Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

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BackInTex
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Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#1 Post by BackInTex » Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:55 pm

When we got our new (used but new to us) car a couple years ago it came with a 3 month free subscription to SiriusXM. When it expired they called wanting be to renew, but we don't need to use it much as I have a subcription to Apple music. They came down in price, but not enough, then again. The deal they offered was for $6.30/month ($4.99 + royalty fees and taxes) for 12 months, the regular price ($17-18 /month). When that deal expired I had forgotten about it and got the $22 charge on my Amex. Crap! I called them and renegotiated the same deal as before, and got credited back for the partial month of the regular rate. Then I got smart. I put the expiration into my Outlook calendar. Just got off the live chat with them to cancel or give me the same deal. Done.

The deal costs $6.39 / month for the one vehicle, plus I have the app on my phone so I can use it in my car, or at home on the TV or Alexa. If you're paying more, negotiate. If paying less, how much? In not paying them at all, good for you!

A new car wash opened up here and they had an introductory offer of unlimited washes (high end with wax and wheel shine) for $10.99 / month. Both my wife and I signed up. The regular price goes to $35 / month after the 3 months. I again put it in my Outlook calendar to cancel my account. My wife's introductory deal ended a week a go and we got charged the $35 (plus tax) as expected. She likes to really clean the car at least weekly so this is a good deal for her. For me, I wash my car about once every couple months so I called today to cancel my deal. They said they lowered the price to $20 / month (for life) to try and get me to stay. I still cancelled but was able to get that $20 deal on my wife's account, and they will refund the $15 from the first charge. They top wash is $18 for once, so the be able to get that as many time as she wants is a money saver. They place has free vaccums and prvides damp clothes and sprays to detail the interior as well.

If hadn't called to cancel, I wouldn't have known about that better deal.

I swithed my internet today, too. Spectrum was the only game in the neighborhood when we moved in, so that is what I got. 400 mbs down, 25 mbs up, no data caps, $75/month. AT&T has since put fiber in the neighborhood so I'm switching tomorrow and will get 1,000 mbs down AND up and no data caps for $80 / months, plus a $300 Visa card (I get a military discount with AT&T for my cell plan, I'm hoping for some additional discount off the $80, but if not, oh well).

As I said before, I have Apple Music. It costs $16/month for the family plan, but that is shared across 7 people total.

We have Netflix, MLB TV, YouTubeTV (shared across 4 accounts), HBO Max (free with my cell plan, shared with 7 people as well) . Amazon Prime I pay for the shipping benefits, so the streaming is a bonus.

I currently have 3 storage units of stuff while we wait to build/buy a home. Those are costing me a small house payment themselves. I should probalby by a small house to store the stuff then at least I'd have some equity when I'm ready to move. I just now thought of that! Now off to work the numbers and see what I can buy for $500/month.

What stuff do you have that automatically sucks money out of your bank account each month?
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#2 Post by silverscreenselect » Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:20 pm

BackInTex wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:55 pm
As I said before, I have Apple Music. It costs $16/month for the family plan, but that is shared across 7 people total.
I'm not sure what Apple Music provides, but if you have Amazon Prime, you have Amazon Music, which includes several million titles. It has lots of songs by most well-known artists, although it might not have any one particular song you want. (Amazon Music Unlimited has practically everything in their catalog, but it costs a few dollars extra a month.)
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#3 Post by Beebs52 » Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:31 pm

Our son went to Fubo plus whatever streaming he has. We're gonna ask him how we can get out of comcast etc to save.
Well, then

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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#4 Post by BackInTex » Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:33 pm

Beebs52 wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:31 pm
Our son went to Fubo plus whatever streaming he has. We're gonna ask him how we can get out of comcast etc to save.
What I like about YouTube TV is I can travel and use wherever with the same lineups. For networks it shows the local stations, but my recordings are for my home stations. Watching on the TV or laptop or phone is all the same. I picked it because the base level has all the sports channels I want.
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#5 Post by silverscreenselect » Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:08 pm

BackInTex wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:55 pm
If hadn't called to cancel, I wouldn't have known about that better deal.
Most large businesses, especially those that operate on a subscription model, have customer retention departments. When you call to cancel, or even if you cancel online, they will offer you bonuses or better deals to keep you around. It's much cheaper to keep an existing customer, even if you have to bribe them with an extra goodie or two, then to get a new one.

We have DirecTV Stream, formerly AT&T TV, formerly AT&T Uverse. When we lost our DirecTV satellite service, I looked at some of the others like Fubo and Youtube TV, but DirecTV Stream offers a set-top box that operates the way a cable or satellite box works. Mrs. SSS would have difficulty changing channels through a menu screen, so the convenience for us is worth the extra money each month. It also came with a free year of HBO and free backdoor Starz. (I can pull up any movie or current TV show on Starz and watch it, even though we technically don't have the service.) In addition, we have:

Peacock Premium
Hulu
Disney+
ESPN+ (package with Hulu and Disney)
Paramount+
Amazon Prime

We signed up for Discovery Plus, but Mrs. SSS watched about three episodes of shows and lost interest. At some point, they'll offer a package deal with HBO (same ownership), so I'll see what I can work then. Otherwise, I'll probably swap out the Discovery Plus for Apple TV+.
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#6 Post by flockofseagulls104 » Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:38 am

Beebs52 wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:31 pm
Our son went to Fubo plus whatever streaming he has. We're gonna ask him how we can get out of comcast etc to save.
I subscribe to FUBO in the fall college football season.
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#7 Post by silverscreenselect » Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:09 am

Since I'd probably say something mean-spirited if I commented on any of the political threads, I'll stick to this right now.

1) Truebill advertises a subscription tracking and easy cancellation service. I don't know any of the details other than the commercials I've seen.

2) Amazon has a "stamp collection" deal right now. If you are a Prime member and before Prime Day: A) Make a $5 Prime shipping eligible purchase; B) Watch a video on Amazon Prime; C) Listen to a song on Amazon Music; and D) Download a book on Prime Reads or Kindle Unlimited. Do all four of these and get $10 in your account on Prime Day. You don't have to spend the $10 on Prime Day either; it's good for an entire year.

3) I just applied for and got an Amazon Prime Visa card (they remind me of this every time a make a purchase so I finally read the fine print). Bottom line is you get a $100 gift card when approved and 5% cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases as long as you remain an Amazon Prime member. Lower cashback on other purchases. They make the Amazon Prime Visa card your default payment card on Amazon automatically as well when it gets approved.

Getting deals gets my mind off other things.
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#8 Post by BackInTex » Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:23 am

silverscreenselect wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:09 am
Since I'd probably say something mean-spirited if I commented on any of the political threads, I'll stick to this right now.
One reason I went ahead and started the thread.
silverscreenselect wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:09 am
1) Truebill advertises a subscription tracking and easy cancellation service. I don't know any of the details other than the commercials I've seen.

2) Amazon has a "stamp collection" deal right now. If you are a Prime member and before Prime Day: A) Make a $5 Prime shipping eligible purchase; B) Watch a video on Amazon Prime; C) Listen to a song on Amazon Music; and D) Download a book on Prime Reads or Kindle Unlimited. Do all four of these and get $10 in your account on Prime Day. You don't have to spend the $10 on Prime Day either; it's good for an entire year.

3) I just applied for and got an Amazon Prime Visa card (they remind me of this every time a make a purchase so I finally read the fine print). Bottom line is you get a $100 gift card when approved and 5% cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases as long as you remain an Amazon Prime member. Lower cashback on other purchases. They make the Amazon Prime Visa card your default payment card on Amazon automatically as well when it gets approved.

Getting deals gets my mind off other things.
Thank for that tip. I'll to look into that Prime Day thing, and maybe the credit card.
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#9 Post by triviawayne » Fri Jun 24, 2022 1:15 pm

BackInTex wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:55 pm


What stuff do you have that automatically sucks money out of your bank account each month?
a wife

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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#10 Post by Beebs52 » Fri Jun 24, 2022 1:22 pm

BackInTex wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:23 am
silverscreenselect wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:09 am
Since I'd probably say something mean-spirited if I commented on any of the political threads, I'll stick to this right now.
One reason I went ahead and started the thread.
silverscreenselect wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:09 am
1) Truebill advertises a subscription tracking and easy cancellation service. I don't know any of the details other than the commercials I've seen.

2) Amazon has a "stamp collection" deal right now. If you are a Prime member and before Prime Day: A) Make a $5 Prime shipping eligible purchase; B) Watch a video on Amazon Prime; C) Listen to a song on Amazon Music; and D) Download a book on Prime Reads or Kindle Unlimited. Do all four of these and get $10 in your account on Prime Day. You don't have to spend the $10 on Prime Day either; it's good for an entire year.

3) I just applied for and got an Amazon Prime Visa card (they remind me of this every time a make a purchase so I finally read the fine print). Bottom line is you get a $100 gift card when approved and 5% cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases as long as you remain an Amazon Prime member. Lower cashback on other purchases. They make the Amazon Prime Visa card your default payment card on Amazon automatically as well when it gets approved.

Getting deals gets my mind off other things.
Thank for that tip. I'll to look into that Prime Day thing, and maybe the credit card.
I have prime, but always remove our credit card as default and from wallet after every purchase, as I do on other sites. We've had identity theft in the past and don't want them or google or whoever to auto anything. Just a thought.
Well, then

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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#11 Post by Bob Juch » Fri Jun 24, 2022 3:38 pm

silverscreenselect wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:09 am
Since I'd probably say something mean-spirited if I commented on any of the political threads, I'll stick to this right now.

1) Truebill advertises a subscription tracking and easy cancellation service. I don't know any of the details other than the commercials I've seen.
Truebill's easy cancellation service charges you 40% of the cost of the subscriptions they cancel for you. You also have to allow them to read the transaction history of your bank accounts and credit cards.

https://clark.com/save-money/truebill-review/
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Re: Managing recurring charges and discounted subscriptions

#12 Post by MarleysGh0st » Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:59 am

The previous owner of my car had SiriusXM. After I bought it, I kept getting junk mail from them, saying they wanted me back. They never had me.

I've managed to avoid almost all of the subscription services, but I do have Spectrum for my cable and internet. As a loyal, long-time customer, I only want one little thing from them: whatever sweet deal they're offering new customers.

<grumble>®

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