The Sweet Satisfaction of the ClassPass Credit Lawsuit

Let's give credits where credits are due. In a potentially vindicating plot twist for fitness enthusiasts everywhere, ClassPass is facing a class-action lawsuit concerning its credit expiration. The suit, filed on July 21, puts plainly the reason why ClassPass might not feel as "worth it" as it once did. Per Inc., the plaintiff claims that ClassPass enforces "unreasonably short expiration periods" for its credits, which users can buy and redeem for access to beauty treatments, group fitness classes, and wellness services. The reaction to the suit on social media proves this frustration isn't exactly uncommon.

To understand the full scope of the ClassPass lore, there's a few things to note about its current credit policy. For starters, different membership tiers warrant different amounts of credits. According to the ClassPass website, you can purchase 15 credits for $35 a month, 28 credits for $59 a month, or 38 credits for $79 a month. ClassPass members can also purchase additional credits if they run out early. If you don't use up all your credits, they should roll over to the next month. But there's a catch: you can only roll over up to the number of credits in your next month's plan.

To put this policy into perspective: if you have a 38 credit plan and use only 20 credits, the remaining 18 credits would roll over into the next month, giving you 56 credits total. But if you were to only use 10 credits that month (which some say should leave you with 46 credits to roll over), you'd end up losing credits the next month, as only a maximum of 38 credits can roll over. "Any additional credits you have will expire at the end of the month and if you decide to cancel, all remaining credits will be forfeited on the last day of your membership," the ClassPass site reads. Herein lies the frustration.

"I'm so sorry but when you say credits rollover, is that not common sense that they will accumulate?!" one Redditor writes in R/ClassPass. The lawsuit agrees, saying, "ClassPass designs credits to expire, depriving consumers of moneys they have paid." The suit claims this violates California state law, which does not allow any expiration date for gift cards. Feeling vindicated, yet?

On TikTok, people are also commiserating over all the credits they've lost due to cancellation, if you want more community. This is another key point of the lawsuit, which argues, "There is no way for a user to cancel their ClassPass membership without losing the Credits they have accumulated." ClassPass did not immediately respond to Popsugar's request for comment.

If you remember ClassPass credits once stacking up more easily, it's because the credit expiration policy has changed over the years. At the height of the COVID pandemic, any leftover credits were allowed to fully roll over at the end of each cycle. While it's understandable that a company might need to establish certain limits, some of the biggest ClassPass complaints include the quick credit expiration, cancellation policy, and overall lack of transparency.

Our take? We can remember a time when ClassPass genuinely felt like a bargain, helping us secure spots in coveted studios and take new classes without breaking the bank. Now that prices have gone up, classes cost more credits, and expirations seem more strict, we can't say for sure whether a membership is still worth it — but it makes sense that ClassPass might not feel the way it used to. As members already know: nothing gold can stay.

Chandler Plante (she/her) is a social producer and staff writer for the Health & Fitness team at Popsugar. She has over five years of industry experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine, a social media manager for Millie magazine, and a contributor for Bustle Digital Group. She has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and is based in Los Angeles.