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USAT Active Pass upgrade
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So I received an email from USAT saying I can upgrade at no charge and receive the Active Pass content. I get most of my "expert" content here but I will occasionally look at their articles. There's one thing in the "upgrade" that puzzles me...

*You will need to enter a credit card during the checkout process due to system limitations, but your card will not be charged. Once you enter your unique code, you will see a zero balance due. Your Triathlete Pass membership will renew annually at no cost to you as long as you maintain an annual USA Triathlon Membership. Upon annual renewal of your Triathlete Pass membership, you will be notified if you no longer have an active USA Triathlon Membership and you will not be charged without notice. You can cancel at any time.*

My question is...why would they need a credit card to grant me access to the content if it's a free upgrade? What "system limitation" could there be that would require me to give them a credit card number?

I reached out to them for an explanation and they said I would have to contact Pocket Outdoor Media to get an explanation. I'm just curious if anybody here knows why they might need/want this.
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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I am sure it is not a limitation, rather it's the classic....get this for free, for now, but then we will charge you on renewal. Most people will forget all about that the got the free upgrade and the renewal will just happen and everyone will continue on their way.
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, this is a step in getting you into this new ecosystem that they have just created through the acquisitions.

Ideally, they will get your cc information and that will facilitate up-sell opportunities to you in the future...they are removing future friction from a transaction in the future because your cc will be saved....think Amazon's "buy now" button
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [ultrasu] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks guys. Those comments make sense to me. Iā€™ll probably not ā€œupgradeā€. I donā€™t like having my cc information stored in too many places. Iā€™ll continue to rely on the collective wisdom of this site. : )
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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I got an email from USAT last month I think informing me that I could get a free subscription to something, can't remember if it was the active pass or something else. I saw in the fine print that it was free, but I still would of had to pay the taxes. Maybe that's why they need the credit card info.
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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I was a sucker (?) and did this. I'll let you know if I'm billed w/o consent or other bad things attributable to this decision occur...
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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I am guessing they will bill us a year to the day after we signed up, so i will be cancelling mine at the 11 month mark.

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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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The way I read that is that it's free while you're a USAT member, but if your membership lapses then you'll have to pay for active pass.
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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So I just looked at my free subscription supported by my USAT membership It's the 'Triathlete Pass', not the 'Active Pass'. Here's the comparison: https://www.triathlete.com/#_active-pass.
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Re: USAT Active Pass upgrade [imswimmer328] [ In reply to ]
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imswimmer328 wrote:
The way I read that is that it's free while you're a USAT member, but if your membership lapses then you'll have to pay for active pass.

Yes, that's how I read it too, and it's pretty standard stuff for subscription discounts that are dependent on a qualifying attribute (such as being a current USAT member.)

Having a USAT membership and basically getting Triathlete magazine for free seems like a nice deal... Although at least for now it seems like consolidation, and I wish things where expanding, not contracting. I wish I could get a thick, rich Triathlete magazine monthly, but it appears that the market can't support that these days.
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