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Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AT&T is making cuts to its autopay discounts in April. Ways you can still save
AT&T confirmed this week it will cut its monthly autopay discount for some customers following similar moves by T-Mobile and Verizon, but there are still ways to save on your phone and internet bill. Starting April 24, AT&T customers enrolled in autopay and the carrier's paperless billing discount program with an eligible debit card will receive a $5 rather than a $10 discount. Customers enrolled using any credit card that is not the AT&T Points Plus credit card will no longer receive the discount. However, customers enrolled with a bank account will continue to receive the $10 discount for eligible internet plans and $10-a-month discount per phone line for eligible wireless plans, an AT&T spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY. The move is the latest aimed at nudging consumers to pay with a bank account to avoid credit card processing fees and reduce credit card disputes, transaction failure and rates of fraud, Shikha Jain, a partner at the commercial growth consulting firm Simon-Kucher, told USA TODAY. It comes after the big three telecommunications companies already lowered autopay discounts for customers paying with a credit card. "We are seeing businesses become more urgent trying to find ways to protect margins, drive up sell, reduce operational costs, while trying to minimize consumer backlash," Jain said. "It's easier to reframe a discount than to justify a price hike." More: Trump announces 25% auto tariffs. What it means for your next car purchase While the most obvious way for AT&T customers to continue saving money is to switch their payment method to a bank account, Shikha Jain, a partner at Simon-Kucher, said consumers also have other options to capture savings. "These rules are all designed to cut costs, reduce risk and improve customer profitability without raising base plan prices," Jain said. "But savvy consumers still have levers that they can pull." She suggested consumers should look for perks in the small print of their contracts and benefits they aren't taking advantage of. These might include making use of promotions bundling your internet and streaming services, or stopping payments for data features you don't need. "Sometimes it's about calling customer service and finding ways to negotiate better rates and get deals but you have to ask," Jain said. Similar surgical cost-saving measures as well as moves to boost customer loyalty are happening in other industries as streaming platforms like Netflix cut password sharing and airlines promote branded cards that come with discounts or perks. Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@ and follow her on X @rachelbarber_ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AT&T will cut autopay discounts. How can you still save?
USA Today
27-03-2025
- Business
- USA Today
AT&T is making cuts to its autopay discounts in April. Ways you can still save
AT&T is making cuts to its autopay discounts in April. Ways you can still save Show Caption Hide Caption AT&T and T-Mobile change autopay discount requirements The two wireless carriers have joined Verizon in requiring a debit card or bank account instead of a credit card for their autopay discounts. Cover Media - Shareable AT&T confirmed this week it will cut its monthly autopay discount for some customers following similar moves by T-Mobile and Verizon, but there are still ways to save on your phone and internet bill. Starting April 24, AT&T customers enrolled in autopay and the carrier's paperless billing discount program with an eligible debit card will receive a $5 rather than a $10 discount. Customers enrolled using any credit card that is not the AT&T Points Plus credit card will no longer receive the discount. However, customers enrolled with a bank account will continue to receive the $10 discount for eligible internet plans and $10-a-month discount per phone line for eligible wireless plans, an AT&T spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY. The move is the latest aimed at nudging consumers to pay with a bank account to avoid credit card processing fees and reduce credit card disputes, transaction failure and rates of fraud, Shikha Jain, a partner at the commercial growth consulting firm Simon-Kucher, told USA TODAY. It comes after the big three telecommunications companies already lowered autopay discounts for customers paying with a credit card. "We are seeing businesses become more urgent trying to find ways to protect margins, drive up sell, reduce operational costs, while trying to minimize consumer backlash," Jain said. "It's easier to reframe a discount than to justify a price hike." More: Trump announces 25% auto tariffs. What it means for your next car purchase Ways to continue saving on phone and internet While the most obvious way for AT&T customers to continue saving money is to switch their payment method to a bank account, Shikha Jain, a partner at Simon-Kucher, said consumers also have other options to capture savings. "These rules are all designed to cut costs, reduce risk and improve customer profitability without raising base plan prices," Jain said. "But savvy consumers still have levers that they can pull." She suggested consumers should look for perks in the small print of their contracts and benefits they aren't taking advantage of. These might include making use of promotions bundling your internet and streaming services, or stopping payments for data features you don't need. "Sometimes it's about calling customer service and finding ways to negotiate better rates and get deals but you have to ask," Jain said. Similar surgical cost-saving measures as well as moves to boost customer loyalty are happening in other industries as streaming platforms like Netflix cut password sharing and airlines promote branded cards that come with discounts or perks. Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@ and follow her on X @rachelbarber_
Miami Herald
25-03-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
AT&T quietly issues stern warning to customers
AT&T (T) ended 2024 on a high note, despite issuing several price increases last year. In AT&T's fourth-quarter earnings report for 2024, it revealed that it generated a net income of $4.4 billion during the quarter, which is 69% higher than what it earned during the same quarter in 2023. Get expert insights and actionable trade alerts from veteran investing experts and hedge fund managers. Join TheStreet Pro today and get the first month FREE AT&T flagged in the report that it faced strong revenue growth from its phone and broadband services, and equipment. The company also managed to attract 482,000 new postpaid phone customers and 307,000 new AT&T Fiber customers during the quarter. Related: T-Mobile hopes to win back angry customers with generous offers "We ended 2024 with strong momentum," said AT&T CEO John Stankey in the report. AT&T's growth comes after it increased the monthly charge for most of its retired unlimited wireless plans by $10 for customers who have only one line on their plan, and $20 for customers with multiple lines, in August last year. In November, AT&T also hiked the monthly price for each of its fiber and internet plans by $5. As AT&T faces increased profits, it has decided to quietly make a major change to one of its most popular discounts. In a new update on its website, the phone carrier is warning customers that its monthly discount for autopay and paperless billing will be reduced, starting on April states that wireless customers who pay with a debit card will see their discount decrease from $10 to $5 for each phone line. For internet customers who pay with a debit card, their monthly discount will also shrink from $10 to $5. However, wireless and internet customers who pay their monthly bill with a credit card will see their autopay and paperless billing discount completely removed. Wireless customers who use the AT&T Points Plus credit card from Citi, however, will be able to keep the discount. Some AT&T customers took to Reddit to express their frustration with the upcoming change. View the original article to see embedded media. More Retail: Target's latest policy change sparks massive boycott threatBounty, Tide, Dawn owner issues stern warning about its pricingGameStop makes a drastic move amid weak sales View the original article to see embedded media. A few even claimed that they feel uneasy about giving AT&T their bank account information. View the original article to see embedded media. The move from AT&T comes after it reduced the autopay and paperless bill discount for wireless customers who pay their bill with a credit card in July last year. The discount at the time decreased to $5 for customers who had one or more phone lines, and it went down to $10 for those with two or more lines. AT&T's decision to once again reduce the discount also comes during a time when it has been on a mission to win back trust from customers after it suffered a major outage last year. The outage happened on Feb. 22, 2024, and it lasted for more than 12 hours, impacting millions of customers nationwide. Earlier this year, the company announced its new AT&T Guarantee strategy that promises customers reliable connectivity, more deals and friendlier service. Through the new initiative, AT&T vows to give customers a bill credit that equals a full day of service if their fiber internet service is down for 20 minutes or more or if their wireless service is out for 60 minutes or more. The company also said that it will speed up tech support wait times, aiming to connect customers to "a friendly tech expert" within five minutes. "If we fall short of this – we're going to take action to make it right," said AT&T in a Jan. 8 press release. "No other carrier has offered a guarantee as comprehensive as this, spanning our network, our care and our deals. We're the first and only carrier that offers a guarantee for wireless and fiber networks." Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
