Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- AT&T may soon remove credit card autopay discounts entirely, following a similar move by T-Mobile in 2023.
- Debit card autopay discounts may also be reduced, from $10 to $5, with full discounts now limited to direct bank payments.
- These changes have not been officially confirmed, but rumors suggest the changes could begin as early as April 24.
Although the big carriers have slowed down on directly increasing plan prices, there are plenty of other ways to raise customer costs without drawing as much attention. We’ve seen tactics like steadily increasing dubious infrastructure fees and tampering with auto-pay discounts. It seems some things never change, as according to a report from The Mobile Report, AT&T may soon target customers with autopay discounts.
Citing trusted sources, the publication claims AT&T may follow a controversial move that T-Mobile introduced back in 2023. At the time, the Uncarrier faced heavy criticism when it removed credit card support for autopay, requiring a debit card or direct bank ACH transaction instead.
Shortly after this move, AT&T reduced its credit card autopay discounts to just $5, but now it’s reportedly removing the discount for credit cards entirely. On top of that, AT&T is also allegedly reducing debit card discounts from $10 to just $5. Going forward, the only way to receive the full $10 discount will be to pay directly from a bank account.
Although The Mobile Report does not yet have a confirmed date for this change, a social media post from Redditor u/AloneResearcher7476 suggests it could take effect as soon as April 24.
It’s important to note that none of this has been officially confirmed by AT&T and, for now, remains a rumor. Would it be surprising if true? Not really — AT&T was already moving in this direction by reducing credit card discounts, and this feels like the next logical (though disappointing) step.
