On 2/18/2023 9:11 AM, Incubus wrote:
<snip misinformation from our favorite trolls, and adding the Android
Usenet group>
> I don't see any automatic payment credit on my bill either.
> Where does it say that any carrier gives you money back for autopaying?
You can read about T-Mobile dropping the $5 per line autopay discount
for credit card payments here:
<
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/t-mobile-is-dropping-its-autopay-credit-card-discount-in-may/>.
It’s been in effect for so long that apparently many people have
forgotten that they’re even getting it, and many may not eve notice when
it goes away in May and their bill increases by $5 per month per line.
Verizon dropped the autopay discount for credit card payments, except
for their own credit card, several years ago, and also closed a loophole
that some people were using, see
<
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Personal-Finance/Verizon-closes-loophole-for-Auto-Pay-discount/td-p/5684026>.
There have been posts on the T-Mobile sub-reddit by subscribers that
have suggested using this loophole, but T-Mobile is certain to close it
the same way Verizon did. Personally, I still get it on my "Total by
Verizon" service for now, but it's not $5 per line, it's $5 for the
whole family plan (bringing the total from $100 for four lines to $95
for four lines).
AT&T still offers the autopay discount for credit card payments, as do
several MVNOs. Visible offers a $5 per month discount if you sign up for
autopay through Pay Pal, see <
https://www.visible.com/v/paypal>. Of
course if T-Mobile is successful in eliminating the autopay discount for
credit card payments then AT&T may follow. This is a way of
surreptitiously raising prices.
Hopefully few people are naïve enough to allow any wireless carrier
direct access to their bank account. That would be an exceedingly
foolish thing to do, no matter the carrier.
One big advantage of autopay using a credit card, that several people on
the T-Mobile sub-reddit mentioned, was the accidental damage and loss
coverage that some credit cards offer. For example, see
<
https://www.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/active-cash/guide-to-benefits/?FPID=012688IDF40000&vendor_code=LS&sub_channel=AFF&siteID=SWlnSnn6x54-sKkjKobIPZ2Zo2WYyczc.Q#cell>
which explains the coverage offered on the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo
Active Cash credit card
<
https://creditcards.wellsfargo.com/cards/active-cash-credit-card/>.
This free coverage eliminates the need to sign up for a carrier’s
“protection” or a manufacturer’s program like AppleCare+ or SamsungCare+
which is a significant savings. Even with the loss of the $5 per month
per line autopay discount, it’s still a better deal to not buy separate
protection.
As to the reason carriers prefer linking to a bank account instead of
billing a credit card are a) the lower fees, since they're probably
paying 1.5%-2.0% in fees depending on the type of credit card, and b)
because they know that those subscribers with credit cards that offer
accidental damage and loss coverage for cell phones are unlikely to
purchase the highly profitable coverage from the carrier.