My 2020 DirecTV Retention Call Shows Good Deals Are Harder to Come By, But You Can Still Get Something

My 2020 DirecTV retention call was even more of a dud than last year’s, but I still was able to get enough out of the effort to keep me as a subscriber.

Actually, I was thiiiiis close (imagine thumb and forefinger millimeters apart) to not re-upping with DirecTV during my last DirecTV call. It was literally a spur of the moment decision, the details of which I’ll get into below.

But for those who prefer the details to a longer narrative, here’s my 2020 retention deal.

MY 2020 DIRECTV RETENTION CALL

First, let me provide info on the DirecTV package and equipment on which I’m negotiating.

• Choice Package (all included)
• 1 Genie HD DVR receiver
• 1 Wireless Genie mini receiver

And a quick history.

My total negotiated price 2018-2019 was $47.49 per month, taxes and fees included. That monthly price was bumped up around February 2019 to $53.67 due to some increase I wasn’t interested in arguing about.

And my 2019-2020 negotiated price ended up at $64.34 after a limited-time lower price-point initially.

So my goal, as it has always been, was to keep my monthly DirecTV bill around the $50 – $60 range for the Choice Package.

This year it didn’t work out.

MY 2020 DIRECTV DEAL

The equipment remained the same, but the base package was changed from Choice to Entertainment, one step down.

• Entertainment Package (all included)
• 3-months of HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax
• $100 Visa gift card

Total Monthly Charge (plus tax) – $76.45

And getting this deal was like pulling teeth.

For me/my account, they just didn’t want to deal too much this time around.

Now, for those who are interested, the details on this year’s retention efforts.

2020 DIRECTV RETENTION CALL DETAILS

I had been following the retention efforts of Savings Beagle readers, as well as other sources, and was seeing a pattern that retention results were not as lucrative as in the past.

So, going into my retention call(s) I was hoping for the best, but prepared to be disappointed.

Actually, disappointed isn’t the correct word, I guess. Resigned may be better.

Resigned that depending on the call’s results, moving on from DirecTV to one of the live-TV streaming options was a more viable option than ever before.

That was my mindset going in and that I kept throughout the calls.

I made my initial call 10 days before the statement on which last year’s credits were ending was to close.

I called one of the loyalty department numbers listed in our “How to Lower Your DirecTV Bill” rather than the main DirecTV number just to try and expedite the process.

After some initial banter, I said I had bill credits ending and I wasn’t interested in staying with DirecTV at the increased price. I followed that up by asking if there were any offers on my account to keep my bill reasonable?

The rep with whom I was talking was nice, but I could tell the interaction was pretty scripted and I’d have to wade through the standard b.s. to get where I wanted.

So, there were a lot of questions about the household and preferences…who watches TV, what shows are watched, what channels are preferred, etc.

After that, there was a period of being on hold, followed by some additional preference questions.

All of this finally resulted in no offers for the Choice package…the price would be approximately $117 per month…but she could offer a deal on the Entertainment package, priced at $69.99 plus tax per month.

I asked if there was a better offer, or additional “sweeteners” available, and she said no.

I also asked about deals on higher priced packages, but those didn’t have any deal pricing either.

So, after a longer than wanted call, I said “no, thanks,” and requested a disconnect date for the final day of my billing period.

She really didn’t want to do that, continuing to push the benefits of DirecTV, how the package provided most of what I wanted, down talking streaming and Spectrum (even though I never said I was even considering Spectrum).

I actually was starting to get annoyed with the push back and finally was a bit more blunt, saying “please just set the disconnect date.” At which point she finally did.

With a disconnect date set, I waited to see if any retention calls or emails would result.

None did.

At four days out from the disconnect date, I started a fuboTV 7-day free trial to give it a look.

I won’t go into detail here, but there were some hiccups that made me hesitant to continue with it as my full time TV provider. If streaming was the way I was going to go, it was probably going to be YouTube TV.

THE DISCONNECT AND FOLLOW-UP CALL

My disconnect date arrived and my DirecTV service was shut off.

I waited two days after the disconnection and made my second call to DirecTV.

Again, I used one of the loyalty numbers listed in our post, and was connected with another nice representative, but, again, one I could tell wasn’t going to go above and beyond.

Streaming was becoming a more likely option.

I mentioned how my DirecTV service was disconnected a few days ago, and before I sent my equipment back, I wanted to see if there were any offers to keep me as a DirecTV customer.

There was a lot of “checking” and typing and “let me put you on hold” early in the call. I patiently waited.

Finally, she came back with pricing.

She could keep me on the Choice package for $91.88 plus tax per month. And she made it sound as though this was a fantastic deal.

I said, “but that’s over $15 more per month than I was paying.” She didn’t really have a response to that other than to say the Entertainment package would provide a lower price.

The “deal” for the Entertainment package was now $76.99 per month. If you remember, it was $69.99 in my initial call.

Then she said she could add HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and Starz free for 3-months and provide a $100 Visa gift card.

I said that’s nice, but I was really hoping to get my monthly bill close to what it had been.

All that she could offer was a lower package – the Select package – for $71.99.

At this point, with no real deal being offered – or at least as far as I was concerned -I said no, I’ll just send the equipment back.

And I wasn’t bluffing at that point. I was moving on to streaming.

Then she said they could they could drop $5 off the price if I signed up for Auto Bill Pay. I found that odd since I’ve used Auto Bill Pay from my first day as a DirecTV customer.

The $5 discount did get me a little closer to the magical (in my mind) $60ish level.

I literally hemmed and hawed for about 30 seconds debating on what I wanted to do. Go with that deal, or move on from DirecTV.

And it was Savings Beagle more than anything else, that kept me a DirecTV customer. If I didn’t use my experiences on this site to help others with their DirecTV bills and experiences, I would have ended my relationship with DirecTV.

So, I took the Entertainment package deal – as blah as it is – and am still a DirecTV subscriber.

A few interesting points from my retention call.

DirecTV is now – at least in my case – locking you into a 12-month contract with the retention deal. That’s different than in past years.

And, while the $100 Visa gift card is nice, I still haven’t received notice of it yet. I’ve checked the site where you go to redeem/check status – directv.com/redeem – and have seen nothing. The gift cards have a 4-6 week period for receiving the card after the activation date…6 weeks is next week, at which time I’ll be following up with a call. It shouldn’t be this difficult.

Luckily, everything else that was offered…the premium channels and monthly price…showed up as offered.

WRAP UP

My 2020 DirecTV retention call was not one I can say I’m overly excited about.

But, it does keep me with a service that provides most of the channels I want with a decent DVR and a fairly reliable signal at a somewhat reasonable price.

I’m not ready to say really good deals with DirecTV are gone just yet.

But, at least in my case, this time around, the good deals just weren’t there.

I’d definitely be interested in hearing about your retention experience.

I still think good deals are being offered, they’re just few and far between these days. But your experiences could help shed a better light on the situation.

Thanks in advance for letting us know how your retention call(s) went.

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net