, since your automatic renewal was canceled, it would be considered a new vip subscription and isn't eligible for the original pricing." The thread in the Trakt forums is Price of VIP? - Trakt / Questions & Help - Trakt Forums.

I'm one of the users caught off-guard by this with a subscription ending early next year. I would renew at $30/year that I paid for the last two years. But since I turned of auto-renewal 30minutes after paying for the year in 2024 I'm not being given that option. I don't know about others, but I personally cannot justify renewing at $60/year for the handful of VIP features that are actually of use to me. So I'm going to have to let my subscription expire and move on.

Edited December 13, 2024 by DarWun

[DarWun 349]

An update on this for those that are interested. Trakt is now allowing a one time upgrade at the original price point if auto-renewal has been disabled. Moving forward, auto-renewal will need to remain active to qualify for the grandfathered pricing.

This is the official response from thread I linked to in my original post:

Active VIP + Auto Renewing

You’re setup correctly to continue with your existing pricing plan. To continue receiving your discounted pricing, auto renewal needs to stay on.

Active VIP + Not Auto Renewing

Click the RENEW button on the VIP page and you’ll receive a one time discount. To continue receiving your discounted pricing, auto renewal needs to stay on.

Expired or Canceled VIP

You are not eligible for any discounted pricing and will need to sign up at the current price.

Billing Issues with PayPal or Stripe

It’s not common, but sometimes your membership will be canceled by PayPal or Stripe. This could be due to an expired credit card or bank issue. Please email support if this happens and we will investigate further.

It will be at Trakt’s discretion if your existing pricing will be honored or not. Please contact us as soon as you find a billing issue.

Canceling VIP

When you cancel your VIP membership, you’ll lose any discounted pricing or promotions applied to your account. This message is displayed in the delete popup on the VIP page when you click the CANCEL button.

I'm glad Trakt stepped up to address this miscommunication in a way that benefited impacted users. I am definitely happy that I can continue to pay the $30/year for VIP. I'm not thrilled that I need to leave auto-renewal enabled to qualify for that perk in the future.

Edited December 17, 2024 by DarWun