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Is AmeriPlan Pyramid Scheme or A Legit Business [2020 Review]

If you are looking for information on Ameriplan, you've come to the right place. Is Ameriplan a pyramid scheme or a legit business opportunity? Read on to find out!

First of all welcome to my AmeriPlan review! I'm glad you've taken the time to investigate the business opportunity before diving right in.

It's also possible someone has been pitching their healthcare products to you and you are making research because of that. I will talk a bit about the products but this review will mainly focus on the business opportunity.

I want to be completely honest with you, I haven't tried AmeriPlans products or their business opportunities. I'm in no way affiliated with the company.

This, of course, means I'm basing this review on third party information and not on actual firsthand experience.

It also means that I'm not trying to sell the product to you, I'm just trying to form an unbiased review of the company and the business opportunity it offers.

So why I'm writing this review? I just love reviewing business opportunities as my mission is to help as many people as possible to earn an honest income online.

I research stuff online daily and I like to share my findings to save you some time. I will also recommend the products I find useful and truly believe in.

If I recommend a product, the chances are I will include an affiliate link. Meaning that I will get a small commission with no additional cost to you. So it's like buying me a beer, cheers!

AmeriPlan Video Summary

If you are in a hurry, this video should answer most of your questions. 

AmeriPlan Review Summary

Company Name: AmeriPlan

Product Type:  MLM business that offers discount plans on healthcare services. 

Summary: AmeriPlan is a well established multi-level marketing business that offers discount plans on healthcare services.


It's definitely not a pyramid scheme since pyramid schemes are short lived, focus on recruiting, don't have real products and require huge investments to get in to the system.


AmeriPlan has actually legit products. Unfortunately it seems AmeriPlan has lost a bit of traction from it's golden years. It seems that many of their plans are also not accepted by all medical care providers. 


This means selling their products is likely hard work. This combined with the fact that I personally don't like the MLM business model means I can't really recommend this business opportunity to you. 


I recommend an alternative business model for creating a home-based business instead. You can check my top recommendation through the button below. 



What Is Ameriplan

Ameriplan is an MLM company that focuses on selling Discount Medical Plans. They basically sell discounts on healthcare, dental and prescription plans.

They call themselves the "nations' premier Discount Medical Plan Organization" and claim to have saved their members' hundreds of millions of dollars in supplemental healthcare plans since 1992.

Ameriplan has been around since 1992. It was formed by Dennis and Daniel Bloom and it's based in Plano, Texas. It started as a discounted fee-for-service dental program.

The company soon expanded it's product family to include a broad array of affordable healthcare plans. They also added prescription medication, vision, and chiropractic program at no additional charge.

The founders concluded that the most effective way to sell their products would be using the direct sales marketing model (aka multi-level marketing).

Currently, they claim to be the nation's largest discount fee-for-service dental, vision, prescription, chiropractic and medical plan provider.

In recent years they have also included several medical plans to their services, including hospital advocacy, telemedicine, physician medical care and ancillary medical services.

"The AmeriPlan® Mission…

• Provide high quality and affordable medical care, dental care, prescription drugs, vision and chiropractic care to the average American family.

• Hold the well-being of our members, Independent Associates, service providers, staff and our company in equal balance.

• Foster an environment which promotes a spirit of cooperation, self-improvement, leadership and genuine concern for each other.

• Adhere to the highest standards of professionalism, service and leadership that will earn us the respect and praise of our industry while providing financial stability and independence to those who would earn it."


AmeriPlan Business Opportunity

If you are someone looking for information on Ameriplan because of their business opportunity, you are probably interested in how can you make money with Ameriplan.

There are essentially two ways to make money with Ameriplan. By selling their products or by recruiting new sales reps into the system. Ameriplan calls its reps Benefit Consultants.

To sell Ameriplans products you will have to become a Benefit Consultant yourself. This means buying a monthly membership program:

  • Deluxe plus plan: $39.95
  • Jump Start: $69.95
  • Plus $30 Annual Independent Business Owner fee.

Once you are a Benefit Consultant they will provide you with some training, materials, and resources to help you build your business. These include:

  • Benefit Consultant Back Office: A platform to track your sales, access training, and resources.
  • 5 Websites: For building an online footprint to collect leads and make sales.
  • Benefit Consultant E-Kit: A package with resources for starting your business.

I'm glad they are leveraging the online world with the websites, this is where the money is these days. It allows your business to run partly on automation and produce passive income.

So how does the Ameriplan compensation plan work?

AmeriPlan Compensation Structure For Recruitment

You can find the full AmeriPlan compensation plan from here.

The basics of the compensation plans include that AmeriPlan pays a 40% monthly residual commission from all the sales you can produce.

They also have very lucrative overrides which encourage recruiting new sales reps into the system. Overrides mean the amount of compensation you get from each generation in your down line.

The people you have recruited are the 1st generation, the people they have recruited the 2nd generation and the people they have recruited the 3rd generation and so on.

These MLM systems are often a bit complicated to understand but basically you get commissions from sales all the way down to 5 generations from you.

If you are new to MLM this can mean several thousands of people. So even though the percentages go down each generation, the volume of reps and thus sales grows exponentially.

The only problem is usually that most folks won't have thousands of people in their down line. You typically need to get in early on and recruit very active people over a long period of time to build a strong down line.

But because of the business model and mathematics, this is the best way to actually make money with these systems. If you can recruit ten go-getters that each recruit even a few good salespeople, you can make some serious dough.

But if you just plan on selling the products yourself, it's more like being a cold calling telemarketer.

Let's still take a look at what kind of products you would be selling!

AmeriPlan Products

So what kind of products can you sell as an AmeriPlan BC? Let's take a look.

AmeriPlan currently offers three main product categories:

AmeriPlan Dental Plus ($19.95 for your entire household)

Even though the name suggests it's a Dental plan it actually includes savings plans on dental, vision, prescription, hearing and chiro services.

AmeriPlan TeleMED Plus ($24.95/month/household)

TeleMED Plus offers you saving on telemedicine, prescription drugs, ancillary services and includes a Bill Negotiator, healthcare navigator and surgery saver.

AmeriPlan Deluxe Plus ($39.95/month/household)

This AmeriPlan combo membership includes both of the previous plans plus an additional non-medical discount.

You can learn more about this product on this video by AmeriPlan corporation:

As you can see they have really clear products which is always a good thing. Many MLMs have a ton of complicated products which makes them harder to sell.

When a company has just a few products it's both easier to sell and buy them because you can find information on them more easily.

I did some digging around and found out what people have to say about AmeriPlan products.

Is AmeriPlan a Pyramid Scheme?

No. Ameriplan is definitely not a pyramid scheme. It's a legit MLM business.

If you are new to MLMs and don't really know how a pyramid scheme works, let me explain.

MLMs compensate sales reps for both product sales and recruiting new members. In a legit MLM, the focus is always on selling the products instead of recruiting.

A sales rep will benefit from recruiting by earning part of the sales commissions of the people in their down line.

In a pyramid scheme, the main focus is on recruiting new members. There are rarely any real products to sell in the system. Or if they are extremely expensive. Pyramid schemes are illegal, MLMs are not.

In pyramid schemes, the new recruits need to typically pay an expensive entry fee for the "business opportunity". They will soon realize they got scammed but many will try to recruit more people in hopes of making back the money they lost.

You can spot a pyramid scheme from a legit MLM from these three things:

  1. Age. Pyramid schemes are short-lived. A 25 old company like Ameriplan can't be a pyramid scheme.
  2. They seem too good to be true. Pyramid schemes often promise you the moon from the sky while legit MLMs are usually a bit more realistic in their sales pitches (still often exaggerated). Ameriplan doesn't do this. At least not extensively.
  3. High entry fees. Legit MLMs usually allow you to join for a relatively low fee or even for free. Americans fees are relatively small.

So based on those things I don't think Ameriplan is a pyramid scheme. It is an MLM company still, so read up on MLMs if you are seriously thinking about participating.

Is Ameriplan Scam or Legit?

So is Ameriplan a scam or a legit company?

Ameriplan is not a scam. It'a legit company. It's over 25 years old so they must've been doing something right.

It has an A+ rating by Better Business Bureau, relatively good Glassdoor (4.0/5.0) and Indeed (3.9/5.0) ratings. All of which is a good sign.

Their products are very competitively priced but the problem is that the terms are in many cases very strict. For example, many hospitals and doctors don't accept AmeriPlan plans, so you need to go through their recommended physicians.

As a business opportunity, Ameriplan does offer the potential for significant income for industrious people. It's definitely hard work, so don't let their marketing talk fool you.

I personally think there are better business opportunities out there but it's a matter of personal preference. My recommendation is to do your research carefully without diving in headfirst into network marketing. Map your options first.

Who Is Ameriplan For?

Ameriplan is available only in the US and it's actually not even available in all states. So Ameriplan is available only for people residing in the states it's available (duh...).

Because it's an MLM you should only consider it if you are very social, comfortable with selling to people and don't mind taking a lot of no's for an answer.

In all honesty, I think anybody looking to join MLMs should consider other business models first for the simple fact that the likelihood of making full-time income is relatively low.

Can You Make Money With AmeriPlan?

The chances are that you can make some money with Ameriplan just like with most legit MLMs like Primerica, Avon, Melaleuca etc.

But you need to know that it involves a lot of work and you need to get out of your comfort zone if you want to see real sales.

The business model of MLMs does reward energetic overachievers that don't take no for an answer and have a tough skin for denials and can keep on selling relentlessly against all odds.

Just don't let the sales pitches fool you. Just like with most MLMs, you need to invest a bit in the beginning and the true profit lies with recruiting new members into the system.

And not just any members, but active members that are selling and recruiting more people as you will benefit from having an active downline as the money moves upward in an MLM.

That said, if you are a complete beginner to MLMs and don't have extensive sales experience, the likelihood of making any significant profit with MLMs is low.

This is because most people joining MLMs make next to no income. And most that do, make relatively little of it. Then there is the small percentage at the top that can make a significant income.

There are huge differences between MLMs how easy it is to sell the products and to recruit new people. High-quality affordable products, well-established brand and a trendy niche help with sales a lot.

For Ameriplan things don't, unfortunately, look very good. They were much more popular, at least according to Google trends in the early 2000s.

Ameriplan Google Trends graph for the past 16 years

Searches for Ameriplan crashed around 2008 and have stayed low all through 2010s. While this doesn't tell the whole picture, it's a good indicator that Ameriplan is likely not as active or sought after as it was 15 years ago.

As a sales rep, this means you will have a harder time selling their products. With MLMs it's all about riding the trends. If you can get in on a trendy MLM, you can make a lot of money fast.

Finally I just don't personally like the MLM business model. It can be used for good but unfortunately, many companies don't watch after their reps very closely.

This means there are all sorts of people in the system. From the most honest and industrious people to the most dishonest people that are willing to lie and cheat to make sales and get new recruits.

The MLM business model unfortunately rewards dishonest people. Even if the company doesn't actually accept dishonesty of any kind, they rarely get caught.

For all those reasons I really can't recommend MLMs to you as a business opportunity. You can make more money with less work and completely honestly. Let me show you how!

A Better Option

I personally do online affiliate marketing that leverages search engine traffic. This business model doesn't require you to cold sell, it can be scaled and automated and the income structure is cumulative.

You might have heard that affiliate marketing is dead or that the market is saturated. This couldn't be further from the truth. There are more people using the internet than ever before. Over 4 Billion actually.

An industrious person who can write can create a successful business within a year even without any prior experience. Even a lazy guy can get it to work in two years.

But it's definitely not a walk in the park or a get rich overnight type of deal. You need to invest in training, learn the skills, apply them daily and endure the beginning without seeing any return for your investment.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can get rich quick with affiliate marketing or any other online business strategy. It always involves work (of course, you know this).

Well actually if getting rich means earning a high six-figure or a seven-figure income there are people who have done it in 5 years with online marketing without any prior experience. I guess that's a lot faster than getting rich by working a regular job?

So how does this work? It's fairly simple. The business model I'm using involves creating content over keywords people are searching online.

People find my content and I recommend products. If they buy, I make a buck. Simple enough isn't it?

The best thing about this is that my websites are working for me on complete automation 24/7. Every time I write a post, it will be picking up traffic for years to come.

If you want to learn more about this business model, definitely check out my FREE 7-day online marketing course. I created it for regular people just like you to avoid common beginner mistakes with affiliate marketing.

In the course, I recommend a service called Wealthy Affiliate. It's a training platform that thousands of successful online marketers have used to create an honest online business.

In short, it's the most legit online marketing service you can find. They don't spam you, they don't try to convince you how great they are and they don't ask an arm and a leg for their service either. They don't need to do any of that because they are honest.

My mission is to help as many people as possible to succeed in creating honest online businesses. Businesses they can be proud to show to their family.

I truly believe Wealthy Affiliate is the best place to learn how to create one. You can read my comprehensive Wealthy Affiliate review for more info.

I also want you to know that if you do decide to join Wealthy Affiliate, you will have my full support. You can contact me anytime and I'll promise to do my best to help you out.

Conclusion

I hope you found my assessment of Ameriplan useful. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me through the comments section below.

Ameriplan is another MLM that can offer you potential fulltime income if you are willing to work for it really hard.

Unfortunately, it seems Ameriplan has lost a lot of its authority over the past decade so it's probably a hard job trying to make a living as their sales rep.

Still it's a legit MLM business so it's possible. Just don't let anyone tell you it's going to be easy or easier than a regular job.

If you are interested in working on your own term or creating a home-based business, my recommendation is to get into online affiliate marketing.

It's not a get rich quick type of deal as it takes several months to build traction and authority so I recommend you either keep your current job or get one to pay the bills until your business can sustain you financially.

If you found this article useful, I would appreciate if you would share it on social media. Don't forget to bookmark my site for future awesome reviews like this one! And please don't leave without joining the free course, I promise you it's worth your time.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

4 replies on “Is AmeriPlan Pyramid Scheme or A Legit Business [2020 Review]”

Your article is very informative. I was always under the impression you had to be a licensed insurance agent in order to sell insurance. I take it with this method of selling you don’t?

Thank you Carrie!

I found this in their make money disclosure: “Since they are not health insurance, members must use AmeriPlan® providers and members are responsible for payment to the AmeriPlan® providers at point of service of discount healthcare fees incurred. If you currently have insurance, you should be aware that canceling that policy may make it difficult to later obtain coverage. AmeriPlan Health® recommends that you speak to your insurance agent or your company’s insurance administrator before canceling any health insurance policy for any reason.”

So because they are not technically selling insurances but discount plans that work at AmeriPlan providers, I’d guess you don’t need to be a licensed insurance agent to sell their products. Definitely check this from the company though and don’t hold my word for it, this is just my speculation.

Hi Jukka, Great article. Not really something I’ll ever likely consider as am not American but like how you’ve crafted the article. Well done.

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