Dealing with bills every month is incredibly annoying, but there’s really nothing that you can do about it most of the time. Sure, you can get rid of your Netflix subscription, but can you really get rid of your phone line? The answer for most people is no, and so, you simply have to deal with it monthly.
Setting up autopay has always been a great way to keep phone bills out of sight and out of mind by automating your monthly payments. Even better is the fact that signing up for autopay gives you a $5 or $10 discount. Who can say no to that? Unfortunately, the joy of the autopay discount might be coming to an end if AT&T has its way.
AT&T Is Set to Cut the Autopay Discount for Those Using Debit or Credit Cards
If you don’t feel the need to scrutinize your phone bills every month, then using autopay is a win-win. It makes sure that your phone lines stay paid, and it also gives you a sweet discount every month for doing nothing other than automating your payments. Considering that there’s no difference in service, autopay is a very good deal for a whole lot of people.
Unfortunately, AT&T is tired of seeing smiles on your faces and is getting ready to reduce the perks of autopay. According to the folks at The Mobile Report, it seems that the carrier is warming up to slice its autopay discounts, particularly for customers who use either a credit or debit card for their phone payments.
If you use a debit card, you usually get a $10 discount per line, but now, AT&T is cutting that in half. That means you’ll only be getting $5 off for enabling autopay. But before you get mad at that, it’s even worse for those who use credit cards and autopay. Instead of the $5 discount you were previously getting, there’s now no discount at all. That’s right—there’s no actual perk to using autopay as a credit card user.
You’re Safe If You Use Autopay Through a Bank Draft
Using payment cards is convenient, but some people set their autopay to go through direct bank transfers instead. In the event that you’re using a bank draft for your AT&T autopay, you’ll be happy to know that nothing is changing on that front. You’re still going to be receiving your full $10 discount.
The reason behind all of this is likely because of the fees associated with processing card transactions. T-Mobile also removed its autopay discount for customers using credit cards, but that was all the way back in June 2023.
There Might Be a Workaround for Customers Who Still Want That Big Discount
According to a Reddit user, there actually seems to be a way you can take advantage of the full $10 bank draft autopay discount, while still using your credit card to pay, and it is simpler than you might expect.
You add your bank account to autopay, which makes you eligible for the discount. However, after the bill arrives and before it is automatically paid, you pay manually with your credit card. It does the job, but whether that loophole will stay open for long is another question. For some, this might mark the perfect opportunity to switch to a cheaper carrier.
