We hope that our modernized membership payment setup will be more convenient for you. Here are some answers to questions that may come up.

• What if my institution (or parents, etc.) are paying for my membership?
Send them the link for the signup form. Be sure they know they have to enter your email address – not theirs – when signing you up and paying.

• Do I need to have a Stripe account?
No. Stripe is just a payment processor that will accept payment via credit card, Google Pay, and a variety of other methods.

• Can I use my PayPal account with Stripe?
Unfortunately not.

• What if I can’t log in?
If you have trouble logging in, please try resetting your password. See the “Forgot your password?” link right below the login boxes. If you still have difficulties, contact the membership secretary for assistance (membership@americanarachnology.org).

• As a longtime member, why do I need to re-input my information?
Over the years, folks have not always been keeping their info current, and a lot of it has gotten out of date. This is a good opportunity to make sure the We will now be sending you reminders to keep your info current.

• Do lifetime members need to renew?
No. Lifetime members have automatically been moved setup, since there is no new payment to make. However, we do urge that you log in and review your personal information, and make sure it is up to date.

• I entered my year of expected graduation, but what if that changes?
Thanks for doing that! You can update the information at any time. Student members are entitled to the lower rate for up to a year after graduation. We will reach out to remind you to update your location, affiliation, and other info as you move forward with your career.

• How do I see my invoice?
When logged in, go to “My Payments” in the Members area on the left. There you can see the details of your membership, and download your invoice.

• How do I cancel?
When logged in, go to “My Payments” in the Members area on the left and click the red Cancel Subscription button.

• Why did AAS switch from PayPal to Stripe?
We wanted to provide a better, more convenient service to members, and also to modernize the membership operation and make it less manual and labor-intensive.

• Why did you split student and retired, since the fees are the same?
We wanted to be able to send relevant information (for example, to remind only students, not retired people, about the deadlines for grant applications and the student competition). Separating the categories also helps us understand the makeup of our membership and its needs better.

• Why was there such a long delay in re-opening membership?
We apologize for that! Our developers encountered some issues during the migration, and we needed to make sure that everything was working properly, so that you did not have an unfortunate and frustrating experience.

• I don’t like when my accounts renew automatically. Why did you do that?
We believe it is a convenience to members, and increasingly expected by many. We have found over the years that members are often not sure if they are currently paid up or not. However, to avoid anyone being charged without realizing it, we are going to make a point of sending out multiple reminders. And of course, we will give a full refund if you notify us within 30 days that you did not wish to renew.

• I can afford a regular membership (instead of the student or retired rate) so why don’t I just do that to support the society?
We are grateful for the impulse. But we would prefer that you send a donation – whether large or small – using our donate page. That helps us keep our bookkeeping straight for tax filings, and also ensures that we are able to send you news and notifications relevant to your group.