How To Cancel a Planet Fitness Membership—The Ins and Outs of the Process
With over 18 million members and 2,400 locations across all 50 U.S. states, Planet Fitness is one of the largest gym franchises in the world. At Planet Fitness, members can work out comfortably and, depending on the location, at any point of the day or night.
Despite its widespread popularity, Planet Fitness may not be the ideal choice for everyone. Some members had issues with alleged changes in the opening hours or lack of specific amenities, while others may have financial constraints or want to try out a different gym in a more convenient location.
If you also want to opt out for any reason, this guide will explain how to cancel a Planet Fitness membership. You will learn the necessary steps to successfully complete the process and obtain guidelines on how to cancel subscriptions while avoiding unwanted charges.
The content in this article is current as of January 2025. Please visit the official Planet Fitness website or contact support for the latest information.
How To Cancel Planet Fitness Membership—Two Methods
The gym membership cancellation policy can differ depending on the particular Planet Fitness club you’ve joined, i.e., your home club. It’s best to contact your home club directly to check your options. One of the representatives will review the terms of your specific membership and answer all of your questions.
Most clubs allow you to request a Planet Fitness cancellation in two ways:
- By filling out a cancellation form at your home club, which is the easiest way to cancel Planet Fitness
- By sending a letter to your home club, ideally via certified mail
Can You Cancel Planet Fitness Online or Over the Phone?
Most members can’t cancel their Planet Fitness memberships online or over the phone. However, some may be able to cancel Planet Fitness online depending on the location of their home club or the type of membership they have. Planet Fitness hasn’t specified which members are eligible for remote cancellation, so it’s advisable to contact customer support for case-specific information.
When To Cancel a Planet Fitness Membership
It can take up to seven business days for Planet Fitness to process your cancellation and stop the charges. If you’re canceling your gym membership via mail, consider the delivery time, as the club needs to receive your notice at least seven days before the next charge.
Besides charging the $15 or $24.99 monthly fee (depending on your membership type), Planet Fitness also charges an annual fee of $49 to help with club maintenance, equipment upgrades, and other expenses. The date on which Planet Fitness charges the annual fee depends on your membership type and date of joining.
If you don’t want to be billed for the annual fee when canceling your Planet Fitness membership, make sure you finish the cancellation by the 25th of the month before the month when your annual fee is due.
Is There a Fee To Cancel a Planet Fitness Membership?
Yes, there’s a Planet Fitness cancellation fee. If your membership has a minimum term and you cancel before the term ends, you’ll have to pay a $58 buyout fee. If you wish to rejoin Planet Fitness after canceling, you might be obligated to pay the joining and applicable annual fees.
Can You Put Your Planet Fitness Membership on Hold?
If you have temporary medical reasons that prevent you from using the gym, you may freeze your Planet Fitness membership for a set amount of time. Putting your membership on hold might be preferable to canceling it if you plan to resume your gym membership at a later date, as it might help you avoid paying the start-up fee when you rejoin or the Planet Fitness buyout fee if you have a minimum term.
To put your Planet Fitness membership on hold, you should speak with a team member at your Planet Fitness club. They’ll inform you about the process and any applicable fees.
In case your annual fee is scheduled to happen while your membership is on hold, the payment may be postponed. Your account will unfreeze automatically once the hold period ends, and your commitment end date or expiration date of your prepaid Planet Fitness membership will be extended.
If you fail to pay your Planet Fitness membership fees on time, you might be subject to late fees. To find out how much Planet Fitness might charge you if you’re late or if any other penalties might apply, refer to your Planet Fitness membership agreement.
Other Options To Consider Besides Pausing or Cancelling Planet Fitness
Instead of pausing or canceling your Planet Fitness membership, you can also:
- Transfer it—If you’re moving across the country, you can transfer your membership to another club, provided the membership is at least three months old and you pay a transfer fee.
- Downgrade it—In case you can’t keep up with the costs or you realize you don’t need some of Planet Fitness’s more advanced benefits, you can switch to a lower and more affordable plan.
If you want to change your Planet Fitness home club, you might be able to do so online. If this option isn’t available to you, contact your Planet Fitness home club for assistance. To downgrade your membership, you should visit your gym and do it in person.
Remember that you can't give your Planet Fitness membership to another person, as it's non-transferable.
How Virtual Cards Make Subscription Cancellation Less Stressful
Even if the process takes place online, subscription cancellations are not always simple. Some companies may go out of their way to make the process laborious and time-consuming—from using confusing design and language to bombarding you with sales pitches in hopes that they’ll convince you to remain subscribed. Overwhelmed by the complicated cancellation process, you may overlook a step and end up paying for one more month of services you don’t want. In some cases, you may incur charges due to technical errors on the merchant’s side even if you’ve done everything correctly.
While you can’t escape early termination fees, you can use virtual cards to avoid excessive and unexpected subscription charges.
When signing up for a subscription, be it Planet Fitness, Peloton, or a streaming service like Disney Plus, Netflix, or Hulu, you should consider paying for it with a virtual card. This card is linked to a real funding source, but it forms a protective layer around your transactions by substituting your financial information with random card numbers at checkout. Independent virtual card providers like Privacy also give you access to card settings that will help you exercise greater control over your spending.
Privacy Virtual Cards—Spending Control at Your Fingertips
By using Privacy Virtual Cards, you’re shielding your debit card or bank account information from hackers who breach company databases and merchants who may accidentally or deliberately overcharge you.
With Privacy, you can generate three kinds of virtual cards. Learn how they work and what they’re used for in the table below:
Privacy Cards can also be paused or closed without affecting your actual debit card or bank account, making these cards suitable when stopping a subscription. Privacy will block all transactions on paused or closed cards, letting you focus on the cancellation process instead of worrying about unwelcome charges and headache-inducing dispute procedures.
You can also set spending limits on your Privacy Cards to block any exceeding charges from merchants and subscription services. Privacy will decline all transactions that surpass the designated limit.
Privacy—Security, Control, and Convenience
When you opt for Privacy Virtual Cards, you get additional benefits that make transacting with virtual cards more convenient. Discover them in the following table:
How To Set Up Privacy Virtual Cards
Getting Privacy Virtual Cards is straightforward—you only need to:
- Create an account
- Provide the information needed to verify your identity
- Connect a bank account or debit card
- Request and generate virtual cards
Privacy Virtual Cards are accepted by most merchants and websites that accept Visa® and Mastercard® payments. That includes well-known subscription services like Amazon Prime, HelloFresh, and Roku.
Privacy’s Personal plan, which is free for domestic transactions, comes with 12 new Single-Use or Merchant-Locked Cards a month, access to the mobile app and browser extension, and all spending controls. By selecting one of the other plans—Plus ($5/month), Pro ($10/month), or Premium ($25/month)—you can get up to 60 virtual cards a month and benefits like:
- No international transaction fees
- 1% cashback on eligible purchases (up to $4,500 per month)
- Priority support with Live Chat
- Card Notes
- Shared Cards
