UJ-M-004: Renew Membership

Journey Overview

Attribute	Value
Journey ID	UJ-M-004
Actor	Member with expiring or expired membership
Goal	Renew membership to continue access to benefits
Trigger	Membership approaching expiry, expired, or member initiates renewal
Outcome	Membership renewed with extended validity period

Preconditions

• Member has/had an active membership
• Membership is within renewal window or expired within grace period
• Member has valid payment method (or will provide one)

Journey Flow

flowchart TD
    A[Renewal notification received] --> B[Member reviews renewal]
    B --> C{Auto-renewal enabled?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Card charged automatically]
    C -->|No| E[Member initiates renewal]
    D --> F{Payment successful?}
    E --> G[Review renewal options]
    G --> H{Change plan?}
    H -->|Yes| I[Select new plan]
    H -->|No| J[Confirm current plan]
    I --> K[Enter payment]
    J --> K
    K --> F
    F -->|Yes| L[Membership extended]
    F -->|No| M[Payment failure flow]
    M --> N[Update payment method]
    N --> K
    L --> O[Confirmation sent]

Detailed Steps

Automatic Renewal (Subscription Model)

1. Pre-Renewal Notification

   System sends reminder 7 days before renewal:

   Email Contents:

   • Upcoming renewal date
   • Amount to be charged
   • Payment method on file (last 4 digits)
   • Link to update payment method
   • Link to cancel/change plan
2. Automatic Charge

   On renewal date, system:

   1. Creates Stripe invoice
   2. Attempts charge on default payment method
   3. If successful → extends membership
   4. If failed → enters retry logic
3. Confirmation

   On successful renewal:

   • Membership extended by plan period (monthly/annual)
   • Invoice generated and sent
   • Dashboard shows new expiry date
   • No action required from member

Manual Renewal (Non-Subscription Model)

1. Renewal Reminder Sequence

   System sends multiple reminders:

   Days Before Expiry	Email Type
   30 days	First reminder
   14 days	Second reminder
   7 days	Urgent reminder
   1 day	Final reminder
   Expiry day	Expiry notification
   Grace period	Grace period warning

2. Member Initiates Renewal

   Member clicks renewal link or navigates to membership page:

   • Current plan details displayed
   • Expiry date highlighted
   • "Renew Now" button prominent
   • Option to change plans shown
3. Review Renewal Options

   Member reviews available options:

   Same Plan:

   • One-click renewal
   • Same price (or updated if prices changed)
   • Any loyalty discounts applied

   Different Plan:

   • Compare available plans
   • Select upgrade or downgrade
   • Price difference shown
4. Complete Payment

   Same flow as initial purchase:

   • Apply promo code (if available)
   • Select payment method
   • Complete Stripe checkout
   • Receive confirmation
5. Membership Extended

   On successful payment:

   • New expiry date calculated from:
     • Current expiry (if within renewal window)
     • Today (if expired)
   • Access restored/maintained
   • Welcome back email sent (if was expired)

Renewal Timeline

├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Active Membership Period                                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
                                    │←── Renewal Window ──→│
                                    │    (30 days before)  │
                                                           │
                                                    Expiry Date
                                                           │
                                    │←── Grace Period ────→│
                                    │    (configurable)    │
                                                           │
                                                    Hard Cutoff
                                                    (access lost)

Grace Period Handling

Organizations can configure a grace period after expiry:

Grace Period Status	Member Experience
Active membership	Full access
Within grace period	Limited access + renewal prompts
Grace period expired	No access, must renew to restore

Limited Access during Grace Period:

• Can view dashboard
• Can view past content
• Cannot register for new events
• Cannot access premium resources
• Prominent renewal banner displayed

Renewal Pricing

Scenario	Pricing Rule
Standard renewal	Current plan price
Price increase since signup	Grandfathered rate (configurable)
Loyalty discount	5-15% off based on tenure
Lapsed member returning	May require full price
Promo code at renewal	Applied if valid

Early Renewal

Members can renew early (before renewal window):

• New period added to existing period
• No loss of paid time
• Useful for locking in current prices
• May earn loyalty bonus

Related Entities

• User Membership
• Membership Plan
• Payment Transaction
• Notification Template

Related Journeys

• UJ-M-003
• UJ-M-005
• UJ-M-031

Acceptance Criteria

Frontend

• Renewal status banner on dashboard
• Membership page shows expiry countdown
• One-click renewal for same plan
• Plan change option during renewal
• Payment method update flow
• Grace period limited access UI
• Renewal confirmation page

Backend

• GET /api/membership/renewal-status - Check renewal eligibility
• POST /api/membership/renew - Process renewal
• PUT /api/membership/auto-renew - Toggle auto-renewal
• Scheduled job for renewal reminders
• Scheduled job for automatic renewals
• Grace period access control

Permissions

• Member can only renew their own membership

Business Rules

• Renewal window configurable (default 30 days)
• Grace period configurable (default 14 days)
• Early renewal extends from current expiry
• Expired renewal extends from today
• Loyalty discounts based on continuous membership years

Error Handling

• Payment failure triggers retry sequence
• Failed auto-renewal notifies member
• Support notification for repeated failures