OMG! A Cheaper Plan Became Available for Current Subscribers (at least for me)!

[funpig1]

Have you checked your "Change Subscription"  in your Account  today?

As a general observation, PM does not allow current subscribers to downgrade to cheaper plans.

Every once in a blood red moon, PM allows you to do it. 

I am currently on a $23 4G 6GB 100 LD plan.

TONIGHT A $20 4G 3GB PLAN BECAME AVAILABLE TO ME. I HAVE SELECTED THIS NEW PLAN TO CHANGE ON RENEWAL.

I rarely use more than 1-2 GB per month. I have very fast wifi at home and office, and I take advantage of free wifi. Plus, I still have about 6GB of Holiday data and 1,400 International long distance minutes available to me to use from 3 years ago. Switching will save $36 plus tax per year.

Check to see if a cheaper plan is available to you now; the rare opportunity to downgrade to a cheaper will probably not last long. If you get the chance to downgrade to a lower priced plan which meets your needs, I suggest that you do it.  It also makes it easier to upgrade to a better available plan in the future. Good luck.

 

[Google_Fi]

@funpig1 That's very true! I don't have any referrals, so the only loyalty points for me are the 5% back and the anniversary 10 points... These are really negligible if I can get a better deal by porting out and back in. 😆

[funpig1]

One very nice benefit of PM is the referral rewards. If somebody uses your referral code, they get $10 off and you will earn a reward point every month while they continue to be a customer. Each reward point is effectively worth $1. If you have seven referrals, you can effectively earn $7 off each month. You need to accumulate 15 points to trade in for a $15 bill credit. 

However, if you port out, you will lose your referrals from your account. That is one way to build loyalty.

[Google_Fi]

@funpig1 It's not just PM but the entire industry has shifted to this new pricing model: offering new customers better plans while preventing current customers from downgrading. This caused an endless loop of grabbing competitors' customers while losing own customers to competitors. No consumers want to play this game but we are now forced to. The two good things about prepaid services are they typically don't hike your price, and the cost to switch carrier is really low (no connection fee, and some offer free eSIMs). Therefore I am now staying away from postpaid plans, and frequently porting my number to wherever gives me the best deal. Sadly there is no loyalty these days...

[funpig1]

@Google_Fi 

I hope you are right. Nothing would make me, and a lot of other subscribers, happier than PM providing a consistent and predictable way to upgrade and downgrade plans. That was what it was like when I joined PM in 2019. However, I'm quite skeptical, based on PM's history over the last 2 years; this is likely to be temporary. I'm just glad that some people read this and have taken advantage of this recent change while it is still available.

[Google_Fi]

@funpig1 Looks like we solved a puzzle! Since you are already using (possibly) the cheapest plan they offer to current subscribers, you are able to switch to any plan you want to. I am at the $25 level so the only 4G plan I can see right now is $30 20GB. If my theory is correct then I should be able to "unlock" $23 6GB a week before my next renewal. 😂

And you are right! They do offer better 4G plans to current subscribers, with a little exception for that $30 20GB, which would be better off choosing the $29 20GB 5G plan (for a limited time until 17 Mar 2025). If we only compare 4G plans, current subscribers do get much better value than new subscribers!

[funpig1]

@Google_Fi 

Yes. In my change subscription I have those same 5G plans available for me. The $29 5G 20GB does not have any International LD minutes. 

IIRC, that $29 was only 10GB for me until the recent change. So, it is a little bit better than before, but not sure for how long. 

What is more interesting for me are the 4G plans currently available in my Change Subscription:

$20 4G 3GB

$23 4G 6GB

$25 4G 10GB

$30 4G 20GB

These change subscription 4G plans currently available to me are different and better than the ones currently available for new activation, which is unusual. 

$19 4G 0.5GB

$20 4G 1GB

$24 4G 4GB

$27 4G 6GB

I also agree with your strategy. Downgrading whenever you can, as long as the plan still meets your needs, is a good idea. You save money and it resets your base price to upgrade more easily to a better plan when they become available in the future.

[Google_Fi]

@funpig1 Thanks so much for sharing your experience! 😀 Have you noticed that the $29 plan offered to current subscribers is a little different from the one they offer to new subscribers? The $29 plan I see from My Account doesn't include 100 international minutes. PM is playing tricks! 😂

I was on the $27 6GB plan for a month (as a new subscriber) and about one week before renewal, the $25 10GB plan appeared in My Account, which I switched to (less money and more data 😀).  Now I have the following plans available:

• $29 20GB CAN-US-MEX
• $30 20GB Canada-Wide
• $35 60GB CAN-US-MEX, 500 international minutes
• $45 80GB CAN-US-MEX, 1000 international minutes
• $55 100GB CAN-US-MEX, 1000 international minutes

I guess PM has two sets of plans, one set for new subscribers and one set for current subscribers. For current subscribers, their new pricing strategy seems to be offering us mostly upgrade options, plus only one downgrade option. If we jump on that downgrade option, then about one week before renewal, we will possibly "unlock" another downgrade option. 😂

[funpig1]

@RattlesnakeArmy  I'm glad that you were able to take advantage. 

--------------

As another "general observation", PM does not treat all of its customers equally. Currently, I have the following plans available in my"Change Subscription": 

$20 3GB

$23 6GB

$25 10GB

$29 5G 20GB

YMMV

[RattlesnakeArmy]

I just checked and I have the same offer! Jumping on that 🙂

[funpig1]

@BKNS27 

I am in the same situation as you. I chose "Change on Renewal" to keep all of my options open until my March 22 renewal date. I can still cancel the change.

As stated, I am still hoarding about 6GB of Holiday data which should cover me if I ever go over 3GB.

I will lose my 100 Long distance minutes if I downgrade from my current $23 plan. However, in the three or four months that I've been on that plan I have yet to actually use it (except for one LD test call to a McDonald's in Hong Kong). I figure with the money saved after 5 months, if necessary, I could buy a relevant LD add-on which would probably last me a lifetime.

[BKNS27]

@funpig1 

Thanks for the heads up!

The $20 plan is available in my account too and I am on a higher priced plan. $23 for 6gb data but for $3 more i will get 3gb more. Not sure if I will go for it now.

[funpig1]

One of my kids just checked their "Change Subscription" again. He is currently on the $29 plan. The $25:4G 10GB plan just became available for downgrading. YMMV.

[Camera4617]

Or another option is to pick cheaper plan, and wait for a SMS offer to change to one of these promotional plans for 'new customers' only which is for new customers and for old customers with cheaper plans, but this is not guaranteed. I was on 75$ 90 days plan (which comes to 25$ per month) and got an offer to change to this 29$ 20GB Can/Usa/Mexico plan.. 

[hTideGnow]

hi @funpig1 

I always have the $30 plan showing for me to downgrade.  I see the $25 plan sometimes too

most plans below $30 are now new activation only plans and hence people generally won't see them a lot.  So @Camera4617 was correct  about that.  Yes, unfortunately all mobile carriers are making it  hard for people to have plan change, you won't see all good plans even you want to upgrade for most carriers.  But with porting so easily find and pretty much no contract anywhere, just go with where the savings are.  But remember, PM still has 5% extra which most carriers don't offer you that

[Camera4617]

There is no 'general rule', PM as any other provider does NOT let you change to plans for 'new customers' which is common practice in almost any business. Any other plan that is for all customers, you can change as you like and I've done it many times, from 34 to 25, etc.. 

[funpig1]

I would point out that my "general rule" is based upon my personal observations. I do not have access to PM's marketing policies. So I will edit accordingly to make you happy.

I have been a PM customer since 2019. When I first signed up, customers could freely upgrade up or downgrade down to any plan.

Starting about 2 years ago, as a "general observation", PM removed the choice for current subscribers to downgrade to cheaper plans.

For a time, customer agents would help current subscribers to switch to a cheaper plan if you messaged them and asked nicely. Eventually, PM mandated that their agents were not to assist people to downgrade to cheaper plans. I have written messages from agents if you want written proof.

Currently, I have at least six friends and family with plans from $23, $25, ,29, $30 and $35. For most of the last year, they could not downgrade to a cheaper plan. Occasionally, the chance to do so arises, but it may only be for a limited time, sometimes only a few days. I just checked with the others this morning and I am sad to report that my $23 plan is the only one which is downgradeable to a cheaper plan. The others do not.

You only have to read the many complaints by other posters in this Community complaining and wishing that they could downgrade to a cheaper plan. Some of them end up porting out.

FWIW, when the limited chance arose to downgrade, I thought I would let others know. Good luck.

[softech]

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@funpig1 wrote:

Have you checked your "Change Subscription"  in your Account  today?

As general rule, PM does not allow current subscribers to downgrade to cheaper plans.

 

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@funpig1 

this is UNTRUE.  There is simply no such rule

Most customers can still downgrade the plan , it is just the have less lower priced plan to downgrade.  So, saying PM does not allow downgrade is not the correct info.

[kb_mv]

@funpig1 I am on a $35 plan and there has always been a $30 option available to me.