Do you plan on buying one of GA's new Membership plans?

[29yrswithaGApass]

Please feel free to vote and comment.

[Yoshi]

Not for this season. If season passes continue to be sold for 2019 at a similar price to past years, I'll just continue to buy that since I would rather pay for the pass all at once and don't visit enough anymore for the top tier membership benefits to be worth the extra cost.

[SAM527]

This is my 3rd year with a membership. I found it was easier just having it and not having to chase sales each year. Now what I have is the Combo Gold pass which I would have to believe is going to be Gold Plus since I can't find a mention of Combo Gold anywhere on the web site. I might upgrade to Diamond for the almost $50 more a year once I figure out how this will effect what I have and my already paid for season dining pass.

 

They have sure made a mess of things for everyone with a pass or membership and this would have gone so much smoother if they had simply waited 6 more months for the start of the 2019 pass selling season.

[scott]

I don't know about waiting. The park is just about to open for the season. It seems like the right time. I don't know when this plan was proposed and the started to move forward. If Six Flags knew last fall then maybe they should have put it out there as a future option that wasn't available until March. Then people could have decided if they want to buy their passes or if they wanted to wait. I imagine people with a membership will find it fairly easy to upgrade but I have nothing to back that up. 

 

I think If I was told the options last fall I would have still gotten my new season pass with the dining option.

[Matt Kaiser]

9 hours ago, SAM527 said:

This is my 3rd year with a membership. I found it was easier just having it and not having to chase sales each year. Now what I have is the Combo Gold pass which I would have to believe is going to be Gold Plus since I can't find a mention of Combo Gold anywhere on the web site. I might upgrade to Diamond for the almost $50 more a year once I figure out how this will effect what I have and my already paid for season dining pass.

 

They have sure made a mess of things for everyone with a pass or membership and this would have gone so much smoother if they had simply waited 6 more months for the start of the 2019 pass selling season.

 

You still have Gold, not Gold Plus. They just don't sell Gold as a membership anymore, only as a season pass.

[Pineracer]

Is there anything special with Fright Fest with memberships (isn't it like free or discount even with default pass?)?

[Matt Kaiser]

39 minutes ago, Pineracer said:

Is there anything special with Fright Fest with memberships (isn't it like free or discount even with default pass?)?

 

Diamond includes one free Haunted House. Diamond Elite includes a Haunted Maze wristband every visit during Fright Fest.

 

https://static.sixflags.com/website/membership/comparison-guides/Six-Flags-Great-Adventure-Membership-Comparison-2018-02-26.pdf

[Matt Kaiser]

On 3/7/2018 at 3:11 PM, 29yrswithaGApass said:

Please feel free to vote and comment.

 

The real question: Are you becoming 39yrswithaGApassand1yrwithaGAmembership?!

[SAM527]

On 3/8/2018 at 9:55 AM, Matt Kaiser said:

 

You still have Gold, not Gold Plus. They just don't sell Gold as a membership anymore, only as a season pass.

Ahh, that makes sense. thanks. Now the question is, with the people that already also have an existing membership like me, you would think they would have listed something on the web site about upgrading those and not just focusing on people with passes who judging from this poll look like they are just going to keep their passes.

[Matt Kaiser]

17 hours ago, SAM527 said:

Ahh, that makes sense. thanks. Now the question is, with the people that already also have an existing membership like me, you would think they would have listed something on the web site about upgrading those and not just focusing on people with passes who judging from this poll look like they are just going to keep their passes.

 

 

It has that information twice on the page:

 

Quote

I already have a Membership. Can I upgrade to a better Membership?

Yes, at any time current Members can upgrade from one Membership level to another. To upgrade, log in to Member Services Online and choose "Upgrade" from the main menu. You'll be able to upgrade without paying any processing fees and we will cancel your old Membership.

Member Services Online

 

https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/store/membership

Edited March 10, 2018 by Matt Kaiser

[The Master]

I am keeping my pass for this year. I rather pay in one lump sum than a payment plan which always costs more due to the time value of money. 

[SAM527]

9 hours ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

 

It has that information twice on the page:

 

 

https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/store/membership

Right it has that. What I meant was, people that already bought passes for this year are getting the full amount they paid back with an "in park spending credit" to use good for the whole year. What's the incentive for me to upgrade? I'm supposed to just think about upgrading to a higher membership and not get anything back and get the same benefits on a higher membership as someone who goes from a pass to a membership and gets a $70 credit? Is there the % credit back for the dining pass I've already paid $90 for? Is there any credit? It just looks like current membership holders are being ignored for season pass holders that don't really care about a getting a membership.

[hollyferry]

15 hours ago, SAM527 said:

Right it has that. What I meant was, people that already bought passes for this year are getting the full amount they paid back with an "in park spending credit" to use good for the whole year. What's the incentive for me to upgrade? I'm supposed to just think about upgrading to a higher membership and not get anything back and get the same benefits on a higher membership as someone who goes from a pass to a membership and gets a $70 credit? Is there the % credit back for the dining pass I've already paid $90 for? Is there any credit? It just looks like current membership holders are being ignored for season pass holders that don't really care about a getting a membership.

I actually e-mailed them this morning this exact question. I currently have 5 membership passes (so basic gold I guess), plus 5 premium dining memberships. Nothing has changed at all with my pricing (my payments came out in tnt last 3 days). I actually think upgrading to the gold plus membership is actually $2 less per membership than what I'm currently paying. I'm hoping that I can upgrade to the gold plus,  save $10 a month for passes, then get the extra 20% off dining passes. My luck, that won't happen 😂

Edited March 11, 2018 by hollyferry

[The Master]

The company is simply implmenting this new ticketing pricing structure very poorly. SF has a history of badly implmenting new ideas. I remember an article about the guy who designed the SF Powerplant, he said the company's management was pretty clueless and was more inept than he could believe. 

Edited March 11, 2018 by The Master

[Matt Kaiser]

21 hours ago, SAM527 said:

Right it has that. What I meant was, people that already bought passes for this year are getting the full amount they paid back with an "in park spending credit" to use good for the whole year. What's the incentive for me to upgrade? I'm supposed to just think about upgrading to a higher membership and not get anything back and get the same benefits on a higher membership as someone who goes from a pass to a membership and gets a $70 credit? Is there the % credit back for the dining pass I've already paid $90 for? Is there any credit? It just looks like current membership holders are being ignored for season pass holders that don't really care about a getting a membership.

 

The incentive is the larger discounts and expanded benefits. If you don't see the value in those higher tiers, then simply don't upgrade.

 

The $70 credit for pass holders is because we already paid for 2018 in advance. It's a refund on that purchase so we aren't being charged double for 2018. You haven't paid for 2018 yet since you pay as you go, so there's nothing to refund you.

 

Based on what the page says for the season pass holder credit, it sounds like they will not be giving credit for season dining passes, and they will only transfer your already purchased dining pass to the new membership. (which is BS because that's still robbing me of $35)

 

 

 

5 hours ago, hollyferry said:

I actually e-mailed them this morning this exact question. I currently have 5 membership passes (so basic gold I guess), plus 5 premium dining memberships. Nothing has changed at all with my pricing (my payments came out in tnt last 3 days). I actually think upgrading to the gold plus membership is actually $2 less per membership than what I'm currently paying. I'm hoping that I can upgrade to the gold plus,  save $10 a month for passes, then get the extra 20% off dining passes. My luck, that won't happen 😂

 

How much are you paying for dining memberships? They've previously always been very expensive, so you'll probably save a lot more than just $10. Now, deluxe dining is $6.99 per month with Gold Plus.

Edited March 11, 2018 by Matt Kaiser

[NJ_Squirrel]

I thought about switching from season pass to membership but never did. 

2 reasons why:

1)   Best membership prices were in September during Flash sale. But, I already paid for the next 4 months with the season pass. They should have the membership start after the season pass expires in January. 

2) I was afraid of price increases. If you  do catch a good sale price on membership, how long do the discounted rates last? 

[Matt Kaiser]

38 minutes ago, NJ_Squirrel said:

I thought about switching from season pass to membership but never did. 

2 reasons why:

1)   Best membership prices were in September during Flash sale. But, I already paid for the next 4 months with the season pass. They should have the membership start after the season pass expires in January. 

2) I was afraid of price increases. If you  do catch a good sale price on membership, how long do the discounted rates last? 

 

They've changed their strategy. According to the memberships page, the membership prices will be constant. Of course the price may go up in the future, but the price isn't going to fluctuate throughout the year like they used to. No more sales on memberships. It's more like a netflix subscription.

 

The answer to your second question is that the price is guaranteed for the first 12 months, then could go up after. Historically, they've only increased prices on existing members once. It was a few years ago, and I believe everyone went up 25 cents per month.

[Lemur]

I can't, for any conceivable reason, see why anyone would go to the trouble of ditching a cheap season pass for a new membership, even for skipping the line and all of that.  I can see buying a membership after the pass expires, but the whole "we'll give you company script instead of cash" just sounds like so much trash, especially since they don't give you change back on Bunny Bucks (which I'm not exactly sure is even legal).  

 

That said, something for the monthly-installment adverse members.  You can link a membership to a PayPal account.  So if you'd prefer to pay in one lump sum, fund the PayPal account with the amount you'd be paying for the whole year.  You'll have to do a bit of math (especially if you're leaving the deposit on the passes), but that is one way to do it.

[rj1972]

6 minutes ago, Lemur said:

I can't, for any conceivable reason, see why anyone would go to the trouble of ditching a cheap season pass for a new membership, even for skipping the line and all of that. 

 

I couldn't agree more. Why would I forgo a $67 season pass for a $217 membership? I already have a Flash Pass, so it would be a complete waste of money unless I prized the preferred parking that much. In addition, I already have the dining plan, so again, the 50% savings would not apply to me this year. Next year is a different story when everything expires at the end of 2018. 

[Lemur]

3 minutes ago, rj1972 said:

 

I couldn't agree more. Why would I forgo a $67 season pass for a $217 membership? I already have a Flash Pass, so it would be a complete waste of money unless I prized the preferred parking that much. In addition, I already have the dining plan, so again, the 50% savings would not apply to me this year. Next year is a different story when everything expires at the end of 2018. 

 

And keep in mind, you have to reserve your preferred parking by 5 AM the day of your visit.  Nice little detail they slipped in there *after* you sign up.  (Which makes me think ... what's the possibility that they start expanding the Preferred Lot?  And that it's the part of the parking lot with the solar panels?)

 

Honestly, I was already paying $10 and change for my Gold Combo.  Another $2 a month covers the cost of my sports bottle and that awesome free funnel cake, everything else really is a freebie and I'll probably end up skipping the line just for the Safari or whatever coast I just *have* to ride that day.  I have Basic Dining which I may or may not bump up to Deluxe or whatever after my 35% discount kicks in.  Or not.  I haven't decided.

[Medusa42]

I am keeping my season pass this year and will figure out my options for next year later in the season.  It wouldn't surprise me if season passes aren't offered for 2019 and you have to pick a membership.  This is actually a really smart move to raise prices to the levels they should have been at in the first place while making people feel like they are missing out on a bunch of benefits if they don't upgrade.  The new benefits don't cost Six Flags much money to implement.  If you rolled these memberships out at the end of the season, it would probably hurt ticket sales for 2019 due to the confusion.  Doing it now gives people an entire season to get used to the idea.

[Matt Kaiser]

1 hour ago, Lemur said:

 

And keep in mind, you have to reserve your preferred parking by 5 AM the day of your visit.  Nice little detail they slipped in there *after* you sign up. 

 

Where do you see that? The welcome guide has always said you need to reserve, but it says by 12am the night before, not 5am. You can cancel by 5am.

 

https://static.sixflags.com/website/membership/guides/Six-Flags-Diamond-Elite-Membership-Guide-2018.pdf

[Yoshi]

I wonder if they will stop allowing people to reserve it if they don't show up after a few times. I can see people who live somewhat close just reserving a space thinking they might go and then at the last minute for whatever reason decide against going.

[Matt Kaiser]

16 minutes ago, Yoshi said:

I wonder if they will stop allowing people to reserve it if they don't show up after a few times. I can see people who live somewhat close just reserving a space thinking they might go and then at the last minute for whatever reason decide against going.

 

According to Jenn McGrath's interview with SFNEonline, you will be blocked from reserving parking for 30 days if you reserve and don't show up.

 

http://sfneonline.org/2018/03/09/six-flags-membership-passes-q-six-flags-new-england/

[Lemur]

46 minutes ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

Where do you see that? The welcome guide has always said you need to reserve, but it says by 12am the night before, not 5am. You can cancel by 5am.

 

https://static.sixflags.com/website/membership/guides/Six-Flags-Diamond-Elite-Membership-Guide-2018.pdf

 

That's what my Diamond Membership Welcome Email said ...

 

"To use preferred parking, you must make a reservation no later than 5 AM on the day you want to visit."

 

As for no-shows, I can see how they'd want to do that.  It kinda sucks if you're a local and you decide to play hooky and head to the park for the day.  Then again, what days are you really going to need it for?  Weekends and Fright Fest?