Active Advantage by Active.com

I’m in the middle of my second year with this program. The primary reason I signed up for the program is that Active.com waves race registration processing fees. Fees averaged about $4.00 per race for me last year. I saved $60.66 on the 14 races that I signed up for through Active.com. The other 27 events I ran last year used other service providers.

The Active Advantage provides the following:

Every week they send an email listing several races that offer a $5.00 discount off the registration fee. The emails also offer five FREE Entries for these same races. You have to be quick to get the free entries. I used a $5.00 discount coupon once.

If I was more vigilant I could have signed up for more races with the discount or utilized a free entry. It seemed that when ever I looked at these email promos the races were too far away. I try not to drive more than 25 miles for a 5K, unless it is something special or a group of friends are going.

FREE Training plans

If you have ever looked at training plans you know that they can be expensive. With Active Advantage, you have FREE access to all of their training plans. They have everything from Couch-to-5K, Beginner Century, Beginner Sprint Triathlon, weight loss, weight training and advanced programs for all of these activities. Prices for these plans range from $19.95 to $34.99. If you use a few of these plans you are really getting your money’s worth.

Travel and Gear Discounts

I don’t buy a lot of gear and when I do I like to shop at my local running store. Active Advantage offers some pretty good discounts on all kinds of equipment and gear for all of your activities. They also offer travel discounts from Avis, Wyndham and Ramada to name a few. There are usually some really good deals available.

New ways to save

New for 2014 is a FREE race entry. Sign up for 4 events through Active.com and you get the 5th one FREE! They will reimburse you up to $65.00 for your fifth race. That is a great deal. Most Half-marathons are $60-80, so you could get a free half-marathon out of the deal. You can also use it for a 5K or 10K but these races typically cost $25-35.

There are conditions which you can see if you click the link above. The most important one is that they give you the discount for the 5th race you book through Active.com. So you have to be smart about your registrations.

Event Photo Rebate

Also new for 2014 is the event photo rebate. They will rebate to you up to $15.00 for two different races for the cost of your photos. Anyone who has looked at the cost of race photos knows that this covers the typical cost of one digital download. This is still a pretty good deal. If you do 2-3 digital downloads for a race, Active Advantage will rebate $15.00. You do have to upload the receipt and the photo before they will process your rebate.

It is interesting that they ask you to check a box to allow them to share your photo. Many of the download agreements that I have read, yes I’ve read those foolish things, only allow you to use these photos for non-commercial purposes. If Active.com uses your photo on their website I think that would constitute a commercial use. I’ve never even been on the campus of a law school, so I may be wrong.

Still, you can essentially get two fee digital downloads per year. Not bad.

FREE ALLTRAILS Pro Membership

This is also new for 2014. This program gives you $10 off camp ground reservations at select State Park campgrounds, free access to over 50,000 trails, maps etc. Like the running program; make 3 campground reservations and Active Advantage will pay for your 4th reservation.

Active Advantage could pay off for you

The Active Advantage fee for 2014 is $64.95.

Let’s assume that you run 20 races per year and that 10 of these use Active.com for registration. We’ll also assume that you are a good shopper and get the $5.00 discount on 5 of these races. You are also on top of things and snag a free 5K registration. You like photos and you remember to claim your 5th race for a refund and that the race is a half-marathon.

10 races without a $4.00 processing fee = $40.00

5 races with a $5.00 registration discount = $25.00

1 FREE race = up to $65.00

1 FREE 5K registration = $25.00

2 FREE photo downloads = $30.00

TOTAL SAVED $185.00

Throw in a free training plan, some discounted campground fees, discounts on travel and gear, and you’ve got a real deal.

My Active Advantage assessment

If you’ve read my previous reviews of Active Advantage you know I haven’t been 100% thrilled with the program.

I didn’t even break even last year. All of the free and discounted races were too far away and just seemed like a gimmick. I almost broke even just on registration fees, but never found a free race in my area.When I wrote my review last year I was very kind.

This year, some of the free/discounted races are actually in New England and many are in the Greater Boston Area. I’m willing to drive 20 miles or so to run a 5K. With the addition of a free race and two free photo downloads this year, the program has become MUCH BETTER. Using just the free race registration I will break even.

With a little planning on my part and possibly running a few 5Ks that I might not have thought about running, I can easily end the year ahead of the game. It’s almost like Active read my blog.

Please note: Active Advantage is not paying me or giving me any discounts out side of the Active Advantage program that I paid for. I do not have an affiliate relationship with Active.com either.

If you run 10 or more races per year, I would recommend Active Advantage.

Run well my friends!

Andy

©2014 anagelin