Planet Fitness CEO confirms first membership price hike in over two decades

THE CEO of Planet Fitness has confirmed the company will be increasing membership prices.

It’s the first time the iconic gym chain upped its costs to work out for over two decades.

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The last time Planet Fitness increased the fee for its Classic Card membership was before the turn of the century in 1998, per USA Today.

Classic Card members will see a five-dollar bump this summer — from $10 to $15 per month.

Those with the higher-level Black Card at $24.99 monthly could also see an increase, as there will be “price testing” for it.

Classic Card members are only allowed to go to the location they have their subscription for and cannot bring a guest, while the Black Card lets them bring a guest and have access to any Planet Fitness.

Planet Fitness CEO Craig Benson said that the increased cost for the Classic Card membership shouldn’t be much of a surprise to customers, given its steady price point for decades.

“It is not going to come as a shock to anybody that we are moving a price that’s been in effect for a long, long time, 25 years,” Benson said in a quarterly earnings call with investors.

“We think this is the right time to do it.”

Benson added that the Black Card’s increase was still tentative.

“We also think it’s the right time to look at different options on the Black Card, which may or may not change,” he said.

There will supposedly be a “few different iterations” of Black Card membership that gym goers could see soon.

Thomas Fitzgerald, Planet Fitness’ chief financial officer, also stressed that current Classic Card members would be grandfathered into the price change.

That means those members currently paying $10 per month will only pay that amount.

New members will have to fork over the increased $15 fee.

Benson did not provide an exact date the new prices will take effect at Planet Fitness.

WHY THE CHANGE?

With inflation still high and other considerations, Benson noted that it’s starting to cost Planet Fitness more to provide its services to customers than before.

CPI and Inflation explained

The Consumer Price Index is how the federal government measures inflation.

Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shares its CPI numbers with detailed breakdowns of which items have changing prices.

The CPI shows the amount prices rose or fell over the previous 12 months.

The calculation process is complex, but measures the changes in price for urban consumers, those living or working in an American metropolitan area.

While that does not cover everyone, it measures prices for about 90% of the population.

The uptick to $15 is necessary, according to the CEO, who said on the earnings call that inflation would make the $10 membership from 1998 about $20 today.

Additionally, the company had fewer new membership numbers around New Year’s than expected at around 900,000.

Benson attributed the lack of new members to higher numbers of respiratory infections and diseases during January.

For more related content, check out The U.S. Sun’s coverage of the beloved fitness brand shutting a store in a major American city.

The U.S. Sun also has the story on the brand that was paying exes $1,000 to work out at different gyms.