Update June 16th: T-Mobile is now sending texts and emails informing users of the autopay changes.
The messaging confirms the changes are taking place this month, and users must modify their autopay method to a debit card or bank account in order to continue receiving the autopay discount.
Original coverage below.
We previously shared back in February that T-Mobile is planning to discontinue their autopay discount for customers using credit cards as their automatic payment method. That information is now fully confirmed, and we have more information about how it will work.
According to documents shared with us here at The Mobile Report, the changes to autopay, which gives customers $5 off per line up to $40, will begin on May 18th.
T-Mobile has also begun placing a banner detailing the requirements on their autopay page.
Customers that already have the autopay discount enabled using a credit card by May 18th will get a grace period of about a month.
On May 20th, T-Mobile will send warnings to these customers via SMS informing them that they must change their payment method within 30 days or they will lose the discount. Additional notices will be sent at 15 days remaining and 3 days remaining if the customer has still not updated their payment method.
New customers that join T-Mobile after May 18th must immediately use a debit card or bank account to set up autopay. Existing customers who make any changes to their existing autopay method on or after May 18th must also use a debit or bank account as the new method, and credit cards set as the payment method will not qualify for the autopay discount.
Clearly this isn’t a very popular idea among T-Mobile customers. On Reddit, users have complained about the upcoming changes, with many saying “I will never give this company access to my bank information”. Others say they will leave T-Mobile all together once the changes are made.
Customers are right to be worried. Just this week T-Mobile had their 2nd data breach of 2023. It affected just over 800 customers, while their previous data breach in January affected around 37 million. Overall, there’s been at least 8 data breaches since 2018.
There’s speculation that customers who want to continue paying their bill with a credit card and receive the autopay discount can set a debit or bank account as the payment method, but pay the bill early before the autopay takes effect. Theoretically, this will still allow the autopay discount to work while also allowing customers to continue paying by credit card.
The changes align T-Mobile with their rival Verizon, who also requires either a debit card or bank account as the autopay payment method to receive a discount. AT&T, meanwhile, used to have a similar requirement on their older unlimited plans, but their modern plans also seem to allow credit cards.
The autopay changes take effect May 18th. Existing customers using a credit card for their autopay method have until June 20th to change their method or they will lose the discount.
