Getting Started with Outschool Memberships
Outschool memberships help you manage enrollments for the classes your family enjoys. With a membership, you receive monthly credits stored in your membership balance. Credits are shared across all learners on your account, making it simple to manage multiple enrollments for your family. Please note that membership credits cannot be shared with friends or family members outside of your account. All membership plans are subject to the Outschool Membership Terms.
Each membership plan offers savings compared to purchasing classes individually, and all plans let you enroll in classes without paying a marketplace fee.
At the start of each billing cycle, your membership will renew with the set number of credits for that cycle, which are added to your balance. Credits are available immediately when the new cycle begins.
Billing Cycle
Your billing cycle starts the day you purchase your first month's membership, and you’ll be charged on that same date each month. For example, if you purchase on the 15th, your next charge will be on the 15th of the following month.
Membership renewal times are based on the time of initial sign-up and will occur on the same date each billing cycle. If your membership renews on a Sunday, your exact sign-up time will determine whether credits for weekly classes are deducted before or after the renewal.
Payment Methods
Membership purchases are processed through Stripe, our payment provider, which accepts various payment methods globally, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, and UnionPay. All membership plan purchases and renewals require a card on file.
Note: Membership plans are currently only available for purchase in U.S. dollars (USD). At this time, Outschool does not support purchasing membership plans in other currencies.
Using Stored Balance and Offers for Membership Charges
After your first month, you can use your Stored Balance (such as gift card funds, pricing offer funds, referral vouchers, etc.) to help pay for:
Membership plan renewals (after the first month)
One-time credit purchases
Overage charges when your membership credit balance runs out
This feature is enabled by default after your first membership payment. You can manage this setting by visiting your Transactions page and toggling Other Balance on or off.
If your stored balance doesn’t cover the full membership renewal charge, the remaining amount will be charged to your card on file. Your Transactions page and Stripe invoice will provide a breakdown of how your payment was applied.
All membership plan payments are subject to the Outschool Membership Terms and Membership Cancellation Policy.
Viewing and Managing Your Credits
To view and manage your credits, visit the Transactions page. Here, you can see the total credits in your membership plan, how many remain unused, and the maximum number of credits that will roll over to the next cycle.
You can also review how your credits will be applied throughout your billing period. When you select your remaining credits from the top navigation bar, click the expandable arrow at the bottom of the box to see how your credits will be used for the rest of the period. You'll see a message letting you know if you don’t have enough credits to cover all upcoming charges.
Rolling Over Credits
If you don’t use all your credits during a billing cycle, they will roll over to the next. You can roll over up to the rollover maximum, which is equal to the total number of credits in your plan. For example, if your plan includes 268 credits, you can have a total of 536 credits. This includes 268 for the current cycle and 268 rollover credits. Your balance will never exceed twice the number of credits in your plan.
If you switch to a different tier for the next billing cycle, your rollover maximum will be updated to match the new plan. If your new plan has fewer credits, your rollover maximum will be lower. For example, if you switch from 268 credits to 130 credits, your new rollover maximum will be 260 credits (130 from the current month and 130 rolled over). Any unused credits beyond the new rollover maximum will be lost at the end of the current cycle when the new tier takes effect.
Unused credits within the rollover maximum do not expire as long as your membership remains active. However, if you cancel your membership, any remaining credits will be lost at the end of last month's billing cycle. If you consistently have unused credits, consider updating your plan to better match your usage. This helps keep your balance manageable and ensures you're on the right plan for your family's needs.
Upgrading Your Plan or Purchasing More Credits
If you use all your credits before your next billing cycle, you have two options to continue using credits:
Upgrade Your Plan
Upgrade if you find that a higher-tier plan better fits your family's needs. This option immediately gives you all the credits allocated to the upgraded plan, starts a new billing cycle with the upgraded plan, and offers additional savings. Note that upgrading will change your billing date to align with the new plan’s cycle.
When you upgrade, your new plan’s rollover maximum applies. If you have more credits than your new plan allows to roll over, you’ll have until the end of your new billing cycle to use the extra credits. After that, only up to your plan’s rollover maximum will carry over.
To upgrade your plan:
Visit the Membership section of the Transactions page.
Click Get More Credits.
Select Upgrade now and complete the steps to upgrade to your new plan.
Please note: Plan upgrades are non-refundable.
Buy One-Time Credits
If you need extra credits only for the current billing cycle, purchase one-time credits. Once purchased, the credits will be added to your balance immediately. Depending on the amount you purchase, you may receive a discount. You can also use your stored balance from Outschool vouchers or redeemed gift cards to pay for one-time credits.
To buy one-time credits:
Visit the Membership section of the Transactions page.
Click Get More Credits.
Select Buy one time credits and complete the steps to purchase.
Please note: One-time credit purchases are non-refundable.
Using Credits to Enroll in Classes
When you're ready to shop, browse Outschool listings and find the ones you'd like to enroll your learners in. All listings will show the number of credits it will take to enroll in the class.
Once you sign up for a Membership Plan, all future recurring weekly class charges will automatically be deducted from your Membership Credit balance instead of charging your payment method. Any previous purchases made with your original payment method will remain unchanged. All initial and automatically renewed enrollments will be deducted from your membership credit balance. If your credits don't fully cover the class enrollment credit requirement, Outschool will automatically deduct from your stored balance if you have one (such as Outschool vouchers, redeemed gift cards, etc.) or your card on file for the additional payments required at a rate of $0.50 per credit to keep your enrollment active.
For example, if a class requires 100 credits to enroll, but you only have 50 credits in your membership credit balance, the remaining 50 credits will be charged to your stored payment method. In this case, you would be charged an additional $25 for the remaining 50 credits.
If you do not want to purchase additional credits because the number of credits in your current membership plan is sufficient, you can withdraw from classes on your classroom page to ensure that no extra credits are required for your current enrollments.
When enrolling in classes with membership credits, coupons cannot be used at this time.
For fixed-length class enrollments, you can choose to enroll upfront or weekly:
Enrolling upfront: This may require fewer credits, and the entire class enrollment will be deducted from your membership credit balance. Depending on the class length, this could use a significant portion of your current billing cycle's credits.
Enrolling weekly: You’ll enroll and redeem your credits for the first week at the time of enrollment. Each Sunday, Outschool will automatically renew your enrollment and deduct credits from your membership credit balance. If your balance runs out, as stated above, Outschool will use your stored balance or card on file to cover the remaining amount. You can also purchase the additional credits needed for the enrollment.
All enrollments and auto-renewals are subject to the Class Cancellation Policy. Learn more about managing your class enrollments here.
Managing Your Membership Plan
You can manage your Outschool membership plan at any time from the Transactions page of your account. To make changes to your plan, follow these steps:
Visit the Membership section of the Transactions page.
Select Manage Plan.
You’ll be redirected to your Stripe profile page, where you can choose to update or cancel your membership plan.
If your current plan no longer meets your family’s needs, you can update your membership to a plan that offers more credits and savings. Changes to your plan will take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.
Canceling Your Membership
If you cancel your membership, you will have access to your credits until your current billing cycle ends. Any unused credits in your membership balance will be lost after the cycle ends.
Your current class enrollments won’t be canceled when you cancel your membership, and your payment method will continue to be charged at the current class price until you withdraw from any active enrollments. To cancel an enrollment, go to the Enrolled tab, visit the classroom management page for the class, and select Withdraw. This will immediately end your learner’s enrollment and remove their access to the class.
Invoice History and Receipts
When updating your plan, you’ll be taken to your Stripe profile page to view your invoice history. You can select any past payment to download a receipt for your membership plan payments.