How hard is it to cancel LinkedIn premium?

LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features beyond the free version, such as expanded profiles, unlimited searches, and messaging capabilities. However, when users decide they no longer want to pay for Premium, canceling can be a confusing and frustrating process for some.

What is LinkedIn Premium?

LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service. There are three levels of LinkedIn Premium:

• Premium Career – $29.99/month
• Premium Business – $57.99/month
• Premium Sales – $79.99/month

Premium provides users with features not available on the free version of LinkedIn, such as:

• Seeing who viewed your profile
• Unlimited profile searches
• Unlimited messaging
• Professional profile branding
• Expanded profiles
• Advanced search filters
• Customized recommendations

For recruiters and sales professionals, Premium provides additional benefits like InMail messages, contact information, advanced search filters, and profile demographics.

Why would someone want to cancel LinkedIn Premium?

There are a few common reasons someone may want to cancel their LinkedIn Premium subscription:

• They feel they are not getting value for the price – For the cost, some users may not feel Premium provides enough useful features beyond the free version.
• Financial reasons – Job loss, reduced income, or cutting back on expenses in general.
• Found a new job – For recruiters or sales professionals, Premium may no longer be needed if they switch jobs or industries.
• Use LinkedIn less frequently – If someone does not actively use LinkedIn as much, Premium becomes less beneficial.
• Prefer free version – Some users realize they are content with the capabilities of the free version.

Ultimately, if the costs of Premium outweigh the benefits for a user, canceling is the prudent choice.

How does LinkedIn make it difficult to cancel Premium?

While LinkedIn does allow users to cancel Premium, the cancellation process seems designed to be difficult and retain as many paying users as possible. Some of the hurdles LinkedIn puts in place include:

• No self-service cancellation – There is no easy self-service cancelation option. You cannot cancel through your account settings. You must contact LinkedIn customer service to cancel.
• Making users wait for customer service – The only way to cancel is via customer service, but getting an agent on the phone or via chat can take an extremely long time – often 30 minutes or more.
• No cancellation on mobile app – You cannot cancel Premium via the LinkedIn mobile app, only through the desktop website.
• Confusing cancellation page – The cancellation/account suspension page has vague language that does not make it clear how to fully cancel your account.
• Upselling retention offers – Before letting you cancel, customer service agents will try to retain you by offering you discounts or free months if you do not cancel.
• Waiting period after cancellation – After cancellation, you still retain Premium benefits until the end of your current billing period, enabling LinkedIn to possibly upsell you again before your access expires.

Many users report frustration with LinkedIn refusing to immediately cancel their accounts and continuing to charge monthly fees due to the hurdles in place.

Step-by-step process to cancel LinkedIn Premium

If you are set on canceling your LinkedIn Premium subscription, here is a step-by-step process to do so:

1. Open your desktop web browser and go to www.linkedin.com and log into your account.
2. Click on the “Me” icon in the top right corner and click “Settings & Privacy”.
3. On the left side panel, click “Account management”.
4. Under the “Subscription” section, click “Cancel premium”.
5. This will open the Premium cancellation page. Click “Cancel premium subscription”.
6. Select the reason you are canceling from the dropdown menu.
7. You will then need to wait on the page for a customer service representative to connect via chat. The wait time is typically very long.
8. When a customer service agent joins the chat, clearly state that you wish to cancel your Premium subscription immediately.
9. The agent will try retention offers to keep you subscribed. Decline any offers firmly and explicitly state you want to cancel now.
10. The agent will process your cancellation request. Confirm with them when the cancellation will take effect.
11. Log out of LinkedIn and log back in. You should now see you are on the free version again with limited Premium benefits.

Contacting LinkedIn customer service directly

Rather than wait indefinitely on the cancellation chat page, some users report more success calling LinkedIn’s customer service line directly to process the cancellation.

To call LinkedIn’s customer service, dial 1-855-655-5653. Their support hours are 6am-5pm PST.

When you get a representative on the phone, clearly state you want to cancel your Premium subscription immediately. They will try to retain you with offers, but remain firm in your request to cancel.

Before ending the call, confirm your subscription will be canceled without any further charges. Make a note of the cancellation date and any other important details of the cancellation confirmation.

Turn off auto-renewal first

Before starting the cancellation process, it can help to first turn off auto-renewal in your account settings. This prevents your Premium subscription from automatically renewing on the next billing date before you finish the cancellation process.

To turn off auto-renewal:

1. Go to the “Settings & Privacy” page.
2. Click “Purchase history” on the left side.
3. Locate your Premium subscription and click “More details”.
4. Turn the setting toggle off for “Auto-renewal”.
5. Confirm auto-renewal is now disabled.

With auto-renewal off, your account will expire at the end of the current billing period unless you manually renew again.

Avoiding accidental renewal

Some users report even after canceling Premium, they continue seeing charges from LinkedIn for subscription renewals. This can happen if you cancel but still have auto-renewal enabled.

To avoid accidental renewals:

• Turn off auto-renewal as soon as possible.
• Remove any saved payment methods you have on your LinkedIn account.
• Check your bank/credit card statements closely for any charges from LinkedIn after you have canceled.
• Contact customer service immediately if you see any renewal fees.

Key takeaways

Here are some key tips when canceling LinkedIn Premium:

• There is no self-service cancellation – you must contact customer service
• The cancellation chat process can take very long
• Calling customer service directly can be faster
• Turn off auto-renewal first so it doesn’t renew during cancellation
• Confirm the cancellation date and time to avoid further charges
• Check statements closely even after canceling to dispute any renewal fees

The bottom line

Canceling LinkedIn Premium can be a frustrating process by design. LinkedIn makes it difficult with limited self-service options, long wait times, and aggressive retention offers. But with persistence and repeatedly stating your request to cancel, you can successfully shut off Premium renewal billing and revert to LinkedIn’s free version. Just be prepared for a tedious cancellation journey.

Based on the table above, LinkedIn Premium ranges from $29.99 per month for Premium Career to $79.99 per month for Premium Sales. This makes Premium a significant ongoing expense, which is why many users look to cancel once they feel they are no longer getting value equal to the price tag.

In summary, canceling Premium is intentionally difficult, but attainable if you are firm in your request. Expect lengthy wait times, persistent retention offers, and some frustration, but eventually LinkedIn will listen and cancel your account. Just be vigilant about avoiding any auto-renewal or mistaken charges after cancellation.