National Trust Life Membership for two from £1380 (other options also available)

40
Posted 13th May 2022
nationaltrust.org.uk/fea…hip


A lot of money now - but a bargain if you're young, particularly if inflation takes off.


With National Trust life membership there are more than 500 special places to explore and you can look forward to a lifetime of benefits.

Green gardens bursting with colour, historical castles and houses with stories to tell and cycle trails that lead you down an undiscovered path – you never know which place will win your heart.


And, thanks to the money from your membership we’ll be able to keep these places special for everyone, for ever.

National Trust life membership benefits:

  • Free entry to over 500 places in our care
  • Free parking at most National Trust car parks
  • National Trust Handbook, full of information about our places
  • National Trust Magazine three times a year, packed with inspiration, interviews and news
  • Access to our online Members’ Area, full of first look previews and behind-the-scenes features


Individual life membership

Includes free admission for one accompanying guest:

Individual life: £1,845

For an individual aged 60 or over:

Individual senior life: £1,380



Joint life membership

Two people, who are lifetime partners, living at the same address:

Joint life: £2,305

Where one of whom is aged 60 or over.

Joint senior life: £1,730

Family life membership

Two adults and all their children or grandchildren up to the age of 18. Adults must be lifetime partners, living at the same address. Under 5s go free.

Joint family life: £2,415
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  1. missymathmo's avatar
    missymathmo
    Joint family life membership, £2415, covers all children and grandchildren under 18 . That would be very useful for a young family.
  2. video61's avatar
    video61
    I can't afford it what with electricity and oil to pay for plus petrol to get to there : (((
  3. Somnus's avatar
    Somnus
    If Individual Membership includes a guest, I'm not sure why you'd pay for joint membership?
  4. ellie27's avatar
    ellie27
    plunet13/05/2022 13:11

    This makes sense if you can afford to buy it in middle age.... I've had …This makes sense if you can afford to buy it in middle age.... I've had mine for about 15 years now and at the price I paid at the time have fully recouped the outlay against equivalent annual membership costs


    But would you really go there all those times if you didn't have a membership? Surely if you have a membership then you feel you need to go all those times just to feel like you've got your monies worth?
  5. JoShmo's avatar
    JoShmo
    jinkssick13/05/2022 14:53

    I wonder if it will be 750K min for 1 bed in 2040?


    Humanity won't last that long.
  6. plunet's avatar
    plunet
    ellie2713/05/2022 13:18

    But would you really go there all those times if you didn't have a …But would you really go there all those times if you didn't have a membership? Surely if you have a membership then you feel you need to go all those times just to feel like you've got your monies worth?


    If you like going to the kinda places that the National Trust look after, then you're not really just going there to get your monies worth. You're right that if there is (say) an English Heritage site and a National Trust site in a specific area I will gravitate to the one where I don't need to pay any extra to get in. But for me there was no rush to get the value because I bought it in my 30s. YMMV.
  7. plunet's avatar
    plunet
    This makes sense if you can afford to buy it in middle age.... I've had mine for about 15 years now and at the price I paid at the time have fully recouped the outlay against equivalent annual membership costs
  8. Newbold's avatar
    Newbold Author
    This price is likely to rise soon to take account of inflation, and rising membership fees. Not sure how long it stays at this price.

    Back in the 1970s these were £50 - that’s inflation for you.
  9. charles_roma's avatar
    charles_roma
    Newbold13/05/2022 13:23

    This price is likely to rise soon to take account of inflation, and rising …This price is likely to rise soon to take account of inflation, and rising membership fees. Not sure how long it stays at this price.Back in the 1970s these were £50 - that’s inflation for you.


    And the average house price was £4000 in 1970 and £19000 by 1975 for comparison
  10. chamelion's avatar
    chamelion
    Newbold13/05/2022 15:43

    Believe me, when you have a life membership you visit hundreds of times! …Believe me, when you have a life membership you visit hundreds of times! Took us about 4 years to be in profit - because it covers 2 people.


    i see what you mean - although i'm not necessarily seeing it as profit if i wasn't going to go there in the first place. lots of these sites are forests and gardens and manor houses - i'd literally have to go out of my way to go see them to try to make some ROI against my huge outlay for a lifetime membership.
  11. stephen25uk's avatar
    stephen25uk
    isnt this just RRP and not a deal??
  12. flintstone's avatar
    flintstone
    Shouldn't the title Inc over 60s
  13. reckoning's avatar
    reckoning
    Somnus13/05/2022 13:23

    If Individual Membership includes a guest, I'm not sure why you'd pay for …If Individual Membership includes a guest, I'm not sure why you'd pay for joint membership?


    To go serperately.
  14. Newbold's avatar
    Newbold Author
    charles_roma13/05/2022 14:12

    And the average house price was £4000 in 1970 and £19000 by 1975 for c …And the average house price was £4000 in 1970 and £19000 by 1975 for comparison


    That last figure was 1980!
  15. jinkssick's avatar
    jinkssick
    Newbold13/05/2022 14:25

    That last figure was 1980!


    I wonder if it will be 750K min for 1 bed in 2040?
  16. chamelion's avatar
    chamelion
    ellie2713/05/2022 13:18

    But would you really go there all those times if you didn't have a …But would you really go there all those times if you didn't have a membership? Surely if you have a membership then you feel you need to go all those times just to feel like you've got your monies worth?


    This is my thinking. I've maybe been to a handful of NT sites in the past decade.
  17. King65's avatar
    King65
    I'm sure that on some days during the year it is free to go to National Trust sites.
  18. Newbold's avatar
    Newbold Author
    chamelion13/05/2022 15:23

    This is my thinking. I've maybe been to a handful of NT sites in the past …This is my thinking. I've maybe been to a handful of NT sites in the past decade.


    Believe me, when you have a life membership you visit hundreds of times! Took us about 4 years to be in profit - because it covers 2 people.
  19. charles_roma's avatar
    charles_roma
    Newbold13/05/2022 14:25

    That last figure was 1980!


    According to sunlife..

    "1980
    Everything changed again. Margaret Thatcher gave people the right to buy their council houses. And house prices shot up like never before, reaching an average price of £20,268"
  20. haines1997's avatar
    haines1997
    Thoughts on purchasing this at 25? Currently a "young person" membership at £42/half price, but will be full price onwards at £80-odd.

    Just thinking with inflation (and hopefully a while to live yet!) It sounds like a no brainer if affordable?
    Stanmorepark's avatar
    Stanmorepark
    Yes. Would be a bugger if you didn't live long enough to recoup the cost
  21. haines1997's avatar
    haines1997
    It also looks like the accompanying guest element has been removed - just wondering if someone could confirm this please?
  22. Newbold's avatar
    Newbold Author
    Still worth buying (particularly for a grandchild or child) but certainly less attractive now they’ve dropped the included guest admission.

    These we’re, unbelievably, £50 in 1972 - now that WAS a bargain. Probably this will look much the same way in 2072!
    haines1997's avatar
    haines1997
    Yeah absolutely - I think even at "my age" it's worth it, particularly if you're thinking about longer term and what it might look like in 50 years. Given its £80 currently, the yearly admission will only go one way I suspect.

    Having spoken to them, it looks like that added admission was removed Jan 23, unfortunately. However the person on the phone did say that there had been -many- complaints and it was something the trust was looking into, in terms of reinstating potentially

    They've also said (for those considering it) - that if you buy an individual and then have a family/partner in future, you would only have to pay the difference between the individual and joint/family memberships at that current time. (edited)
  23. Newbold's avatar
    Newbold Author
    Interesting to see the recent comments on the removal of the 'Includes free admission for one accompanying guest' feature which was certainly there are the start of this membership year.

    I've never known them change the terms of membership - or the price - within one admission year, running from 1 March to 28/29 February. Impossible to find any information about this change online, so any more information gratefully received.

    It's almost as if they've sneaked this through, hiding the change so nobody sees it. English Heritage still offer the extra guest on a life membership, which makes that now perhaps more tempting for much the same price.

    I do wonder if this was a change planned for 1 March 2023 which has been mistakenly applied too soon.
  24. Newbold's avatar
    Newbold Author
    Anyone got any further updates on this? Does anyone know the actual date they made the change (there seems to have been absolutely no publicity about it either before or after the change)? Or whether the complaints have led anywhere? Perhaps to a change of policy?
    haines1997's avatar
    haines1997
    Did email them when I purchased them and had no response to the complaint I'm afraid.

    Agreed there seems to be no information though on this.
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