Sprint, before the merger with T-Mobile, created a plan offering called “Unlimited Premium” back in August of 2018. A major selling point for the plan, which was $90/mo for one line, was that it included many free perks like a Hulu subscription and a Tidal subscription. The most popular perk, however, was a free Amazon Prime membership. Unfortunately it appears that benefit is coming to an end.
According to a document shared with us here at TMR, T-Mobile will end the free Amazon Prime benefit for customers that have it on the April 1st Amazon billing cycle.
The document mentions that T-Mobile will stop offering the “Amazon Prime On Us” benefit to new Unlimited Premium plan customers today, February 9th 2023. On March 1st, affected customers will receive a text informing them of the upcoming change, followed by the benefit ending on April 1st.
It’s worth noting that April 1st, 2023, marks exactly 3 years since the T-Mobile and Sprint merger completed. That’s exactly how long former T-Mobile CEO John Legere promised the company wouldn’t raise rates or cut benefits. What convenient timing!
There is at least the good news that the Hulu and Tidal benefit is sticking around for these customers, at least for now. It remains to be seen how long those legacy benefits last.
As a consolation prize, the document says T-Mobile will be offering a new benefit “coming soon” for these customers. The consensus among various sources is that this benefit will likely be Netflix On Us, which is already a benefit most T-Mobile postpaid customers enjoy. T-Mobile will send text notifications to those customers “after April 3rd”.
It’s obviously disappointing that T-Mobile is immediately beginning to cut benefits right at the 3 year mark of the merger completion. Amazon Prime subscriptions could easily be the most expensive perk the company pays for, with a standard subscription typically costing $139 per year, so it’s obvious why T-Mobile might want to cut that cost.
Customers affected by this change will be able to continue their Amazon Prime membership, if desired, by entering their Amazon accounts and changing the payment method. The benefit ends April 1st, meaning the Amazon billing cycle on or after that date will need to be paid for by the customer.
