How do you get a good deal on a gym membership?

[schildi]

Hi all!
I am looking into getting a Gym membership. Well, I really want is access to a pool, nothing else, but the Gym seems to be the only option. Also, I do not want a contract at all.
So there is an LA Fitness close by. I talked to them, and they offer $30 a month with a $99 initiation fee. Not good I think.
There is a Belly's Fitness around also, a little further away though. That, right now, offers $25.99 per month, and no initiation fee. Should I try to get LA Fitness to match that? Or could I do even better? Heck, I really only want the pool!

Any ideas? Thanks for any input!

[schildi]

Yeah, I checked YMCA, they were more expensive (I think $35 per month), and are like way out of the way. I'd be going there before work in the morning a couple times a week. LA Fitness is on the way, but YMCA would mean a total of 30 minutes minimum of extra driving, and probably $10 per month in extra gas. No park district pool here that I am aware of.

[zibazinski]

Bally's-$25 per year

[schildi]

Feb 12, 2011 15:23:05 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Bally's-$25 per year

Would you mind sharing some more details on that?

[stats45]

The one thing I would look for in gym memberships is how you pay and what type of contract you look yourself into. Many gyms now use third party companies to collect payment, and it is incredibly difficult to stop your membership. Combine that with tricky incentives, and you have be very careful. I've heard horror stories from friends.

I have to pick out a gym where I'm living for the first time (no more great university facilities!), and I've been looking at the YMCA. They have a wonderful gym, pool, indoor sports courts, etc. They also have stable management, and I know that it will probably stay in that condition for the foreseeable future. It is about $10-$15 more a month, but they also have plenty of promotions and specials for multiple people, families, certain community organizations, etc.

[schildi]

Thanks, stats!
I keep on hearing about these cancellation problems, and that got me a little worried. But when I go on a month by month basis, what would they do? Keep on charging my CC after cancellation? I would of course dispute any charges, but I can see that this could turn into a real headache. Hmmm.


Update: Stats, I now googled "LA fitness complaints", and went from "worried" to rather "horrified". Wow, you did have a good point, scary stuff came up in that search.
In the summer months, I do a lot of lake swimming, even though it is also not what it used to be between the ski boats and jet skis. But really, how difficult can it be to find an honest place to do a few laps of swimming a couple times a week during the winter months? I guess very difficult. Arghh!

[tcu2003]

Do you have a local gym near you? There's a gym near my office that only has one location, and they offer a discount to employees of nearby businesses. I pay $30/month, no sign-up/initiation/cancellation fees, and they have a pool, plus all the other normal gym stuff. They do their own billing/collecting of payment, and cancelling isn't a pain there (I've had some friends who used them and decided to stop due to job change or whatnot). Anyway, it might be worth trying to find a local, one-off gym.

[stats45]

Who knows what they will say if you ask to pay month-to-month. It seems like it would be worth a shot. I'd just make sure that I paid in cash or check with those places rather than allowing an automatic debit.

[hawkeyes2001]

From my experience acting completely uninterested works with LA fitness. I went in there and took a tour and tried to leave. Immediately the initiation fee was brought down to $0 and the monthly rate was reduced by 50%. I still walked away and received a phone call the next day offering me the membership for even less. I did not bite and a week later received a voice mail telling me the membership was even less. I think it was down to $18 a month when it had started at $65.

I wasn't trying to negotiate with the guy. I kept telling him the truth which was that there was another gym closer to our house that would be more convenient and that I didn't want to deal with the parking situation at LA fitness (it is in busy shopping mall). He just kept reducing the cost though.

[Deleted]

Does your community have a rec center? Ours has an awesome one. It is $20 a month for an individual ($10 for me since I work in the city). There are gyms with less awesome facilities and equipment.

[cronewitch]

A local high school has a pool open to the public, I haven't been but keep meaning to. I have a bag of stuff in the car so I can but haven't.

LA fitness has a 2 year membership at Costco including initiation for 299 I think it might have been less it was 2 something.

[schildi]

Thanks everybody!
Crone, are you sure that's LA Fitness and not 24 Hour fitness? If it was LA Fitness, I'd consider that. Takes the risk out of a cancellation, and comes to $12.50 per month. Not bad.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I keep seeing discounts for gyms on our local Groupon ~ you may check yours, as well.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I'd look for an independent gym where you do not have to sign a contract. The one I belong to I paid a small initiation fee and a monthly charge (which is automaticaly debited from my account, unavoidable unfortunately) but I can quit at any time giving them a month's notice. It's not part of chain, but does have reciprocity with other gyms across the US.

[schildi]

Mich, I would not want to give a Gym (or anybody, in fact) access to my checking account.

[travelnut11]

Check Craigslist for people trying to get rid of their memberships. Most gyms will let people transfer memberships is they're still in their contracts.

I got a great deal on my gym by joining a brand-new Gold's before it was open. My friends got a great deal when they offered a Friends and Family promo...we're pay $22.50 per month.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mich, I would not want to give a Gym (or anybody, in fact) access to my checking account.

I don't wnat to, but this is the way that they operate and no other options. However, in the 9 years I've been a member, there has been only one goof and it was very quickly fixed.

Right now, I'm on a 'disability' membership and they've put the debit on hold for 3 months.

[sparktz]

I just purchased a 2 year membership to 24 hour fitness (any Sport club) for $299 at Costco. Comes out to 12.50 per month.

Just need to check out whatever facility that you would most likely be going to to make sure that it is to your liking, all of the facilities are different.

[zibazinski]

Got it in Detroit in 1984. I can't remember the details but am always careful to pay that because if I ever didn't, I'm sure they'd love to get out of it!!!

[sheilaincali]

stats: at the local Y that we joined they waived our initiation fee because of our health insurance. We also get a $20 a month refund for each adult in our family (DH and I) that go to the Y 12 times a month. We have BCBS but the local Y has deals with several insurance companies. Ask and maybe you can get yours even cheaper.

[thyme4change]

You can use my pool - but it is pretty cold right now.

[schildi]

Thanks, thyme!
Costco does not have LA Fitness coupons according to our store. At least not at this time.
While being quite the commitment, $299 for two years sounded good to me. No initiation fee, $12.50 per month and as an additional (important!) benefit: no need to give LA Fitness a CC or account info. Hmmm, too bad!

[Artemis Windsong]

From what I have read here, your best deal is the LA Fitness 2 year deal but pay all of it up front because if you pay month to month, they can change the terms mid-stream. That's just a guess but you're better off locking it in.

I pay $299 plus taxes for Anytime Fitness and they don't have a pool. I got the deal because they drew my name in a contest for one month free 2-yrs ago. I can put the membership on vacation; which I had to do last winter as we had to join the city gym to pay less money for the tennis courts. The city gym has changed it requirements on the daily tennis pass to where the entire facility can be used all day but there is no pool.

[cael]

OP, do you have a Planet Fitness near you? From what I gather, it's $10/month. Don't know about the joining fees or anything. I belong to my local YMCA and pay $47/month, but that includes classes, the actual gym, pool, etc. I like the Y.