Late Summer Love Review

Overview of Late Summer Love

LateSummerLove.com is an online dating site for people over 40. This site’s central features are the Chat and Video Chat. One of my favorite features is the Smart Match technology they use to make the search and site relevant. This tech uses your search history, your activity on the site, and the interests and preferences you provide when filling out your profile to learn more about what you like and who you want to see. I think it improves the dating experience, as you don’t have to sift through thousands of profiles to find what you like. If your searches or interests change over time, the program adjusts and shows your newer preferences. You can still search for specific categories if you want to find someone different than your usual type.

LateSummerLove also has a good verification system and bans trolls and fake profiles, which is nice on dating sites because you want to know who you’re really chatting with. This is probably not foolproof, but it’s a good base layer of protection.

My main gripe with this site is that even if you pay to upgrade to a membership, you need the VIP add-on to get full access to all the features that make this site fun.

Features and Activities

LateSummerLove uses Chat and Video Chat as the main ways to communicate. There’s also a Flirt feature that acts as a matching game and lets you Flirt and interact with other members. I do wish they would add a Status Update to the Home Screen as another way to communicate and play on the site, as I think that sites with those tend to have a more active membership and social media feel.

• Home – This is the page you’ll land on when you log in. It has all the features you’ll use on the site. Here is where you’ll find your notifications, chat alerts, members, search, inbox, and access to your dashboard for activities.
  • Mail – The Envelope shows notifications when you have new messages from the website or members. It also stores the messages you’ve sent.
  • New Members – See the newest members and send a Chat or Flirt to welcome them to the site. This is a great way to connect and get noticed, so long as you don’t use it to spam people or be a creep (unfortunately, this needs to be said.).
  • Your New Matches – These are matches that LateSummerDate suggests for you based on your preferences, previous searches, and site activity. This is where the Smart Match Technology applies and refines your dating experience.

• Browse – Look through members by category or view people you’ve interacted with. Choose from the buttons to see people who are:
  • New – Shows new members.
  • Online – Members who are Online Now and Available. You can remain Offline if you prefer to browse the site discreetly.
  • Matches – Shows suggested Matches for you.
  • VIP – Shows VIP Members. You can view these members, but can only chat with them if you have a VIP Membership. If you aren’t a VIP Member, consider this section a teaser to try to get you to Upgrade.
  • Admirers – People who have Liked your profile.
  • Favorites – People you have Liked and who have Liked you in return.
  • Visitors – Members who have visited your full Profile to learn more about you.
  • Blocked – Use the Block feature for any member who is harassing you or making you uncomfortable (or any other reason, you may want to block people you know if you are dating discreetly). This is a feature I really like, and I appreciate that I don’t have to dig for it. While I love online dating, there are definitely people I don’t want to interact with more than once… or ever. If you change your mind, you can Unblock.
• Profile – View and edit your profile info here. The details you provide in your profile help the site find matches for you and show you more relevant Searches and Flirts. You should fill out all the info so your Matches and Searches are relevant, even if you are just using the site for a fast Chat.
• Chat – Chat or Video Chat with other members. Access to this depends on whether you are a VIP and if your recipient is a VIP. Chat is the primary way to connect on this website, so if you don’t have a membership that allows Chat and Video Chat, you really don’t get much out of the site.

• Inbox – This is where your messages are stored and where you can compose a message to someone. The VIP membership packages offer longer storage for your chats, and the ability to interact with more people. I don’t like the different levels for communication and permissions. Some of them are confusing, but ultimately, the best deal with most perks is the VIP Upgrade if you want to message people on the site.
• Flirt – This is a feature that suggests a potential Flirt and lets you send a Message or Chat. They post pics of the Top Flirts of the Week on the Home Page. Top Flirts are members who have interacted and Flirted the most. This is another way to stand out from the crowd. The more you interact, the better your chances are of being seen.

Memberships

The free trial membership on LateSummerLove lets you use a few basic features of the website, like search, browsing, and accepting incoming messages. Using the site as it’s intended, for Chat, Video Chats, and Flirts requires you to upgrade your membership. The structure for upgrading on this website is more complicated than some of the other sites I have reviewed. Rather than a few choices, you have a few choices PLUS the option of an additional layer of benefits that you can only get with the VIP add-on. Even if you buy the membership, the VIP add-on is a must if you want to enjoy the site and interact with members to find a Match or Chat.

The six-month plan is the best deal, as even adding the VIP plan makes it less per month than the Pay by Month Plan. It saves a lot of money to pick the longer plans, but they are also billed upfront so it is a higher initial cost. If you have trouble making payments online or don’t like to have your personal account info on websites, they have a phone number you can call instead.

There are 3 Premium Upgrade Options:

1-month membership at $39.99/month

• Add VIP $14.90/month = $54.89
• Total due at signup = $54.89

3-month membership at $29.99/month

• Add VIP $14.90/month = $44.89
• Total due at signup = $134.67
• Saves $10/month or $30 total

6-month membership at $24.99/month

• Add VIP $14.90/month = $39.89
• Total due at sign-up = $239.34
• Saves $15/month or $90 total

Help and Support

This website has a good Help and Support feature and team. There are site moderators to deal with issues like harassment, fake profiles, and people who are misusing the features. There is also a FAQ Page that lists the most common questions people have about the site. If you can’t find the answer there, you can contact the Help Desk for support. They can help you with anything from setting up your profile to payment to issues with another user. I contacted them to test the service and was pleased with the response time. They answered all my questions and were easy to understand.

Summary

LateSummerLove.com is one of my preferred Over 50 or Senior Dating Sites. I’ve used and reviewed others that I have found lacking in either technical features or layout or that have just not had a very active site. This site works well on both the desktop and mobile versions. They have a good system for reviewing and validating profiles, good site security, and the site is usually fairly busy.

The best features are the Smart Match and the Search. They work together to make it easier to find a good match. I like that I don’t have to dig through the site to find people that fit my preferences.

My least favorite thing about the site is the way Memberships work. I think it could be combined to make it simpler for users. I’d rather pay a little more than to have to choose from 6 different options and be confused about what’s included in my plan.

Overall, LateSummerDate.com is a good site and is worth the price of membership, provided you buy the VIP add-on. If the VIP Membership isn’t in your budget, I’d suggest starting with a one-month membership to see if you like using the site with the limited features.