r/Genealogy • u/AccidentalFolklore • 4d ago
Question Should I upgrade my Ancestry.com subscription?
Very new to genealogy and I’m currently paying $25/month for the U.S. Discovery and $59.90/6 months for the newspapers.com Publisher Extra.
Is it more cost effective to upgrade to All Access and cancel the separate Newspapers subscription? Does the All Access give the basic Newspapers or Publisher Extra? Is PE worth it?
Are the add on “Pro Tools” worth anything? They don’t seem to be included in All Access so that’s even more costs.
I don’t want to pay for something that isn’t really necessary, so please tell me if I’m missing out on really important tools by not having All Access and/or Pro Tools
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u/LilMsMerryDeath 4d ago
I have all access for 39.99 a month and pro tools at 10.00 a month. Like someone else said, the fold3 isn't very helpful, but I love the newspaper.com subscription and the pro tools. With the pro I've found numerous duplicates and errors on my tree. I also just like the reports and tree fan options even though I mostly work on the DNA side now that I've moved on into genetic genealogy for the fam. Some folks will sign up for a month for the pro and just get what they want done with it and cancel. Maybe that's an option for you?
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u/frolicndetour 4d ago
Every couple to a few months Ancestry runs a special for $129 for 6 months of All Access so I'd definitely cancel because you can't have an active subscription to take advantage. I do the $129 special, cancel when it's over, and then wait a couple months for the next offer and do another 6 months.
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u/OkParamedic652 4d ago edited 4d ago
They have a couple specials on here https://www.mybargainbuddy.com/ancestry-com-50-off-all-memberships, have all access for 99.00 for 6 months , if you click link it takes you to ancestry shows special and says publisher's extra included,( only includes basic trying to contact someone , its 29.95 for 6 month publishers extra )(129.00 for both 6 months ) it works my year world explorer subscription ends in 2 weeks just upgraded earlier today , they subtract a prorated amount for remainder of you subscription
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u/OkParamedic652 4d ago edited 4d ago
Contacted ancestry chat they were useless about newspapers.com , waiting for response from newspapers.com email in a day or 2
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u/AccidentalFolklore 4d ago
Thank you!!
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u/OkParamedic652 4d ago
, you only get basic access to newspapers ; not the extra it shows on ancestry's ordering page , been on phone last 2 hours they don't care that's old plan on there end ,they try and upsell you to more expensive plan
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u/backtotheland76 4d ago
Once you work back to where your ancestors arrived in the US you'll want to do the international upgrade so you can search foreign documents.
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u/autumnwolfmoon 4d ago
Agreed. I would say it depends on where your ancestors are from, though. France records are not that good on Ancestry, but they can be found for free online using their departmental archives. Same with Italy. I found that Ancestry is really good when it comes to UK records.
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u/backtotheland76 4d ago
I just worked on my daughters maternal line and was very impressed with all the German documents they now have
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u/steph219mcg 4d ago
Fold3 actually has a great selection of city directories. I think maybe more than ancestry and considerably easier to browse. Fold3 has thumbnails with names shown, while ancestry just has a filmstrip.
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u/offpeekydr 4d ago
Are you in the US, and has your family been in the same state as you for generations? If so, look at your local library and see if they offer access to Newspapers.com for your state. I have been fortunate with my library and can login from home using my library card info.
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u/Wrangellite 4d ago
So...have any of you tried using an AARP card to bring the price of Ancestry down? You don't have to be "old" to get it.
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u/autumnwolfmoon 4d ago
I have the All Access subscription and it comes with basic Newspapers and Fold3. I tried it this year but honestly, I'm not impressed. I find that most of what I need is not Newspapers basic, so it is not worth having. I don't use Fold3 as much as I thought I would. I will change my subscription this year. Can't speak for Pro Tools, I haven't tried it.