Recently, we’ve seen U.S. carriers increase prices, even for their most loyal customers. One such carrier, AT&T, has decided to significantly reduce a long-standing benefit.
According to The Verge, starting April 24th, the second-largest carrier in the U.S. will cut its autopay and paperless billing discounts by 50% in some scenarios.
Currently, AT&T offers a $10 discount per month when a customer selects autopay and paperless billing when paying by debit card or using a bank account. Starting next month, that discount will drop to $5 per month when using a debit card. The $10 discount remains when a bill is paid using a bank draft.
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Additionally, AT&T is removing the current $5 autopay discount on credit card payments, except for those who use an AT&T Plus Card from Citi. This perk was once $10 per month.
In summary, beginning next month, autopay and paperless billing discounts are:
- With bank payment, $10 per month (unchanged)
- With a debit card, $5 per month (down from $10)
- With most credit card payments, no discount (down from $5)
An AT&T spokesperson stated that the change was made to align with industry standards. This is in line with recent actions taken by No. 1 Verizon and No. 3 T-Mobile, which have also reduced billing perks.
Price hikes are nothing new to carriers in the U.S. Recently, T-Mobile announced a price increase for legacy customers. This followed other price hikes announced last year. Verizon also announced price hikes in 2024.
In 2023, Verizon raised the price of some plans by as much as $5 per month. In March, it raised the monthly cost of its 5GB Get More phone lines by $4. T-Mobile raised prices for some of its plans in June. AT&T also raised prices this year by $1 per line for some of its unlimited plans. It even began offering a higher pricing option that provides faster data speeds to customers.
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