I've been having continuing Internet access problems since switching from Dial-Up to High-Speed last month-- and I may have lost a lot of "Mail Waiting to be Sent," including a great deal of stored research. But, although I've had very little online capability over the past few weeks, hopefully all of these problems will soon be mostly solved. In the meantime, in looking over some recent Ancestry.com messages this morning, I just noticed that today (April 23, 2007) may well be the LAST DAY that new Ancestry subscribers in the USA can sign up for an $100.40 discount on an annual World Deluxe membership-- also a $56.40 discount on an annual U.S. Deluxe membership. Ancestry.com is at 1-800-262-3787 weekdays (including today) from 8 am to 6 pm CDT, but probably not after 6 pm-- and the following discounts may be unavailable tomorrow. Only the World plan includes "unlimited access to everything on Ancestry.com." And TODAY that $299.40 plan is apparently still available for $199.00, while the $155.40 US plan is still $99.00 (compare http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/signup.aspx). But apparently it's no longer possible to pay these fees on a monthly basis at no additional total cost. As I said in a post earlier this month (see below), I have ZERO financial interest in Ancestry.com. But it seems to me that the $99 annual US Plan makes a lot of sense for those primarily interested in USA genealogy, while the $199 World Plan is probably better for those focused more on USA, Canada, and British Isles genealogy. On the other hand, an Ancestry.com subscription may well make very little sense right now for those mainly interested in the genealogy of other areas-- e.g., Peru, Poland, Russia, China, Zambia. I also note that Ancestry has been running a 3-day free program of unlimited access to Ancestry.com (no credit card required)-- and presumably this offer also ends TODAY (11 PM CDT tonight?) ..............John (in metro Chicago) ________________________________________________________ Subj: Join now and save..... Date: 4/18/2007 8:02:23 P.M. CDT From: AncestrySpecialOffers@email.ancestry.com Reply-to: AncestrySpecialOffers-ctglHU0QRbGO0A0A0Bs@email.ancestry.com Join before April 24th to take advantage of incredible prices. Bonus Offer: Get 15% off any Ancestry Store purchase. U.S. DELUXE MEMBERSHIP discount Access all U.S. content on Ancestry.com ANNUAL $99.00 (MONTHLY $19.95) WORLD DELUXE MEMBERSHIP discount Unlimited access to everything on Ancestry.com ANNUAL $199.00 (MONTHLY $29.95) Offer for new subscribers only. Questions? Feel free to call us at 1-800-ANCESTRY (262-3787) weekdays between 9am and 7pm ET. ________________________________________________________ Subj: Ancestry subscriptions- big current discounts Date: 4/5/2007 12:02:55 A.M. CDT From: jqmagie@aol.com Surprisingly, I just saved $100.00 on my annual Ancestry.com subscription by FORGETTING to tell Ancestry that my debit card number had recently changed. Because Ancestry was unable to automatically withdraw $299.40 from my bank account, they canceled my subscription. But when I then called them to straighten this out, they told me that wayward subscribers were temporarily able to sign up again at a $100.00 discount. No problem, I said (not too reluctantly). Ancestry.com (1-800-262-3787, weekdays, 8 am to 6 pm CDT) told me today that these discounts could well last to the end of April- but might also be withdrawn with the next few days, i.e., VERY SOON. I have very limited need for Ancestry's more expensive "International Records," which seem to be mostly too recent to help me much-- with their apparent focus mostly on the British Isles & Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have much more interest in USA and Canada genealogy. But unfortunately the Canada databases are in the International category-- which explains why I recently switched from the "US Deluxe" plan to the "World Deluxe" plan. And the latter plan includes ALL of Ancestry's bells & whistles..... I have no financial interest whatsoever in Ancestry.com. But it seems to me that it does provide very substantial value to even the occasional researcher-- as long as he or she has an interest especially in North American genealogy-- and (to a lesser extent) European genealogy. And especially because my family's genealogy database includes an ever-expanding list of over 10,000 names, $199.00 really seems very reasonable to us ...........John (in metro Chicago) ________________________________________________________ "The past is never dead. It's not even past"-- William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun, 1951. ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.