Upgrading Existing Subscribers

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Yes — you can send an existing paid subscriber a special offer to move them to a different tier or billing cadence (for example, monthly to annual, or a standard tier to a premium one). This is something Ghost can’t do, and it works through Outpost Promotions rather than Ghost Offers.

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Why Ghost offers can’t do this

Ghost Offers only render for free or unknown visitors. A logged-in subscriber who already has a paid plan will never see a Ghost offer — Ghost’s offer flow assumes the person is signing up for the first time. Outpost Promotions route checkout through Stripe directly, so they can be redeemed by someone who already has an active subscription. When you attach an offer to a retention or upgrade email, Outpost automatically picks the right type for each recipient: existing subscribers get an Outpost Promotion (Stripe checkout), while free/unknown readers get a Ghost offer. You don’t have to manage this by hand. See Ghost Offers vs Outpost Promotions for the full comparison.

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How an upgrade checks out

When an existing subscriber clicks an upgrade offer, Outpost looks at their current subscription and chooses the cleanest way to move them to the new plan. There are two outcomes.

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Outcome 1: Prorate and switch immediately

This is the preferred path. If Stripe can prorate the change, Outpost shows a confirmation page with:

• Current Plan and its renewal date
• New Plan (and the offer discount, if any)
• The prorated amount they’ll be charged now

When the subscriber confirms, Outpost switches their existing subscription to the new tier or cadence right away. They’re credited for the unused time on the old plan and charged the difference for the new one. There’s only ever one subscription, so nothing looks unusual in Ghost Portal. This path triggers the autoresponder email “Thank subscriber for using a retention offer (with prorate).”

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Outcome 2: Schedule a new subscription that starts when the current one ends

When an immediate prorated switch isn’t possible, Outpost can instead set up the new subscription to begin the moment the current one expires. It does this by giving the new subscription a trial that lasts until the current subscription’s end date, and by setting the current subscription to stop renewing. The subscriber is not double-charged — the new plan doesn’t bill until the old one ends. But for the window between now and the current subscription’s renewal date, they technically have two subscriptions on file: one winding down, and one waiting to start. This path triggers the autoresponder email “Thank subscriber for using a retention offer (new subscription starts after current one ends).” Turning this email on is strongly recommended — see below.

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The “Active Subscription Found” prompt

In cases where Outpost can’t calculate a clean switch up front, the subscriber sees this screen before continuing:

Active Subscription Found You have an active subscription. To avoid being charged for two subscriptions, we recommend canceling your current subscription before proceeding.

It shows their current plan and next renewal date, with two buttons: If the subscriber’s current subscription is already canceled (running out its paid time on a grace period), the cancellation prompt is skipped — there’s nothing to cancel.

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Turn on the deferred-upgrade email

If you plan to offer upgrades to existing subscribers, turn on the autoresponder email “Thank subscriber for using a retention offer (new subscription starts after current one ends).” It lives in Autoresponder → Basic, on the Retention and Renewal tab under Handling Cancellations with Retention Offers (it’s the companion to the prorate thank-you above it). Why it matters: when an upgrade results in a scheduled second subscription, the member is briefly in the unusual state of having two subscriptions at once. That can be confusing on its own, and Ghost Portal may not display the pending (scheduled) subscription — so a member who checks their account might not see the change they just made. This email confirms, in plain language, that their new plan will start when the current one ends, which reduces support questions and chargeback risk. For the immediate-switch path, the companion email “Thank subscriber for using a retention offer (with prorate)” plays the same reassuring role. Turning on both means every upgrade path ends with a clear confirmation.

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Frequently asked questions

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