You know, I was wondering that myself. 68 does seem odd. Maybe they figure that at that age, a person may be a little skeptical if they'll still be rv'ing in the amount of years it would take to break even if they paid annually.
FWIW, I am 68 and have decided that it's probably not to my advantage. At $20/yr, it would take me 7 1/2 years... Will I still be rv'ing then? Who knows? At this age, you take the future day by day...long term plans may be a little optimistic.
Ron
Ron & Sandie
'08 Safari Simba SBD35 CAT C7
Toad: 2011 GMC Terrain SLT2
Tow Bar: Sterling AT
Toad Brakes: Unified U.S. Gear
TPMS: Pressure Pro
Member of: GS, FMCA, Safari Intl, CAT
FWIW, I am 68 and have decided that it's probably not to my advantage. At $20/yr, it would take me 7 1/2 years... Will I still be rv'ing then? Who knows? At this age, you take the future day by day...long term plans may be a little optimistic.
Ron
That's why I normally avoid life memberships, although I made an exception in this case because I was still in my 40's at the time and it seemed like a good deal (I'm a Charter Life Member). Was it worth it? I certainly would have paid more if I had paid year-to-year but, on the other hand, I may have cancelled my membership years ago. Life Memberships would seem to make sense only if you're still young and already hooked on the lifestyle; at 68 it seems like a waste of money, IMHO.
Gary Shapiro
Col. Dash - GSD, DOTL Rainbow Division, in my heart forever
Spc. Lily - 10-year-old Greyhound (Racing School drop-out)
Spc. Molly - 9-year-old Shepherd/Husky Mix (aka Honey Badger)
Shadow - 1 1/2-year-old Greyhound 2011 Georgetown 280DS Class A
I can't give any advice. Welcome to the board!!!! Please hang around -- lot to learn and you may have some good advice for people! And I agree with you -- would be nice to have lifetime membership come at age 65 (at least!!)
I think the OP is qa troll or someone that frequents the forum under another name. First post and they start it off with a complaint about the membership. They know who Marcus is and they know where to post this at. I'm sure the powers that be can connect their IP address with another user here.
Brian RVing Illustrated
2010 Keystone Sprinter Select 31BH
2001 Coleman Santa Fe
DARTFURYMUSTANG wrote: I will try and take all the advise I have received concerning the use of caps. ..... The use of caps is natural for me and not yelling
I will assume (yes I know what it means) that you use caps to make it easier to see. I have the same problem and would suggest that you go into your browser preferences and change the size of the default font. Mine is on 20, most people use 12. I can't tell you exactly where it is in your browser as there are so many. But search in the help for "default font size" and you should find an answer. Hope that helps.
As for you original question, I too think 65 would be a better age but then I don't run the company so I'm sure Mr. Lemonis has his reasons.
John
"Motorcycle Jack"
Life time Good Sam Member
Blog: My RV
5th Wheel Blog
Full timing isn't "always camping". It's a different life style living in an RV.
I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONING BEHIND YOUR SENIOR DISCOUNT FOR A LIFE MEMBERSHIP. MOST PLACES RECOGNIZE A SENIOR CITIZEN AS SOMEONE OVER THE AGE OF EITHER 55 OR 65 AND THEY RECEIVE THE SENIORS DISCOUNT. MEDICARE KICKS IN AT 65 MOST PEOPLE RETIRE BETWEEN THE AGE OF 60 OR 65. YET, FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE AGE OF 68 TO UPGRADE TO A LIFE MEMBERSHIP AT THE REDUCED RATE. I THINK IT IS TIME THAT YOU CONSIDER 65 FOR THE DISCOUNT. JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR LISTING TO MY GRIPE.
Our members requested that we offer a discount for Life Membership to help make it more affordable. We agreed to offer discounts to ALL members based upon the request.
The cost for Good Sam Club Life Membership has historically been $499. We agreed to lower the "base" price to all members to $299. That’s a reduction of $200.
We also agreed to offer an additional discount to certain groups including older members, military veterans, students, active police and firefighters. We lowered the price to these groups to $149. That’s a reduction of $350 off the original price or $150 off the new lower price.
Various groups choose to define a senior at different age. We chose to set an age of 68 as the senior rate. Our members continue to travel for many years beyond 68. We wanted to give them opportunity to enjoy the benefits of life membership… but also understood the challenge with the price. The response from members has been overwhelmingly positive. The discount at 68 is more about right sizing the price to those members than defining the age of a senior.
In addition to the discounts we've offered up we have expanded the level of benefits to Life Members including the additional fuel discount savings we offer through Pilot Flying J. This savings to Life Members is subsidized by the club.
I hope you see the positive efforts that have been taken to make the membership more affordable and accessible to all members. The membership is a great deal regardless of your age.
I know this is more than you requested in a response but I thought it was a good opportunity to help everyone understand our rationale.
Regards,
Mike Siemens
President
Good Sam Club
Good Sam and Camping World
Msiemens@campingworld.com
Mike Siemens
President
Good Sam Club
mikesiemens@campingworld.com
1. the op has a valid point - why not senior discount at 55. Dunkin Dounuts gives those 55 a discount.
2. As for typing in all caps - granted all caps most consider yelling in electronic communications, however I know of many older people who type on a computer in caps so they can see the letters. poor vision makes typing in caps or large fonts easier for those with poor vision. The OP may not have a vision issue but consider those that do before *****ing about all caps.
consider the main point of the post - is not the meaning of the post more important then if it is typed in all caps or not? don't be so quick to judge.
I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONING BEHIND YOUR SENIOR DISCOUNT FOR A LIFE MEMBERSHIP. MOST PLACES RECOGNIZE A SENIOR CITIZEN AS SOMEONE OVER THE AGE OF EITHER 55 OR 65 AND THEY RECEIVE THE SENIORS DISCOUNT. MEDICARE KICKS IN AT 65 MOST PEOPLE RETIRE BETWEEN THE AGE OF 60 OR 65. YET, FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE AGE OF 68 TO UPGRADE TO A LIFE MEMBERSHIP AT THE REDUCED RATE. I THINK IT IS TIME THAT YOU CONSIDER 65 FOR THE DISCOUNT. JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR LISTING TO MY GRIPE.
Our members requested that we offer a discount for Life Membership to help make it more affordable. We agreed to offer discounts to ALL members based upon the request.
The cost for Good Sam Club Life Membership has historically been $499. We agreed to lower the "base" price to all members to $299. That’s a reduction of $200.
We also agreed to offer an additional discount to certain groups including older members, military veterans, students, active police and firefighters. We lowered the price to these groups to $149. That’s a reduction of $350 off the original price or $150 off the new lower price.
Various groups choose to define a senior at different age. We chose to set an age of 68 as the senior rate. Our members continue to travel for many years beyond 68. We wanted to give them opportunity to enjoy the benefits of life membership… but also understood the challenge with the price. The response from members has been overwhelmingly positive. The discount at 68 is more about right sizing the price to those members than defining the age of a senior.
In addition to the discounts we've offered up we have expanded the level of benefits to Life Members including the additional fuel discount savings we offer through Pilot Flying J. This savings to Life Members is subsidized by the club.
I hope you see the positive efforts that have been taken to make the membership more affordable and accessible to all members. The membership is a great deal regardless of your age.
I know this is more than you requested in a response but I thought it was a good opportunity to help everyone understand our rationale.
Regards,
Mike Siemens
President
Good Sam Club
Good Sam and Camping World
Msiemens@campingworld.com
Mike, thank you for offering the discounts. I know you realize that no matter what you do, you'll never make everyone happy. You have, however, made many of us happy, and it is much appreciated.
1. the op has a valid point - why not senior discount at 55. Dunkin Dounuts gives those 55 a discount.
2. As for typing in all caps - granted all caps most consider yelling in electronic communications, however I know of many older people who type on a computer in caps so they can see the letters. poor vision makes typing in caps or large fonts easier for those with poor vision. The OP may not have a vision issue but consider those that do before *****ing about all caps.
consider the main point of the post - is not the meaning of the post more important then if it is typed in all caps or not? don't be so quick to judge.
1. I don't think 55 is a realistic number. I do think 68 is a little extreme. I would see no porblem with 65 or 62 at the earliest. Even at those ages, I'm not sure I would opt for the lifetime member. It would take 6 years of paying the $25 yearly fee to recoup the costs. I don't know if at 70, I would still be RVing or even capable of it. I hope I am.
2. If it's a vision issue, you can "Change zoom level" on your screen and make the letters and words bigger. I'm only 43 yrs old and don't wear glasses. I do have some drugstore readers that I will wear from time to time to help in reading some of the smaller stuff.
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