Ancestry.com has over 5 billion records, everywhere from census resources, BMD records (births and deaths and marriages), military records, and everything in between. One of the most important things you should know about your Ancestry.com subscription is that it automatically renews, regardless of which subscription you originally choose. Hopefully you already know this, because it appears several times as you sign up, including the terms and conditions you agree to when you sign up. Quite honestly, this isn’t a big deal, because with all of the census records, BMD records (births and deaths and marriages), military records, and everything else, why would you not want it to automatically renew?
How to Prevent Automatic Renewals
Of course, the majority of people prefer to have their subscriptions automatically renew—that’s why Ancestry.com sets it up that way. But if you are one of the few who finish up with the census records, BMD records, and military records that you need, then there is a way to prevent automatic renewals. When you cancel your subscription, it doesn’t actually cancel until the renewal date. That’s right, so you continue to have access even after you officially cancel. Therefore, if you don’t want your account to automatically renew, simply sign up and then cancel (caution: you must wait at least 7 days after signing up with annual subscriptions—contact customer support to have them set your account to not automatically renew if you are concerned about this).