Give a gift membership
Know someone who should be in your club? You can pay for their first membership as a gift. They get an email with a link, and their membership starts the day they claim it. Each club decides which of its plans can be given as gifts.
Before you begin
- You need an active membership in the club. If you're not a member, the page says "Gift memberships are for members". If your own membership isn't active yet, it says "Gift memberships are for active members".
- The gift is for someone new to the club. It can't go to someone who's already a member, and it can't go to your own email.
- Have the person's name and email address ready, plus a way to pay. Payments go through Stripe.
Find Give a membership
On the club's website, open the account menu and choose Give a membership (Bring someone new into the club). You'll also find it on your membership page, under Gifts. Some clubs show a gift card on their home page or donate page too.
If you don't see it, make sure you're signed in and your membership is active. Otherwise, the club isn't offering gift memberships right now.
Step-by-step
- Under Choose a plan, pick the plan you want to give. Each plan shows its price and how long it lasts, counted from the day it's claimed.
- Click Continue.
- Under Who is it for?, enter their First name, Last name and Their email.
- Under When should we send it?, choose As soon as I pay, or On a date and pick a day after today. The page notes: "The email goes out that morning."
- Click Continue.
- Under Add a note, type a Message (optional) of up to 500 characters.
- Leave Include my name ticked to sign the gift, or untick it to give it anonymously.
- Click Continue.
- Under Review and pay, check the total and enter your payment details.
- Click Pay. The button shows the total.
The page says: "Any fees and sales tax are added at checkout." The review step lists each one before you pay. For how fees work, see Payment fees.
What happens next
You'll see Gift sent, or Gift scheduled if you picked a date, along with the email address the gift is going to. The page adds: "We'll let you know when they claim it, and you'll get a receipt by email."
Your membership page lists every gift you've given, under Gifts. Each one shows Not claimed yet, Scheduled, Joined, Cancelled or Refunded.
Claiming a gift (for the person receiving it)
The gift email has a Claim your membership button that opens the claim page. It's marked A gift for you and says you've been given a membership to the club. It shows the plan, who it's from, and any note. It also says:
- Starts: "The day you claim it"
- You pay: "Nothing for the plan. It's paid for."
To claim it:
- Click Claim my membership.
- Sign in, or create a free RumbleSeat account.
- Answer the club's membership questions.
There's no payment step for the plan. If the club offers extras such as chapters, you pay only for the ones you pick.
If you're signed in with a different email from the one the gift went to, you'll be asked to Switch account or Join with this account.
Fixing problems
"That's your own email. To pay for your own membership, renew it from your membership page.": gifts are for someone else. Renew your own plan from your membership page.
"Enter a full email address, like name@example.com.": check the recipient's email for a typo.
"Gift memberships aren't available right now": the club has no plan set up as a gift. Contact the club if you'd like to pay for someone's membership.
Wrong email address on a gift you've sent: the page says the club can change it before it's claimed. Contact the club and give them the right address.
"This gift link doesn't work": the link may have been mistyped, or replaced by a newer one. Use the most recent gift email, or contact the club.
"This gift has already been claimed": if that was you, sign in to see your membership. Otherwise, contact the club.
"This gift was cancelled": the giver or the club cancelled it. You can still join the club yourself.
The claim page says you're already a member: the gift is for someone new to the club, so it can't be used on your account. The claim page says: "If it was meant for you, contact the club. They can refund the person who paid."
"Your gift isn't applied yet": your membership was created but isn't active. Contact the club so they can apply your gift.
Tips & tricks
- Picking a date is a nice way to time a gift for a birthday or the holidays.
- The gift doesn't start counting down until it's claimed, so the recipient gets the full term.
- Prefer to support the club itself? See Donate to a club.
For club admins
Turn gifts on for a plan. Open Club admin, go to Membership and edit a plan. Under Gift memberships, switch on Members can give this as a gift. Free plans and internal-only plans can't be given as gifts.
Manage gifts. In Club admin, open Members and the Gifts tab to see every gift, who bought it and whether it's been claimed. On a gift that hasn't been claimed yet, you can:
- Resend gift email
- Copy claim link
- Change recipient
- Cancel and refund
A scheduled gift has no Resend gift email until it's been sent, and Copy claim link appears only when the gift has a link.
Cancel and refund asks you to confirm first. The dialog says the giver "gets their full payment back, fees included, on the card they paid with, and the gift link for" the recipient "stops working. This can't be undone."
Frequently asked
Can I give a free plan? No. Only paid plans the club has opened to gifts.
Can I give a membership anonymously? Yes. Untick Include my name. The claim page then says it's from "Someone who wanted you in the club".
Can I cancel a gift I sent? Contact the club. Admins can cancel and refund a gift until it's claimed.