Hacker News Reader

Comment by aosaigh | Hacker News Reader

I think I wasn't clear enough that this is an annual subscription of significant cost ($300). With that in mind I would absolutely expect them to email in advance reminding me of the charge (other similar services do). I agree that for something that is monthly, I wouldn't expect an email every month.

Adding dates to the calendar and using giftcard/credit card are both good suggestions for the future.

View on HN

Here’s the way around it as someone who has subscribed:

Cancel right after signing up for annual. Day it will terminate or day prior, can’t remember which, you’ll receive a “hey, don’t let your access expire” email and then you can either sign back up again or let it lapse.

Also, consider using a one-time Credit Card from https://privacy.com/

Thanks. I used to use virtual cards from Bank of America and Citibank but looks like it's just an after thought to the big banks now...

Do you know a similar service outside US?

You can get virtual cards and virtual disposable cards with Revolut but it costs a little fee or it‘s free with the premium/metal subscription

Revolut's disposable card is awesome. I use it constantly.

In New Zealand we have debit cards, so they act just like a normal credit card, except it needs to have money in the account for the transaction to work. So you tie it to an account that you put money into, instead of say, your every-day spending account which could contain a lot more money.

In the UK, the bank will just let the transaction go through & then charge you a hefty fee for an unapproved overdraft.

I have an annual Adobe Cloud membership and receive a renewal warning one month in advance, with the option to cancel.

   Your renewal notice  
  Your annual membership will renew automatically on 07-July-2019 (PT). The terms are outlined below.  
  To manage your subscription or access your invoices, login to your account & click ‘Manage plan’. Or login to adobe.com and navigate through your Account Management page: Manage your account > My plans > Manage plan.  
  If you have further questions, please contact Customer Support to speak with an Adobe representative.  
  Thank you,

Adobe

Reply on news.ycombinator.com