Complaint Review: 24 Hour Fitness - Select State/Province

Don’t fall for the 24 hour fitness “lifetime membership” scam. If you must become a member of 24 Hour Fitness do the monthly contracts only.

The “lifetime membership” deal at 24 Hour Fitness is a slick scam. I’m not easily scammed and it took me years to realize, when 24 Hour Fitness started excluding me from the clubs I had been going to, one by one. If you bought one of their “Lifetime” memberships where you pay a large sum up front and then a very small yearly fee, you’ve been scammed. The “Lifetime” contract is not really for life. If you’re lucky and you get in near the beginning of a name/level cycle, you might get 10 years out of it before they start re-naming and shutting you out of the clubs, one by one. Eventually you will be shut out of all of the 24 Hour Fitness clubs unless you start paying again like a new member.

To scam the “lifetime” contract members they use club “levels” in combination with a naming scheme where they have a different name for each “level” of club. Currently the level names are from highest to lowest level; Ultra, Super Sport, Sport, and Active clubs. At club renovation time every 5 – 8 years or so, all clubs will move up a level in level-name, and each level-name will eventually end up as lowest level to drop off the list as new levels are created and take the top spot, moving each level name below it down one level at each renovation. Soon there will be no more “Active” clubs (current lowest level), then during the next renovation cycle in a few years the “Sport” clubs, that took place of the “Active” clubs, will go extinct, and then “Super Sport” level will be the lowest soon to be phased out, and so on, and so on, and so on.

If you buy a “lifetime” membership with 24 Hour Fitness your contract will specify that you have access to all “Super Sport clubs or lower” (or whatever level is majority at the time you sign the contract). You will eventually be excluded or shut out of the clubs, one by one, as they are renovated and renamed to the next highest level club name at renovation to exclude longtime “lifetime” contract members.

I will use what happened to me as an example here. This was 2003 so the current club level names have changed by a level. I was sold a 24 Hour Fitness contract for the “Sport” club level and told that 99% of their clubs are “Sport” level clubs, so I will have access to all “Sport” level and below (Sport and Active levels). I was told I would have access to 99% of clubs globally wherever I go, and for LIFE, for only $49 per year after the initial payment of $800!  The $800 covered the first 3 years of membership then it would be $49 once per year, for life.

I was told “Active” clubs were the level below “Sport” clubs, and “Super Sport” clubs was the highest level (at the time in 2003) and “Super Sport” level was the level above “Sport” clubs. I was told there is only one “Super Sport” location and I wouldn’t need that. Specifically I was told that my “Lifetime” membership would be good for all “Sport” clubs and below, “or, all “Sport” and all “Active” clubs, which make up 99% of all 24 Hour Fitness clubs (at the time), and I had use of them FOR LIFE. I was told I did NOT have access to “Super Sport” clubs.

The trick is within the contract, which is how they get away with it. My contract states I have access to all “SPORT” CLUBS and BELOW” for life. They don’t tell you that eventually all “Sport” clubs will be renovated and re-named to “Super Sport” clubs to shut you “Sports” people out of it permanently.

The club level-names are perpetually moving down at each renovation to the lower level until they finally disappear. A new top club “level” name must be created every several years and go to the highest level clubs and during that time, all clubs will move up a level, or, the level names will move down a level. The level at the bottom will be phased out at each renovation cycle by being renamed to the next highest level until there are no more “Active” (or whatever level is lowest at the time) clubs left.

Right now in 2013 where I live, all “Sport” clubs are one by one being renovated and renamed “Super Sport” clubs. This excludes all “Sport” contract people from being able to use them anymore. The lower level “Active” clubs, which there are fewer, smaller and older will be renamed “Sport” clubs. Then all current “Active” clubs will be phased out and eventually disappear completely as they become “Sport” clubs, therby excluding all “people who signed up when “Active” clubs were the majority level. Eventually all lifetime contract people are shut out as the club level names keep moving downward at every renovation every 5 – 10 years or so.  

If you don’t already know about the Lifetime memberships, the salesperson at 24 hour Fitness will first try and sell you a monthly plan. If you are a hard sell, and aren’t biting the sales pitch, especially when you are walking out (I was), the salesperson will whip out the “lifetime” membership offers. Mine was pay $800 up front for the lifetime membership, and that would cover my first 3 years of membership, then I would have to pay $49 only once per year for life. They promise you full access to 99% of their clubs GLOBALLY and FOR LIFE for only $49 per year after initial payment. If this seems too good to be true, IT IS.

I remember during the sales pitch I asked what was the catch and was told there is no catch. I would have full club access to all “Sport” clubs and “below” globally FOR LIFE and that there was only one Super-Sport club in existence that I would not have access to.