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Planet Fitness is a popular chain of fitness centers (it had more than 15 million members as of March 2020), but the franchise has not embraced modern customer service practices, especially when it comes to canceling membership plans.
Instead of letting you close your account online, Planet Fitness requires you to visit your home club and speak to a representative at the front desk or send a letter via the postal service.
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You can't cancel your membership by phone, via the Planet Fitness website, or even by email. You only have two official options: visiting in person or sending a letter.
If you need to step away from your Planet Fitness membership temporarily and would prefer not to cancel it entirely, you may be able to put your account on hold.
Many clubs allow you to put your membership on hold for up to three months for medical reasons. Unfortunately, the rules vary from club to club, so you should reach out to customer service at the location where you have a membership. Either visit in person and speak to someone at the front desk or call your club.
If you want to downgrade your membership rather than cancel it, you need to do that in person as well. Visit your home club and speak to someone at the front desk about your account.
Membership upgrade, though, can be done online. Open the Upgrade webpage in a browser and follow the instructions. You'll need your Planet Fitness Keytag number to complete the process. If you prefer, you can also do this in person at the front desk.
If you have a Planet Fitness membership and your home club is closed for safety and social distancing reasons, your membership is automatically frozen and you're not charged any fees. Your club will notify you when it reopens and what its rules are regarding mask wearing and other considerations.
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
