My generally positive experience with several of these paid membership programs that have a notorious reputation and are usually rated badly by the BBB. Pros: Surprisingly good on their word and honor rebate requests promptly. It's possible to get money through their free trial subscriptions. Cons: Laborious, meticulous reading of Terms & Conditions, to know exactly what is being signed up for. Needs careful tracking of membership cancellation dates to avoid automatic subscription renewal and accompanying charges.
Trilegiant's Autovantage, Buyers Advantage, Freeshipping.com, Great Fun (greatfunsite.com), Just for Me, Shoppers Advantage, Completehome, Privacy Guard, and Travelers Advantage. Also, Easysaver, Business Max, Nicole Saving Advantage (Nicolesavingadvantage.com) and Passport 2 Fun.
The length of my experience
I subscribed to all the above, on and off, since 2005. When I say 'on and off', I mean that I've mainly done the trial memberships, which are free (or cost $1), and mostly cancelled before the trial period ended. A pop-up window offering $20 for a free trial of their site is usually how I signed up. The offer comes after I've bought something else online. If I agree to the free trial (after reading the terms and conditions, which you should absolutely do, and make sure there's a phone number you can call to cancel), my credit card details that I used for my online purchase will be automatically given to the site, and it will automatically renew (be charged) at the end of the free trial.
Do they actually offer anything useful?
Actually yes. I used their services and explored their websites during my subscription period and most of them
