I must be missing something, but I can’t find the thread that tells us how to renew subscriptions. I just see the note that says to do it, not the one that tells us how.
Any help? Link?
You just click on “User CP” then on “Paid Subscriptions”. There’s not much more to it than that.
Thanks.
I’m sure someone told me this once before, but are we really supposed to remember that? (Not aimed at you just TPTB).
Giles forgot the step where you fight with PayPal for two days if you want to use a credit card to pay for your subscription and not PayPal. 
I don’t see how to renew “Straight Dope Board Charter Membership”.
Membership = Charter membership for those who signed up when we went PtP and have never let that membership lapse. Renew your membership (at $7.49) and you have renewed your charter membership.
Oh, sorry, I see you’re not a charter member at the moment. If you were and want to regain that status, see this thread.
Exactly. I tried to sign up today and found it impossible to do so.
When I went to the renew page, there was not option at $7.49. Only the older rate of $14 something.
So, I just spent about 30 minutes trying to do this, and besides being frustrated with paypal (we always were able to use credit cards before) and then confusion over the actual price, I give up.
It shouldn’t be this hard.
No, it shouldn’t be - I wasn’t exaggerating when I indicated two days spent fighting with PayPal. I ended up paying through PayPal (which I didn’t want to do) because I missed the small, insignificant radio box that said, “Continue without signing in to PayPal.” I removed my credit card from PayPal, then when I entered it here, as soon as I signed in to PayPal they grabbed my credit card number and put it back on my PayPal account.
It’s not automatic, you need to talk to Xash. Send him an email, please.
There’s something weird with your account. Your Charter Member subscription lapsed on 05-21-2009, at which point you became a Guest. You then signed up for regular membership on 06-13-2009, but your custom title for some reason shows Charter Member. THat is why you didn’t see the discounted price, even though your title says Charter Member.
Please PM me and we’ll sort this out.
-xash
Administrator
You do not need a PayPal account to make a credit card payment. PayPal is also the merchant that handles the credit card transaction.
To pay by credit card, you need to click the Continue link where it says this on the left side of the page after you click “Order using PayPal” (you do not need to sign in to PayPal):
I’ve extended your Charter Member subscription for another week until we figure out your payment issue. Please PM TubaDiva once you are able to make a successful payment. If you need more time, please PM her and let her know.
-xash
Administrator
If you have a PayPal account even without a credit card attached to it, PayPal will come up and tell you you have an account, and if you sign in at that point, your payment will be processed through PayPal. You don’t need a PayPal account to make a credit card payment, but if you have a PayPal account, PayPal will try repeatedly to put your payment through PayPal instead of your credit card (even, as I said, if you have deleted that credit card from your PayPal account).
Pure evil.
How does it know you have a PayPal account if all you enter is your credit card info?
Probably because the email address I use here (which comes up automatically filled in when I click on the “Order Using PayPal” button to try to pay with a credit card (instead of the PayPal link - how clear is that?) is the same one I used for my PayPal account. Also, you don’t just fill in a credit card number - you fill in a whole series of information about yourself, including name, address, email, and home telephone.
The bigger problem is that when you go to pay there’s a huge box that practically blinks at you and says “YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT HERE.”
And if you want to use your credit card there is a tiny line of text that says “Use your credit card or bank account (where available).”
There is a blue hyperlink there on the word “Continue.”
That itsy bitsy “Continue” is where you go to use your credit card.
Most people look at the big box and wonder what the hell to do next and totally miss “Continue.”
And if you ever had a credit card linked to PayPal, even if it’s delinked, if you sign in via that big box cookies kick in and ADD YOUR CARD BACK IN. You have to clear your cookies and go back.
Sometimes PayPal is pure evil.