Is ClassPass Philippines worth it?
I hopped on the ClassPass train this November as a bid to lose 10lbs before the holidays, so I can safely gain them back without needing to change my entire wardrobe. This is partly because I love my body but I also want to maintain my healthy weight sustainably. I used to be a big Guava Pass user and it introduced me a lot of interesting new fitness activities like parkour studios Ninja Academy and Muscle Up Fitness, and even using it in other countries outside the Philippines like Singapore for Barre and Yoga classes. In January 2019, Singapore-based GuavaPass was acquired for $4.2M by New York-based ClassPass in a bid to secure the Asian market.
How is ClassPass different from Guava Pass (before acquisiton)? Skip this if you were never a GuavaPass user just want to learn about ClassPass!
Though they’re both services that allow non-committal fitness enthusiasts to try different fitness studios without the long term commitment, there are several key differences:
Credits-based versus unlimited uses. While ClassPass has a generally cheaper membership rate, it is tiered based on the number of credits you purchase. GuavaPass had a standard membership rate and unlimited uses for all gyms.
Obviously in GuavaPass’ original business model, some studios which were generally more expensive held the shorter end of the stick as smart customers like myself would prioritize booking with them versus other studios. Making your membership ROI was simply a matter of computing how many and which classes would be the equivalent of your membership price and the more classes you went to, the more “worth it” the membership became.
For ClassPass, more expensive studios are also more expensive in “credit form”, which means that among studios across the platform, there is also a tiering with people deciding if they rather pay for more. Newer studios who hope to take more of the existing non-commited users also tempt them with classes as much as 1/5 the credits of what a user would pay for in another studio.
Holding the membership. I really appreciated this feature with GuavaPass because I would have seasons in my working life when I really couldn’t show up to workout. GuavaPass would charge Php 99 to pause your membership and “save” the rest of the days that auto-renews after 3 months unless you activate it. While it says in ClassPass that they allow holding for $19, I have yet to see anything on their website and app FAQ if it’s applicable to the Philippines and unlike GuavaPass, this function isn’t built into the app settings.
Countries. While GuavaPass is still around in other countries, it is no longer available in Metro Manila. They did retain a lot of their old partners and added some interesting new ones to the mix! The good thing is ClassPass is available in over 2,500 cities across over 21 countries all over the world. The caveat is that while ClassPass is widely available, it’s not as affordable as GuavaPass the credit system is not standard and the average costs per class differ across countries.
How does the Class Pass free trial work?
If you’re thinking about joining ClassPass in trial form, be sure to use my referral link to get Php 1500 off your first month if you decide to continue! Timing when to get the free trial is important as well, as it fluctuates from one week to one month depending on their promotional seasion.
I suggest going for their most expensive classes (5 credits or more) and studios you may hesitate to join even when you do avail of membership due to their cost just to see if they’re worth it or your style.
Like a regular membership with ClassPass, should you continue after your free trial, a maximum of 10 credits can get carried over to your next billing cycle. This is great for months that you’re still exploring how many credits are actually the right number for the kind of workouts you want and your lifestyle.
Is it cheaper than going straight to the studios?
While it’s true that it’s often cheaper than the standard studio class rates, it’s not always true. For example, CycleHouse Indoor Cycling, their cheapest class rate you can buy directly from the studio is Php 350 (with schedule limitations), while on ClassPass, they usually go for about 4 credits.
In many cases, it also falls under the same price or actually even higher than several studios’ trial packages, except there are no maximum number of times can avail of them. What this means is that you could have actually availed of a similar or even better rate if you went through other sources.
An example of which is Bikram Yoga Manila wherein one of their current first timer promos include Php 900 for an unlimited two weeks for all their 9:00AM classes when you inquire directly with them until December 31, 2019 while they also have a Php 499 for an unlimited week on Metrodeal with no limitations on class times. This is opposed to the equivalent Php 300 – Php 500 per class you would have had to pay in credit form (the overall cost of which is dependent on how many credits are in your package and existing promotions, it can range from Php 80 – 100 per credit).
Other quality studios such as the pioneering indoor cycling group, Electric Studio, currently have a Php 1000 for 5 classes promotion that is good for 2 weeks, effectively costing Php 200 per class (versus the 3 to 7 credits+ or est. Php 300 – Php700+ you would spend on their competitors on ClassPass), promotion before December 2, 2019 across their three branches. While Pretty Huge Obstacles Philippines currently has a Php 500 for unlimited one week use of their facilities and classes (versus the 4 to 9 credits or est. Php 400 – Php 900 you would spend in ClassPass) at SM Aura.
It’s also good to take note that once you go to a studio for more than a certain number of times per cycle, the cost of credits may rise for you. The good news is if you actually find a studio you want to commit to after your ClassPass experience, most of them don’t actually count ClassPass as being a member so you can still avail of their first timer or regular packages.
Are all the studios great? Are they worth it?
The simple answer is no. While I’m not familiar with vetting processes for Metro Manila studios, I have had one or two bad classes with instructors that were not very professional. But because ClassPass is very big on the review feature, I was able to manage my own expectations before the workout and now somewhat trust what people say. Still, I generally take reviews with a grain of salt.
The complex answer is that it really depends on you. That being said, different coaches or instructors work for different people and their varying fitness levels. While you can do similar workouts, take boxing for example, you’ll get a completely different experience in Elite Fitness and FlyWeight. Some people prefer one or another and the beauty of apps like ClassPass is that they let you get a taste of both before committing.
Some studios also have varying degrees of customer service and though it’s easy to compare on a high level, one should also check how many credits the differing studios charge to understand the difference. For example, both Ride Revolution and Saddle Row are excellent spinning workouts, but a spinning class in Ride Rev runs from 5-7 credits while Saddle Row goes for as little as 3 credits during their off peak hours. This means that while Ride Rev has free small and big towels inclusive with ride, you technically paid more for it, which some people may or may not be willing to do.
Is ClassPass it just fitness studios? What about other kinds of wellness activities?
Surprisingly, they have more than just places to workout on their roster, they also have massages and facials. There are also fitness activities that are low impact and classify more as meditations such as Kundalini Yoga. Unfortunately, as of the writing of this article, there are very few of them available on the platform. I’ve tried both the Recovery Spa at the Upper Deck Lifestyle Center and Dr. CRB at The Trade and Financial Tower Taguig.
Both had great service and were clearly worth the value in credits but one would argue that there is currently no variety in the wellness offerings and are more nice to haves for now than actual reasons to be on ClassPass. This may change in the future and I am personally looking forward to it!
If it’s not always cheaper, why should I still use ClassPass instead of going directly to the studio?
You just started your fitness journey and don’t know where to start. It’s always a little overwhelming to go to a new studio alone and being able to read reviews and know what to expect so there are no hidden charges (without having scout other people’s blogs first). I’ve had so many annoying experiences before ClassPass where I suddenly had to pay for so many equipment rentals not included in the initial quotation and it just turned me off from the get go and made me not want to come back.
You’re searching for the right instructors, coaches and community. Though many fitness studios will do the same activities (Ex. Yoga, Spinning, Boxing, etc), you’ll find that as with anything in life, it’s not a one size fits all. For example, within and across different spinning studios, you have instructors with varying level of difficultly, style and even playlists. Sometimes, it’s not just the workout but also the people you workout with. Sometimes, you walk into a room and realize you don’t quite fit and there’s no shame in admitting something or somewhere is not for you.
You don’t want a community. It sounds funny but being a bit of an introvert such as myself, I purposely move around my workout schedules so I wouldn’t have to see the same people and be forced to interact. Workouts for me are therapeutic and remaining a little anonymous by spreading out when I go helps me not get too familiar with people and let me exercise in peace.
You’ve used up all the free trials. If you’ve used all your local studio trial packages already and don’t want to commit to class packages to lower the price from the per class rates, it’s a good way to keep a variety in your fitness routine.
Are there any hidden costs to using ClassPass?
Cancellation Fees. For ClassPass, they have a late cancellation fee (Php 300) if you cancel class within 12 hours of class time
Missed Class Fee. If you miss class without canceling, you will be charged a fee (Php 400) within 7 days of class. Whether you late cancel or miss class, the class credits will be automatically returned. Take note, these fees vary per country!
Equipment Rental. Different studios will have different policies on equipment usage. For example, Elite Fitness will require an additional fee for boxing wraps and glove rentals while Flyweight has it inclusive with their price. Similarly, among the multitude of yoga studios and the kind of yoga (Vinyasa, Yin, Kundalini, Hot, & Bikram, etc.), they will also charge differently depending on what the practice requires.
Is it worth using ClassPass?
It really depends on your lifestyle. A few factors that I’ve observed that you need to consider:
You live in a city where there are a lot of options. Metro Manila is huge and with our traffic becoming so bad, it’s not recommended that you travel too much across cities for your classes. I’ve personally have to shoulder a lot of cancellation and missed class fees because of underestimating traffic and it makes the whole ClassPass experience a whole lot more expensive then it should be.
Your work is flexible with time. From my observation, a lot of the studios slots for ClassPass are during the odd hours of the day wherein most people would be at work. Because I’m an entrepreneur and freelancer, this doesn’t really apply to me as much as my time is a little more flexible than others, but I can imagine being frustrated when all the classes you want to take aren’t available beyond your office hours.
You don’t know the right workout for you yet. If you’re in the exploratory part of your fitness journey and want to maximise your time instead of feeling compelled to maximise free trial packages that you realize you don’t like in the middle of your first session, this will be perfect for you. This is not for you if you know you absolutely love one kind of workout already and don’t need anything. It will be cheaper to just get bulk classes in that particular studio.
You want variety in your conditioning. If you’re working on a goal and need cross training with different kinds of fitness activities, like resistance training for MWF and cardio TTH. It’s a good way to diversify your routine and cycle what part of the body you want to focus on in different ways.
You travel a lot and want to explore fitness activities throughout the world, it’s a quickfire way to check places out in a safe way. As a young, often solo, female traveller, I’m aware of the many risks that one has to manage when exploring new places and having an app that gives you depending reviews from people who have actually been to these places decreases risk significantly. Not all review sites online are dependable, especially if they allow reviews from people who may or may not have actually went there.
Whether or not ClassPass Philippines, where it is now, is worth it still highly depends on you, your fitness goals, personality and lifestyle. The price range leaves room to debate because of the many options most Manileños have now with various boutique fitness studios popping up all over the Metro and many companies including free gym memberships with their benefits.
For me, ClassPass currently fits my needs because of my time flexibility, experimental needs and preference for variety. I’m also looking forward to using it when I fly out for December and seeing how it matches up in other countries where arguably they inherited more studio partners from the GuavaPass acquisition.
If you think ClassPass if for you after reading this, sign up with my referral link to get Php 1500 Off your first month after your Free Trial!
