freebies

4 Phone Plans That Offer a Streaming Service As a Free Perk

Illustration: by Martin Gee

This article is regularly updated to include the latest deals available.

Nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone without at least one streaming service, but multiple streaming services can add up. Even one can be a splurge depending on the service. (These days, Netflix can cost as much as $22.99 a month!!) If you’re on a budget but still want to catch up on The House of the Dragon on Max one day and watch Disney+’s Loki or Netflix’s Bridgerton the next, you might want to look into your mobile plan. From Verizon to T-Mobile, the major carriers have deals with streaming services, offering free subscriptions as a perk. We’ve put together this guide to give you the gist of what streaming deals are available through your phone plan. Read through the options and then go claim that free service.

T-Mobile

The Deal: Free Netflix with Ads, Apple TV+, and Hulu (with Ads)

T-Mobile is one of two wireless carriers on this list to offer a partnership with the granddaddy of streaming — Netflix — but of course it comes with a few contingencies. Let’s quickly break it down. A Netflix Standard with Ads plan, which includes standard-definition streaming on two screens at a time, comes free with a Go5G Next plan. And that’s not all T-Mobile users can get: They offer free Apple TV+, not just for a year but for as long as you have the Go5G Next or Go5G Plus plan. The Apple TV+ deal will apply to new or existing subscribers to the two plans. All you need to do to redeem is log in through your T-Mobile account. And T-Mobile’s latest offer will gets its Go5G Next customers Hulu (With Ads) for as long as they keep their plan intact.

Verizon Wireless

The Deal: The Disney Bundle; Walmart+ (including Paramount+); Apple One (which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Arcade, and more); Netflix; Max

An unlimited phone plan with Verizon can get you not one, not two, not three, but up to five streaming services. It’s quite literally showing off at this point. But with an Unlimited Plus plan, Verizon users can get the Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+ (no ads), Hulu, and ESPN+ (both with ads), typically priced at $14.99 to $24.99 per month, so you’ll get your Baby Yodas, your Bears, and your select sports for $10. Separately, Verizon has another offer: Netflix and Max (both with ads). The streaming bundle, which a Verizon press release boasts as a “first-of-its-kind,†will be available to the mobile company’s myPlan customers for $10 a month — not free, per se, but both bundles are a hell of a deal.

Another perk Verizon’s Unlimited Ultimate plan customers (with iPhones) have is Apple One, an all-encompassing Apple subscription to their music, streaming service, and gaming apps for $10. The service is priced up to $37.95 a month on its own. Customers of Unlimited Welcome also get access to Walmart+, which includes a subscription to Paramount+.

Metro by T-Mobile

The Deal: An Amazon Prime Membership and one year of ViX Premium

While Metro is under T-Mobile, don’t expect to get a Netflix deal as well. Instead, Metro users get a yearlong subscription to ViX Premium, one of the largest streaming services for Spanish-language programming, while the Metro Flex Plus tier customers get a whole Amazon Prime membership. In addition to streaming on Amazon Prime Video, the Amazon membership includes the whole shebang: free shipping, exclusive deals, free music, free books, and access to Prime at Whole Foods Market.

Cricket Wireless

The Deal: The ad-supported tier of Max

AT&T no longer provides its customers with a subscription to Max, but — oddly! — Cricket Wireless, owned by AT&T, does. To be eligible for it, though, you would have to be under Cricket’s $60/mo. unlimited plan. Being under that specific plan would get you access to an ad-supported subscription to Max, which basically guarantees you everything the streamer has to offer with commercials. All one has to do is download the app and then log in using their Cricket Wireless information, and then you’re set.

4 Mobile Plans That Can Get You a Free Streaming Service