T-Mobile, Xfinity, AT&T now requiring bank accounts to retain auto-pay discount

[OnkSep]

[Title was "T-Mobile cancelling credit card payment asking for banking information instead !" Xfinity and AT&T have now joined the fray. Use this thread to discuss companies changing from credit card to bank accounts for auto-pay discounts. --admin LadyGeek]

Having been a T-M for many years I always did auto-pay with my credit card.
Now they advise that as of 7/23 there will be no more autopay discount of $20 / billing cycle unless I give them my
bank account information.
No way, with all the hacking they had!
Another $240 per year; what a money grab!

[turtlebug]

T-Mobile sent out notice of this several months ago or maybe last year. In order to keep my auto-pay discount, I scheduled auto-pay from another free checking account I have (not my main checking account), in which I only keep a running balance of $60 (the amount of my monthly bill).

[rich126]

I found this to be annoying for a few reasons:

1. I never use a debit card for obvious reasons.
2. Ideally I don't like giving out bank account info but I might just use an account with limited money in it.
3. The credit card I was using provides insurance (at no cost) in case of phone breakage so both my and my wife's phone would be covered up to $800 with $50 deductible.
4. $10 per month seems to greatly exceed the cost of the credit card. I'm guessing my under $100 bill can't cost them $3 per month and now they want $10 to use a CC?

My options now are:
1. Just use a bank account
2. Pay $10 or $120 to use my credit card and get the phone covered

I've never had a phone breakage but my wife is more likely although so far buys nice cases to help prevent breakage.

[exodusNH]

Having been a T-M for many years I always did auto-pay with my credit card.
Now they advise that as of 7/23 there will be no more autopay discount of $20 / billing cycle unless I give them my
bank account information.
No way, with all the hacking they had!
Another $240 per year; what a money grab!

Direct debit (ACH debit) is very safe. Just use that. (Everyone you've ever given a check to has all the same info PLUS your signature.)

If you're particularly worried, set up a different account and have the money drawn from it.

T Mobile offers bank accounts. You could use that.

[student]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

[BuddyJet]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

+1. My venture x credit card also offers loss/damage insurance if bill paid with card.

[exodusNH]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

I think someone reported here that that loophole has been closed.

[prd1982]

Another $240 per year; what a money grab!

That’s exactly what T-Mobile said when they looked at the fee they were paying the credit card company.

[joelly]

Its an excuse for them to increase the bill.

Mine is a company-paid-by-cc so I won't be changing it.

[student]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

I think someone reported here that that loophole has been closed.

Really? It didn't warn me about it when I did that last week. Does it work if I leave $1 for autopay?

[exodusNH]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

I think someone reported here that that loophole has been closed.

Really? It didn't warn me about it when I did that last week. Does it work if I leave $1 for autopay?

I don't know. I only half paid attention to the thread because I don't use T Mobile. Verizon offers better coverage where I travel. I use US Mobile on Verizon's network.

The only reason I even paid attention was due to my mother asking about it this morning in regards to her T Mobile home internet autopay.

[RMO87]

My family has T-Mobile, but I hadn't heard about any discounts going away. Might it not apply to me yet? I don't see anything referencing it on my latest bill.

Thanks,
Ryan

[anon_investor]

My family has T-Mobile, but I hadn't heard about any discounts going away. Might it not apply to me yet? I don't see anything referencing it on my latest bill.

Thanks,
Ryan

I have a grandfathered Sprint plan, and never received any discount for autopay, so I will continue to autopay via credit card.

[DesertGator]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

I think someone reported here that that loophole has been closed.

I spoke to a manager at Tmobile (by phone) who advised that manual payments by credit card will still be accepted and that having a debit/checking on set up for auto-pay will qualify for discount.

We'll see in a month what the reality is.

[student]

I am doing the following that I learned from this forum. Sign up for autopay with bank info but pay with credit card before it is due to get the points. I only keep a few hundred dollars in the checking account.

I think someone reported here that that loophole has been closed.

I spoke to a manager at Tmobile (by phone) who advised that manual payments by credit card will still be accepted and that having a debit/checking on set up for auto-pay will qualify for discount.

We'll see in a month what the reality is.

Thanks for the info.

[Flobes]

Having been a T-M for many years I always did auto-pay with my credit card.
Now they advise that as of 7/23 there will be no more autopay discount of $20 / billing cycle unless I give them my
bank account information...

T-Mobile sent out notice of this several months ago or maybe last year.

Wow! I'm a TMobile customer, and I was unaware. Maybe I didn't get it? Maybe I ignored it as spam? So thanks for the heads up!

Looks like I'll be contacting them first thing in the morning.

[penumbra]

I don't fully understand. If you have autopay set up with your bank account, how would you go about manually paying a bill with a credit card prior? Thanks for any help.

[student]

I don't fully understand. If you have autopay set up with your bank account, how would you go about manually paying a bill with a credit card prior? Thanks for any help.

You pay the bill before the due date. When you look at your bill, you can choose pay now, any amount.

[DesertGator]

Made another call to Tmobile just now. They have confirmed that you can pay early manually with a credit card, but have a debit card or checking account set up for auto-pay, and you will not drop lose the autopay discount.

The agent did say it is necessary to pay at least 5 days in advance, as the system sets up the debit/checking transaction in advance and it is still likely to go thru - you will have paid twice. You would of course have an account credit.

Rep also explained that the notifications of this change were not sent all at one time, as it relates to the date of the individual's billing cycle. It does apply to all accounts.

[heartwood]

Same for Verizon/FIOS. Since April they allow a $10/month discount for direct debit from your checking and for going paper-free. No discount for autopay on a CC that existed until then.

Next they may adopt the practice of charging 3% to use a CC like so many places.

Of course you can always write a check and mail it using the increased price Forever stamps.

[Pyramid44]

T-Mobile is the latest in a series of places where I used to have automatic charges paid up and are now charging fees.

The most contentious is our HOA fee processor, and local water co-op who are getting dinged by their payment processors with exactly the same fee as T-Mobile. So there is a payment processor in the middle that has decided to charge per transaction because of “fraud”.

Our HOA is in a bit of a quiet rebellion and we have all been advised to send in our payment via the “bill pay” function of your financial institution. For that there is no fee, but because it is not an organization set up to accept ACH payment, there will be a paper check per unit sent to the board. Now the board will have to open mail, tick off that a payment was received and go down to the bank and make an in person deposit.

Same news for our small water co-op.

Now many places are charging 3% for using a credit card. Cash, check or debit car at listed prices. That was our two local car dealerships and a variety of local restaurants. Cash is once again king.

Somewhere in the depths of the financial processing system is an intent to make a profit on fees? It is kind of strange to see this happening to many payments at different kinds of establishments within the past month.

[exodusNH]

T-Mobile is the latest in a series of places where I used to have automatic charges paid up and are now charging fees.

The most contentious is our HOA fee processor, and local water co-op who are getting dinged by their payment processors with exactly the same fee as T-Mobile. So there is a payment processor in the middle that has decided to charge per transaction because of “fraud”.

Our HOA is in a bit of a quiet rebellion and we have all been advised to send in our payment via the “bill pay” function of your financial institution. For that there is no fee, but because it is not an organization set up to accept ACH payment, there will be a paper check per unit sent to the board. Now the board will have to open mail, tick off that a payment was received and go down to the bank and make an in person deposit.

Same news for our small water co-op.

Now many places are charging 3% for using a credit card. Cash, check or debit car at listed prices. That was our two local car dealerships and a variety of local restaurants. Cash is once again king.

Somewhere in the depths of the financial processing system is an intent to make a profit on fees? It is kind of strange to see this happening to many payments at different kinds of establishments within the past month.

The proliferation of rewards cards has increased the "discount rate" aka "skim" the credit card processors are taking. Combined with limits imposed on other fees, they're making it up by increasing the costs.

I suspect part of it is also just overall cost increases that they're not able to make up with published rates and are stemming the bleeding by charging repayment fees.

Back when my company was doing work for Capital One, their accounts payable started charging us a fee to get paid. We just billed them more to make up for it. It was so dumb.

[WhiteMaxima]

CC payment has fees. So T-Mobile saved 3% fee. It's pure profit.

[Soaker]

Made another call to Tmobile just now. They have confirmed that you can pay early manually with a credit card, but have a debit card or checking account set up for auto-pay, and you will not drop lose the autopay discount.

The agent did say it is necessary to pay at least 5 days in advance, as the system sets up the debit/checking transaction in advance and it is still likely to go thru - you will have paid twice. You would of course have an account credit.

I have just tried this. I have autopay set up for direct debit from my checking account. That debit was scheduled to occur on July 20. Today, July 11 (>5 days ahead) I paid the full balance with a Visa credit card that has the benefit of the phone damage/loss insurance.

The confirmation says:

Please note: Your account balance will be updated within two hours.

Your account balance has been paid in full. AutoPay will no longer process for this billing cycle.

So I'll check my next bill to make sure there's no extra $5 charged, but it doesn't sound like there should be.

Edit: Whoops, the new policy isn't supposed to take effect until July 23, which is after the July 20 scheduled payment date. So what I did today won't prove anything, but it gives me practice for trying the procedure for real next month.

[Cosmo]

Having been a T-M for many years I always did auto-pay with my credit card.
Now they advise that as of 7/23 there will be no more autopay discount of $20 / billing cycle unless I give them my
bank account information...

T-Mobile sent out notice of this several months ago or maybe last year.

Wow! I'm a TMobile customer, and I was unaware. Maybe I didn't get it? Maybe I ignored it as spam? So thanks for the heads up!

Looks like I'll be contacting them first thing in the morning.

I am a T-Mobile customer as well and I have not heard anything. Why waste your time calling them? Wait until they come to you.

[student]

Made another call to Tmobile just now. They have confirmed that you can pay early manually with a credit card, but have a debit card or checking account set up for auto-pay, and you will not drop lose the autopay discount.

The agent did say it is necessary to pay at least 5 days in advance, as the system sets up the debit/checking transaction in advance and it is still likely to go thru - you will have paid twice. You would of course have an account credit.

Rep also explained that the notifications of this change were not sent all at one time, as it relates to the date of the individual's billing cycle. It does apply to all accounts.

Thanks so much for the info.

[TravellingTechOnFire]

Get Mint Mobile instead?

[student]

Same for Verizon/FIOS. Since April they allow a $10/month discount for direct debit from your checking and for going paper-free. No discount for autopay on a CC that existed until then.

Next they may adopt the practice of charging 3% to use a CC like so many places.

Of course you can always write a check and mail it using the increased price Forever stamps.

Are they many places that charge money to use a CC? I have only seen it happen at gas stations and one small mom and pop restaurant around here. I guess it all depends on what competitions are available. As consumers, we can only vote with our feet.

[runner26]

I haven't gotten any notice of this policy. They still bill my card and I still get the discount. I am on a 55 plus plan.

[fuj]

I haven't gotten any notice of this policy. They still bill my card and I still get the discount. I am on a 55 plus plan.

I am too, but I just got the notice today.

[rkhusky]

Add the fee to their cost when price shopping. If they don’t measure up anymore, switch carriers. With a major change like that, you should be able to break a contract free of fees.

[Flobes]

I haven't gotten any notice of this policy. They still bill my card and I still get the discount. I am on a 55 plus plan.

You will get a notice soon. I too have not yet received official notification on 55+ Plan, and my autopay processed on my credit card this week.

I logged into my account. Auto-Pay FAQs now states, "Yes, you can still set up AutoPay with a credit card or a virtual wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, however, they will not be eligible for the AutoPay discount."

I phoned T-Mobile. Here's what I learned:
• As stated upthread, this will impact all customers on all plans, beginning 7/23.
• She can see my notice has not yet been sent, and explained notifications will come via text closer to next due date. My autopay (AP) date is the 7th.
• As detailed upthread, there's a work-around to get autopay discount and use a credit card, confirmed by CSR
• Set up AP on a bank account or debit card in your TM wallet as default; this preserves the autopay discount
• Several days before autopay date, pay online or in app with credit card (which remains handy in TM wallet; get the free insurance, cash back, points, miles, whatever.
• My billing now reads, "If you make a one-time payment now, AutoPay will process any remaining balance on Aug 07, 2023."
• CSR confirmed: AutoPay will not occur in any month there's a zero balance on AP date.

I did not think to ask if they do any confirmation or verification of bank info.

FWIW Interestingly, my T-Mobile online profile showed my credit card as "Not valid, expired in 2021" and yet autopays are still successful every month. So much for the significant importance of expiration dates...

[Invest4lt]

The subject is misleading in that T-Mobile is not cancelling or no longer accepting credit cards, it is simply no longer offering a monthly discount to customers using autopay attached to a CC.

As I see it, T-Mobile is a for-profit company doing what companies do best--trying to maximize their profits. As a shareholder based on index funds, I would expect (and appreciate) this behavior. Discounts come and go, and prices fluctuate. Was there a promise made to offer the discount forever?

If the monthly cost without the discount is no longer attractive, then I would think it's time to find another provider.

[3000]

I opened a Discover Cashback Debit (checking account) and provided T-Mobile the debit card for this account. Debit card purchases earn 1% cash back that you and manually redeem to your checking account or you can open a Discover Online Savings account and have the cash back automatically deposited into this account. I opened the savings account and on the first of July the cash back was deposited. The rate on the savings account is currently 4.15% APY.

Once I opened the checking account I was able to get the account and routing numbers and provide them to Fidelity and they sent the two trail deposits and single withdrawal with the account having a zero balance. Once I verified the account I transferred $5 to it and setup a recurring monthly transfer from Fidelity to Discover, the first recurring deposit hit the account and 10 days later T-Mobile debited the amount for my bill and lastly I received the cash back for the T-Mobile bill payment on July 1st. Everything worked great, I keep the autopay discount and I earn a little back on the payment.

[exodusNH]

FWIW Interestingly, my T-Mobile online profile showed my credit card as "Not valid, expired in 2021" and yet autopays are still successful every month. So much for the significant importance of expiration dates...

The only required information to make a charge is the number. Everything else is at the discretion of the merchant, with pricing penalties and liability limitations imposed.

Also, larger merchants can subscribe to updates from credit card issuers to get updated card information automatically.

[student]

FWIW Interestingly, my T-Mobile online profile showed my credit card as "Not valid, expired in 2021" and yet autopays are still successful every month. So much for the significant importance of expiration dates...

The only required information to make a charge is the number. Everything else is at the discretion of the merchant, with pricing penalties and liability limitations imposed.

Also, larger merchants can subscribe to updates from credit card issuers to get updated card information automatically.

I remember one time a recurring charge went through after the card had expired but I do not remember whether I was not updating it on purpose, and the charge went through. I called AMEX and was told that they did it as a courtesy to customers for recurring charges.

[1grl1by]

I only learned about it here, from a thread a few months ago. I opened an account at TMobile Money, and funded it with a year's worth of phone cost and set up ACH from it to my phone bill. Two months in it works like a charm. I marked my calendar to transfer more money next April. I really like set it and forget it for bills like this.

[exodusNH]

FWIW Interestingly, my T-Mobile online profile showed my credit card as "Not valid, expired in 2021" and yet autopays are still successful every month. So much for the significant importance of expiration dates...

The only required information to make a charge is the number. Everything else is at the discretion of the merchant, with pricing penalties and liability limitations imposed.

Also, larger merchants can subscribe to updates from credit card issuers to get updated card information automatically.

I remember one time a recurring charge went through after the card had expired but I do not remember whether I was not updating it on purpose, and the charge went through. I called AMEX and was told that they did it as a courtesy to customers for recurring charges.

I did a lot of work with credit card processing via websites about a decade ago. You really only needed the credit card number to put through a charge.

Without more data, the merchant would both pay more of a discount rate and basically have no protection from chargebacks.

Address validation was also pretty basic. It just matched the street number and postal code. 123 Main St, Nowheresville, CA 90210 and 123 Birch St, Somewheresville, UT 90210 would match 123 Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

The merchant was told what data elements matched, but was free to process the charge anyway.

[student]

FWIW Interestingly, my T-Mobile online profile showed my credit card as "Not valid, expired in 2021" and yet autopays are still successful every month. So much for the significant importance of expiration dates...

The only required information to make a charge is the number. Everything else is at the discretion of the merchant, with pricing penalties and liability limitations imposed.

Also, larger merchants can subscribe to updates from credit card issuers to get updated card information automatically.

I remember one time a recurring charge went through after the card had expired but I do not remember whether I was not updating it on purpose, and the charge went through. I called AMEX and was told that they did it as a courtesy to customers for recurring charges.

I did a lot of work with credit card processing via websites about a decade ago. You really only needed the credit card number to put through a charge.

Without more data, the merchant would both pay more of a discount rate and basically have no protection from chargebacks.

Address validation was also pretty basic. It just matched the street number and postal code. 123 Main St, Nowheresville, CA 90210 and 123 Birch St, Somewheresville, UT 90210 would match 123 Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

The merchant was told what data elements matched, but was free to process the charge anyway.

Thanks for the info.

[meowcat]

I just did the same thing. To keep my $15 auto-pay discount, I had to switch to direct bank withdrawal. This seems to be the ongoing trend. More and more businesses it seems are doing that. I would love to pay my rent with my CC for the cash back benefit but for an $83 convenience fee, no thanks.

[prd1982]

I just did the same thing. To keep my $15 auto-pay discount, I had to switch to direct bank withdrawal. This seems to be the ongoing trend. More and more businesses it seems are doing that. I would love to pay my rent with my CC for the cash back benefit but for an $83 convenience fee, no thanks.

That cash back benefit comes from your landlord. I don’t blame them or any other company that charges more if you use a CC. I would expect utilities to do the same. Let me know when a credit card company allows you to pay their bill with a credit card in order to get a cash back bonus.

[meowcat]

I just did the same thing. To keep my $15 auto-pay discount, I had to switch to direct bank withdrawal. This seems to be the ongoing trend. More and more businesses it seems are doing that. I would love to pay my rent with my CC for the cash back benefit but for an $83 convenience fee, no thanks.

That cash back benefit comes from your landlord. I don’t blame them or any other company that charges more if you use a CC. I would expect utilities to do the same. Let me know when a credit card company allows you to pay their bill with a credit card in order to get a cash back bonus.

We pay many bills with our CC on auto pay. You're right, though, my utility company does not allow it.

[JBTX]

My family has T-Mobile, but I hadn't heard about any discounts going away. Might it not apply to me yet? I don't see anything referencing it on my latest bill.

Thanks,
Ryan

I have a grandfathered Sprint plan, and never received any discount for autopay, so I will continue to autopay via credit card.

Same here. No notification yet.

[chemocean]

Same for Verizon/FIOS. Since April they allow a $10/month discount for direct debit from your checking and for going paper-free. No discount for autopay on a CC that existed until then.

Next they may adopt the practice of charging 3% to use a CC like so many places.

Of course you can always write a check and mail it using the increased price Forever stamps.

I think it is $10/line. I am getting $40 discount with 4 lines with unlimited data.

[student]

I don’t blame them or any other company that charges more if you use a CC.

I think evidence shows that people spend more with credit cards. So companies have to decide whether the cost of accepting credit cards is beneficial to the bottom line. I suppose this does not apply to certain businesses such as utilities and cell phone bill. The only option we have is vote with our feet. I will continue to use t-mobile, as long as the workaround is still valid. If and when it is not valid, I will evaluate whether I should switch.

For other businesses such as supermarkets, I don't see big chain doing it unless almost all of them switch.

[JamesSFO]

Thanks for the heads up on this, I missed this. I decided to bit the bullet and switch to my debit card + I cancelled one of my lines.

[pindevil]

My family has T-Mobile, but I hadn't heard about any discounts going away. Might it not apply to me yet? I don't see anything referencing it on my latest bill.

Thanks,
Ryan

I have a grandfathered Sprint plan, and never received any discount for autopay, so I will continue to autopay via credit card.

I've been paying tmobile with autopay using credit card for many years. I've never received a discount. Now I am curious if I setup autopay with a bank card will it give a discount?

[Eric]

That cash back benefit comes from your landlord. I don’t blame them or any other company that charges more if you use a CC.

In principle, I agree, but I would expect the extra charge to be roughly in line with what the company pays. I don't think even small businesses pay more than a 3% credit card processing fee, and large businesses typically pay less. T-Mobile's autopay discount is much larger than that.

[prd1982]

Deleted post. Bad info

[Eric]

That cash back benefit comes from your landlord. I don’t blame them or any other company that charges more if you use a CC.

In principle, I agree, but I would expect the extra charge to be roughly in line with what the company pays. I don't think even small businesses pay more than a 3% credit card processing fee, and large businesses typically pay less. T-Mobile's autopay discount is much larger than that.

True but they also require you to go paperless. Going paperless saves money as well. I sign up for paperless & autopay when ever i can. So any discount is just a bonus. I don't use T Mobile BTW.

I don't think T-Mobile requires going paperless for this discount. See this list of requirements. Have you seen something different elsewhere?