T-Mobile: Auto-Pay Discount For Bill Payment by Credit Card Ending

[walkinwood]

Xfinity did the same thing a while ago. I guess the credit card charges are beginning to bite.

My guess is this is going to spread to most subscription services like Netflix, spotify etc. That's a shame.

My utilities (water & elect/gas) have never supported automated credit card payments.

I wish we had a widely supported, easy to use universal digital payment system like they have in India (and also, I think, in China).



If you have access, this is a good article.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/business/india-digital-payments-upi.html

 

[dmpi]

Xfinity did the same thing a while ago. I guess the credit card charges are beginning to bite.

We still pay our Xfinity with a credit card but I'm not sure for how long. Verizon on the other hand charges for the autopay with a credit card. We let them pull directly from our checking account.

 

[audreyh1]

This has been extensively discussed on the T Mobile subreddit. The general consensus is that they aren't trustworthy enough on security to link your bank account to them. Also they are doing this to get around promise not to raise rates. Backdoor way to do it. Debit cards also don't have the protections of credit cards. The most common option people seem to be suggesting is open a bank account at an online bank that has no fee and no minimum and just autopay from that.

That seems reasonable. Anyone recommend an online bank with no fee, no minimum?

Yeah, T-Mobile Money checking account. That’s what I just opened. 2.5% interest.

Ally checking is also no fees AFAIK but paying very little.

 

[gwill1010]

I would never allow TMO to transfer ACH from my checking account. They’ve been hacked to many times. I’ll pay the extra charge.

Wow, I personally think paying $180/year extra is not a great solution. You sure about that?

 

[pb4uski]

I've always kept a small checking account at a cu for these and other reasons. Usually has about $550 in it. Works great for those exceedingly rare times I can't use a credit card.

I do something like that for Venmo. Small account that I rarely use.

 

[Gumby]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[tulak]

I have a credit union account that I use for autopay. I don’t keep much in that account and will change T-Mobile to debit from that account.

If you’re already at Fidelity, you could probably do the same there. Open a separate brokerage or cash management account, set it up with no overdrafts, and use that account for auto pay.

 

[Piper20]

Wow, I personally think paying $180/year extra is not a great solution. You sure about that?

Ours is $10 a month. 55 and over $60 a month total.

 

[JBTX]

I wonder if you can change the autopay to a bank account, and prepay with a credit card, effectively having an autopay of $0. I’m getting 5% cash back via a chase business card and I’d like to keep that going.

 

[isisdave]

I haven't heard from them yet. I have autopay discount (and Kickback) on two lines set up with my Citi card, as it provides free phone repair if I pay my bill with it.

We'll see.

 

[Murph]

Switch to ATT Prepaid.

 

[audreyh1]

I haven't heard from them yet. I have autopay discount (and Kickback) on two lines set up with my Citi card, as it provides free phone repair if I pay my bill with it.

We'll see.

They say around May, so I don’t expect to hear anything until my April bill at the earliest.

 

[a60dan]

I went to the app, saw the prominent notice that once again they gave up my personal information, went to “bill” then “manage autopay”.

Only then do I see “as soon as May”.

I don’t count that as “communication “ at all

More places every day fighting inflation by passing on the credit card fees.

 

[Ncc1701]

I plan on calling T Mobile and threaten to port out if I am charged for using my credit card. The Visible Wireless + service by Verizon is $35 per line (taxes fees included) and I'd get $10 off my Fios internet service.

 

[imnontrad]

I have not been notified about this yet.

 

[Sunset]

Xfinity did the same thing a while ago. I guess the credit card charges are beginning to bite.

My guess is this is going to spread to most subscription services like Netflix, spotify etc. That's a shame.

My utilities (water & elect/gas) have never supported automated credit card payments.

I wish we had a widely supported, easy to use universal digital payment system like they have in India (and also, I think, in China).

....

We do, it's called checking account debit

 

[Gumby]

I would bet that if you login to your account online, you will see the notice. And I would also bet you agreed that would be sufficient notice when you signed up with them.

 

[MichaelB]

I have not been notified about this yet.

A previous post in the thread https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...by-credit-card-ending-117299.html#post2905808

Log into your account and click on "Bill and Pay". That will show your bill amount and if you are on auto-pay, there will be a check mark next to "AutoPay". Click on AutoPay and it will take you to that page and there is a notice across the top of the page.

 

[KarenF]

So, coming in May T-Mobile will no longer give you an autopay discount if you pay your bill with a credit card. You can still get the discount if you pay by debit card or ACH transfer. Our discount apparently is $15/mo so I'd like to keep that going. Is there any real difference in choosing a debit card vs ACH transfer for such routine payments? I'm half inclined to set up a T-Mobile checking account (paying 2.5% on balances) just for paying their bill as opposed to having it come out of our joint Chase account. Any suggestions?

Verizon has the same rule. I still pay with a credit card because my credit card has cell phone insurance as a benefit and I save more by not paying the very high per line Verizon cell phone protection. Just a thought. I do get a senior (55+) discount with Verizon, so see if you are eligible for any senior discounts as well.

 

[Buckeye]

Thank you for the heads up. I have an account at a neighborhood bank we used to use for a safety deposit box. I'll set that up as my T-Mobile auto pay account and set up a monthly transfer from my main checking account.

I pay for my sister's Xfinity internet service and had to switch that to an account debit because their discount went away recently. They were low key about informing account holders, IMO, who would not have noticed the change if they didn't login to their account. I have a reminder in my phone to start the annual "how not to get a huge increase when my 12-month contract expires" arm wrestle with them. I now use Twitter DM to manage the wrestling match which is a bit more efficient. Another nearly 8% increase this new contract period for the same service. I wish she could get T-Mobile internet where she lives so the price increases would be done! I hate Comcast with a passion.

 

[creekstone]

T-Mobile recently bought Mint. Mint runs on the T-Mobile network. https://www.mintmobile.com/unicorn/

We were with T-Mobile for years. Direct debit from our main account with no issues. Switched to Mint to same some money. We pay $30 per month for two lines. Yes, $15 per line. Bring your own (unlocked) phone.

All the major carriers are scrambling to add a budget brand.

 

[old medic]

After my dealings with T-Mobile, I would advise to stay as far away as possible... THANK GOD I didn't sign up with auto pay.

 

[Buckeye]

After my dealings with T-Mobile, I would advise to stay as far away as possible... THANK GOD I didn't sign up with auto pay.

I have had autopay with T-Mobile for at least 10 years. I have been notified at least twice recently I was included in security breaches but I've never had an issue. I don't know what info got out but it has been of no consequence to me.

 

[braumeister]

I have had autopay with T-Mobile for at least 10 years. I have been notified at least twice recently I was included in security breaches but I've never had an issue. I don't know what info got out but it has been of no consequence to me.

We've been extremely happy with T-Mobile for the past six years, especially when traveling out of the country.

As to their data breach, they said that no really sensitive information was accessed:

The information obtained for each customer varies and may include full names, dates of birth, phone numbers, billing addresses, email addresses, and account and line information (such as billing account numbers, codes for rate plans and features, and number of lines on the account).
Passwords, SSNs and payment methods and usage or call records were NOT affected. NO unauthorized account changes or charges or other fraudulent activity has been detected that is connected to this event.

 

[aldo]

Has T-Mobile decided to keep the auto-pay discount for payment by credit card? My June bill reflects the discount, and the notice of the change no longer appears at the top of my Auto-pay page