The “SP Authentic Membership” charge on your credit card statement is a $5.00 monthly subscription fee for the Authentic Brands Group loyalty program, processed through Shopify. It almost always follows a 30-day free trial you accepted during checkout at one of the group’s online stores, sometimes without realizing the trial would convert to a paid membership. It’s a legitimate recurring charge, not fraud, and you can cancel it yourself in a few minutes.
Where the Charge Comes From
The “SP” prefix stands for Shopify, the e-commerce platform handling the transaction. Any store running on Shopify shows up on statements as “SP” followed by the merchant or program name.1Shopify. What Is This Charge For? So “SP Authentic Membership” is Shopify billing you on behalf of the Authentic Brands Group membership program.
Authentic Brands Group owns a portfolio of more than 40 retail names, and the checkout on any of their stores may include a membership offer.2Authentic Brands Group. Authentic Brands Group Portfolio Familiar ones include Reebok, Champion, Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Nautica, Lucky Brand, Aeropostale, Eddie Bauer, Sperry, Quiksilver, Billabong, Volcom, Roxy, Hunter Boots, and Rockport.
To pin down which store enrolled you, look through your email for an order confirmation dated roughly 30 days before the first $5.00 charge posted. That’s when the free trial would have started.
What the Membership Includes
Before you cancel, it’s worth knowing what the $5.00 buys. The Authentic Membership costs $5.00 per month after the 30-day free trial and includes 10% off every order from participating brands (stackable with other promotions), free shipping on those orders, and a $10 new member credit applied when the trial starts.3Authentic Membership. Authentic Membership
If you shop these brands regularly, the discount and shipping can outweigh the fee. If your last purchase was months ago and you don’t plan to buy again, it’s $5.00 a month for nothing.
How to Cancel the Membership
Cancellation runs through the member portal at member.authentic.com, using the email address from your original order.
- Go to member.authentic.com/login and sign in. If you never set a password, use the password reset link with your order email.
- Open the Billing tab in your account dashboard.
- Under Manage Membership, select Cancel Membership.
If you cancel mid-cycle, the benefits continue until your next billing date and you won’t be charged again. If you cancel during the free trial, the perks last through the end of the 30 days.4Authentic Membership. Contact Us Screenshot the cancellation confirmation and save any confirmation email. That documentation matters if another charge shows up later.
If the portal won’t cooperate or you can’t log in, the contact form at member.authentic.com/contact-us handles billing and membership issues.
Can You Get a Refund
Generally, no. The Authentic Membership policy does not offer refunds on monthly subscription charges that have already posted. Canceling stops future charges and preserves benefits through the current cycle, but the last $5.00 stays gone.
Two paths remain if you believe you never knowingly agreed to the membership. You can write to the merchant through the contact form and explain what happened, or you can dispute the charge with your credit card issuer.
Disputing the Charge With Your Card Issuer
The Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute billing errors with your credit card company, but two details trip people up. First, the dispute must be in writing; a phone call to customer service doesn’t preserve your legal protections. Most banks accept written disputes through their online portal, which counts, but confirm with your issuer.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
Second, your written notice has to reach the issuer within 60 days of the statement date that shows the charge. Include your name, account number, the amount, and why you believe it’s an error. Attach your cancellation confirmation and any correspondence with the merchant; that evidence strengthens the claim considerably.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
The 60-day window is why catching this early matters. If you notice six months of $5.00 charges, only the most recent ones are still eligible for a formal billing dispute.
How the Enrollment Usually Happens
These memberships catch people because the offer appears at the moment you’re paying least attention: right after you click Place Order, or on a “special offer” screen shown before your confirmation page. Clicking “Accept” or “Claim Your Reward” on that screen is often what starts the trial. A separate welcome email arriving alongside your order confirmation is a good early warning that something extra was added.
A few habits reduce the risk of a repeat. Read every confirmation email that arrives after a checkout, not just the order receipt. Scan your statements monthly for small recurring charges, since $5.00 is easy to miss on a busy card. And if your bank offers virtual card numbers, use one for a single-store purchase so no merchant can bill that number again.