My 2019 DirecTV Retention Call Was a Mixed Bag, But in the End I Saved – and Made – Money
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My 2019 DirecTV retention call was a mixed bag.
I say a mixed bag because the savings I’m receiving are not as straight-forward as in past years. They’re a discount for this, and another discount for that, some ending in a few months while others run a full year.
Not ideal in my book, as someone who likes to know what I’m getting long-term.
But, in the end, I’m saving money on my DirecTV bill and was able to land a $200 Visa gift card as well.
How did I get the savings?
By following the strategies that I’ve provided in previous money-saving DirecTV posts.
If you haven’t checked them out yet, give the posts “How to Lower Your DirecTV Bill” and “Lower Your DirecTV Bill with These Tips” a look for details on these strategies.
Now, on to my 2019 DirecTV retention call(s).
My 2019 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
My total negotiated price for last year (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.
So my goal was to keep my monthly DirecTV bill in the $50 – $60 range for the Choice Package…lower if possible.
My 2019 DirecTV Deal
For those who just want to know the deal I got this year, here are the numbers.
Base package and equipment are the same as last year.
- Choice Package (all included)
- 3-months of HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax
- $200 Visa gift card
- Was offered NFL Sunday Ticket free of charge (declined)
Total Monthly Charge (plus tax) – $53.48
The downside to this year’s deal? The $53.48 monthly price is only good for the next three months.
Come January 2020, I’ll lose the movie channel discounts and the monthly price – sans movie channels – will increase to $67.47 plus tax. I just have to remember to cancel all those movie channels or the monthly bill will be significantly higher than that.
That $67.47 monthly price is tolerable, but I’ll likely be trying to get it lower prior to the increase.
How successful that effort will be remains to be seen.
*You can read the update to my 2019 retention deal in the DirecTV topic of the Savings Beagle Discussion Board.*
Now, for those who are interested, the details on this year’s retention efforts.
2019 DirecTV Retention Call Details
Following the lower-my-DirecTV-bill strategy, I called two weeks prior to last year’s bill credits falling off my DirecTV bill.
I talked with the front-line customer service representative at the main DirecTV toll-free number – 1-800-531-5000 – to begin the process.
Knowing that haggling with the front-line reps just doesn’t work for lowering your bill, I immediately stated I had some bill credits coming off at the end of the billing cycle and I wasn’t interested in keeping the DirecTV service at the higher price.
I went on to say I’d like to set a disconnect date for the last day of my billing cycle.
The rep was very nice, and almost immediately said she understood and would add my disconnect date for September 28 to the system, but would also be transferring me to DirecTV’s VIP Department to see what offers may be available to keep me as a customer.
She also gave me the telephone number to the VIP Department – 855-407-3978. Since I never called it, I can’t guarantee it’s the best number to use for lowering your bill, but it is an option.
After a minute or two I was connected to a rep in the VIP Department who looked over my account, asked about viewing habits and checked for offers.
Another minute or two and she came back with a deal of:
- $45 off per month
- 3-months of HBO, Starz, Showtime
- NFL Sunday Ticket free this season
- $200 Visa gift card
The regular monthly price of the Choice Package was/is $125.49, so a $45 per month discount would have brought my monthly bill to $80.49.
I thanked her, but said I really wanted to get my monthly bill lower than that.
She did a little more looking, and after a minute came back and said that was all she had available.
With the $50 – $60 per month target in mind, I stayed with the money-saving strategy outline and moved forward with the service disconnect.
If you haven’t read my other DirecTV posts, the disconnect strategy, for some, is the best (only) opportunity for triggering the most lucrative retention offers.
I wanted to test it out this year, not only for myself, but for you, the reader, too.
With the retention deal experiment now in full swing, I had two weeks to wait and see how things would play out.
Last year, I received a call from DirecTV the day after setting the disconnect date with a deal that kept me as a customer.
This year I did not. No calls. No emails. Nothing.
Silence right up to my disconnect date.
I considered calling DirecTV to see about retention offers prior to the disconnection, but decided to test the strategy I’ve outlined and let the disconnect go through, holding my call until 24 hours or more after the disconnect occurred.
On a side note, I had just completed a 21-day free trial of YouTube TV and was currently in a 7-day free trial of Hulu with Live TV to test streaming alternatives should DirecTV have decided not to deal on price. I liked YouTube TV, and probably would have gone that route if I hadn’t gotten a deal from DirecTV.
Live streaming TV plans are definitely an alternative you may want to consider if DirecTV doesn’t offer what you consider a fair price.
The Disconnect and Follow-Up Call
The disconnect went through around midnight of the disconnect date with absolutely no contact from DirecTV.
I waited approximately 36 hours from the disconnect and then made my call.
I called one of the numbers in my “How to Lower Your DirecTV Bill in 2019” post…619-752-1401.
The call was answered by an automated system, but I was transferred to a rep within a minute.
I mentioned how my DirecTV service had been disconnected over the weekend and I wanted to see if there were any offers on my account to keep me as a customer.
The rep was extremely friendly and helpful.
She answered all my questions, looked into the various lower-priced scenarios I put to her and even (seemed) to do some system manipulation to see what other lower-priced options may be available.
Here is a point I can’t emphasize enough.
In my previous posts on lowering your DirecTV bill, I mention how reps, even the VIP/Loyalty/Win Back reps, have limited ability to “give deals.” Either a lower-priced offer is on your account, or it’s not.
Now, how motivated a rep is to look at what’s available on your account and bring those to your attention is another question.
That’s why being nice is so important. It won’t get you a deal, but it might make the rep more willing to look for and offer those deals.
And in my case, the rep was very willing to search out every bill-lowering opportunity that was available on my account.
We were on the phone for about 40 minutes total looking at all options.
And in the end, the deal I took was the best available at that time. As a reminder, it was:
- Choice Package (all included)
- 3-months of HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax
- $200 Visa gift card
- Was offered NFL Sunday Ticket free of charge (declined)
Total Monthly Charge (plus tax) – $53.48
And when the movie channels deal drops off – I must call to cancel or get charged at least $54 more per month! – the monthly price will increase to $67.47 plus tax.
The reason I call this year’s deal a mixed bag is because so much of my lower monthly price is based on the movie channels.
I had to “get more” to lower my bill.
There’s not only a discount for subscribing to Showtime and Cinemax, but there’s another discount for subscribing to the HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax bundle.
On top of that, there are a few other discounts that she added in, some I’m not even sure I qualify for.
To put it bluntly, the discount section of my bill is extremely confusing with all those different discounts.
The bottom line – in three months I’ll be needing to call DirecTV once again to lower my bill.
Which brings me to another point I want to emphasize.
While getting a good, straight-up 12-month discount is preferable, it’s not always how the lower-my-bill process works.
Often, a lower monthly DirecTV bill is cobbled together with multiple discounts ending at different times throughout the 12-month period.
And the way those multiple discounts are gotten is by calling at various times to see what offers might be available on your account.
Which is exactly what my rep said during my last call. Offers are populated on accounts all the time…and they are removed all the time, too. Whether you get one of the deals depends on if you call at the right time.
So, periodically calling DirecTV just to see if there are any offers on your account, while kind of a pain, is the best way to keep your DirecTV bill at a lower price point.
Which is exactly what I’ll be doing – like it or not – sometime in mid-December.
I’ll let you know what happens.
You can read what happened in my update post on the DirecTV topic of the Savings Beagle Discussion Board.
Was the Disconnect Worth It?
I went all the way through with a complete disconnect of the DirecTV service to see if I was able to get a better retention offer.
The answer to whether the disconnect was worth it, at least for me, is yes.
I was able to save roughly $25 per month for the next three months.
And if I do nothing but cancel the movie channels at the end of that three months, I’ll still save approximately $10 off the monthly price I was offered during my initial call to DirecTV.
So, yes, a disconnect did result in a better deal.
But I do wonder how much of that extra savings was due to the customer service rep who was so willing to take the time to creatively dig up extra offers on my account.
Hats off to all those customer service reps who take their jobs seriously and really try to help customers no matter the industry.
Wrap Up
My 2019 DirecTV retention call wasn’t as fruitful as last year’s call, but I still was able to lower my monthly DirecTV bill.
The problem is, if I hope to keep my monthly bill in that $50 – $60 range, I’ll have to call again in only 3 months and hope there are offers available to nudge my bill a bit lower.
Otherwise, my monthly bill will be around $70 – still not terrible, but higher than in past years and more than I’d like.
So, we’ll see what happens when December rolls around.
For more specifics on how to get your own DirecTV deal, check out “How to Lower Your DirecTV Bill in 2019” and “Lower Your DirecTV Bill with These Tips.”
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section below.
And if you have the time, please pass along your DirecTV retention deal experience to help others prepare for their own lower-my-bill call to DirecTV.
Don’t forget to help others lower their DirecTV bills by passing this post along and/or joining the Savings Beagle Community discussion group to learn and pass along helpful information.
Customer service rep image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Our DirecTV bill went up considerably so i called to ask how to lower my bill. They didn’t have anything to offer that would bring it back to around the same price that it was so we cancelled our service. We went to DirecTV Now (which we hated). When we received the box to return our equipment there was a page in the box with an offer to reconnect for $37.85. SERIOUSLY?! Why couldn’t they have just given me that option?
This month the promotion had ended and they deducted $122.71. I am getting the same run around this time. I have called four times and get different answers every time. One tells me they have nothing to offer, another gives me $66. It takes forever to get anywhere because they have absolutely no idea what I am talking about. I told them we needed to keep FOX Sports Midwest. She kept avoiding the question because she didn’t want to answer. I keep calling back hoping to get someone that has a clue about their packages.
Karen,
Thanks for reading and thanks for letting us know how your DirecTV retention efforts have gone.
Yes, it can sometimes be a trying experience when dealing with DirecTV. I’m not sure which DirecTV telephone numbers you’re calling, but the experience can be somewhat better when you call the retention departments directly. If you haven’t, try 619-752-1401 or 1-855-343-7798 and let them know you want to stay with DirecTV, but not at the higher price-point. And then negotiate a bit. If their first offer isn’t good, ask what else they can do, or what other offers might be available. And if you seem to be working with a customer service rep who isn’t being helpful, just say you need to go, and call back later to try someone else. All the while keeping in mind that the discounts that may be offered are actually automatically generated to an individual’s account, and those offers can be added and removed at any time. A call today may yield nothing, while a call next week might result in a good deal. But, reps being human, might not always let you know about the best deals that may be available…especially if they’re instructed to hold out on the best deals for as long as possible to benefit AT&T/DirecTV’s bottom line.
With regard to the lack of understanding about packages, calling the numbers listed above during regular business hours might put you in touch with customer service reps who are more knowledgeable and able to get you a deal. After hours and weekends seem to yield more overseas reps who can be more difficult to deal with.
Good luck. Let us know how things work out if you get a chance.
I just called one of your retention numbers you listed. I’ve been a customer for 19 years. I just moved a year ago last December so I got a movers deal. Of course they put you in a 2 yr contract so the first year i got Big discount so my bill was around $100. So that special just ran out and my bill just jumped to $184. I do have 7 receivers. So I called and I was off the phone In 5 minutes. He gave me a $70 a month discount so my bill is $96 plus tax. I didn’t have to extend my contract or anything. It’s good for the remaining 12 months I’m under contract. Thanks for the advice
Gary,
That’s great news! And thank you for providing such an important and valuable data point with regard to getting a savings offer even though you’re still under contract.
In other DirecTV posts I’ve mentioned how it’s possible to get the increased monthly price of year two of a 2-year DirecTV contract lowered, but also passed along that getting that reduction is by no means a guarantee.
Your experience corroborates that it is possible. And that’s a really valuable example for many DirecTV subscribers. When that year two jump in price comes along, it doesn’t hurt to see what price-lowering offers you can get even though you’re still under contract.
Thanks again for letting us know how your call to DirecTV went. I’ll be adding your comment to the DirecTV section of the Savings Beagle Community Discussion Board where I hope we can build a following that can benefit those seeking to lower their DirecTV bills on a regular basis outside of specific posts.
wow, direct is tightening up on subscriptions. Im on week two of canceling. 67 dollars was offered both times for CHOICE. I also asked for extra preferred but the operator said it was no longer offered. btw, you can call in every couple months and complain about something, signal sound or whatever. at the end of the call you can ask if they have any offers or discounts.
Tyler,
Thanks for your comment. Interestingly, as you read above, that $67 per month price point for the Choice package was similar to what I was offered a few months ago…once the movie channel discounts drop off. Great tip about calling in every couple months to see what discounts may be available on your account. While a complaint can be the segue, you might not even need to do that. Offers can populate on a DirecTV account at any time…and drop off at any time, too. So checking periodically to see what may be available is a good money-saving strategy that may, or may not, pay off when you’re outside of the typical end-of-contract/end-of-deal time period.
Thanks again for letting us know how your DirecTV calls have gone.
I liked your Article, not exactly what I wanted to see. I have enjoyed service from the $46 to $68 range for the past 12 months and read DirecTV was especially targeting people in our Price bracket, a 3 month offer does nothing for me. If you have a new one year agreement I highly doubt they are going to help you further in 90 days? Then Breaking News tonight that A T & T could spin off operations (sort of kind of) to Apollo. I am using Locast which will probably be shut down in the months to come but for $5 I get 66 local /national channels and its pretty cool!
Scott,
Thanks for your comment.
Yeah, I wasn’t overly happy with the, effectively, three-month discount. And I’m not holding my breath for anything more permanent come December. Maybe they’ll cobble together another “deal” that will keep the price in that $50-$60 range. Or maybe they won’t. Just have to see.
DirecTV is definitely in play with regard to how AT&T is going to handle it going forward. And it’s hard to tell, with all the rumored actions, whether any changes will be good for DirecTV customers or not. Bottom line, all traditional pay-TV providers are losing subscribers. The cable companies have broadband to cushion the revenue losses. DirecTV – and Dish – don’t, if considered stand-alone companies. Partnerships can help, but you do have to wonder if subscriber losses continue, can the satellite companies stay in business without significant increases in revenue? Which would mean fewer subscriber deals and higher costs in general. Only time will tell.
I wasn’t familiar with Locast…thanks for bringing that to my, and readers’, attention. Good for streaming local channels for select markets, making cutting the cord a bit easier for those who have trouble getting a signal with an antenna. Always appreciate when readers provide info that can benefit us all.
Thanks again for reading and commenting!