Four Ways To Lower Your Verizon Bill (If You Feel It Is Too High)

Verizon is known for having expensive cell phone plans.

Verizon’s most premium plan, Unlimited Plus, costs over $80 for a single line after taxes and fees.

And if you have a family? 

Then you are spending anywhere from $140 to over $200 per month on your Verizon cell phone bill. 

No one likes expensive bills or to be wasting money that could otherwise be saved. 

Here are four proven methods to lower your Verizon cell phone bill:

1. Apply for Discounts

Many people may not know this, but Verizon offers discounts on its cell phone plans. 

The discounts are available to military members, veterans, first responders, nurses, corporate employees, teachers, and students. 

What are discounts?

The discounts are the same for everyone who is eligible:

• 1 line: save $10 off your bill
• 2 lines: save $25 off your bill
• 3 lines: save $25 off your bill
• 4+ lines: save $20 off your bill

You can see the discount drops from $25 to $20 when you go from three lines to four lines. 

I don’t know why this is. It does not make sense to me. However, to get the maximum discount, you want to have three lines. 

How do you get these discounts?

You need to fall into one of the eligible categories, and then you must submit an application here. 

Once Verizon approves your discount, you should see a $10, $20, or $25 credit appear on your bill.

2. Switch To A Cheaper Verizon Plan

Switching to a lower-cost Verizon plan is a great way to keep the Verizon service you love while also saving your wallet some extra cash.

Many Verizon customers may be overpaying for their cell phone plans for one of two reasons:

1. They are on legacy Verizon plans that Verizon has been steadily increasing the prices of by adding extra fees
2. They are on newer plans but are paying for extra features or services they may not need

How do you fix this?

Easy.

Switch to Verizon’s most affordable plan.

What plan is that? Verizon Unlimited Welcome. Unlimited Welcome can cost as little as $27 per line. 

Here’s the full pricing breakdown for Unlimited Welcome:

• 1 line: $65 per month
• 2 lines: $110 per month
• 3 lines: $120 per month
• 4 lines: $120 per month
• 5 lines: $135 per month
• 6 or more lines: $27 per line per month

If you are paying more than what is listed above for your current Verizon bill, then you can save money simply by switching all or some of your lines to Unlimited Welcome.

But before you switch, what is even included with Unlimited Welcome? Will you lose out on features by going with Verizon’s cheapest plan?

Thankfully, Verizon Unlimited Welcome comes with all the core features you need.

You get 500GB of high-speed data before unlimited data at 4Mbps. If you need hotspot data, you can add 100GB of hotspot data for $10 at any time. You can stream unlimited video at 480p quality. And you even get free unlimited talk, text, and 2GB of high-speed data roaming per day in Canada and Mexico.

What is the best part?

The best part is that the new Unlimited Welcome plan is eligible for Verizon Mix-&-Match. 

This means you can keep some of your lines on the legacy 5G Start, 5G Play More, 5G Do More, or 5G Get More plans to enjoy their included perks, and you can switch other lines that don’t need the extra perks or features over to the Unlimited Welcome plan to save some money.

Before switching over to Unlimited Welcome though, there is one more thing to be aware of: 

Some of Verizon’s device promos are limited to certain plans. 

If you traded in an iPhone 11 for a free iPhone 14, for example, then you may need to keep your current Verizon plan in order to continue getting the promotional credit applied to your account. 

If you haven’t done any device trade-in promos or you know your phones are paid off, then you are free to switch to Unlimited Welcome without worry. 

Check out the full details of what is included with Unlimited Welcome by clicking “Learn More” in the plan card below:

3. Skip the Phone Insurance

When you purchase a phone from Verizon, you are often asked if you would like to purchase phone insurance to go with it. 

The phone insurance means if you accidentally drop your phone and damage it, you can get the screen replaced or even a whole new phone at a reduced price. 

The specific plan Verizon offers is called Verizon Mobile Protect. It is $17 per month. It includes unlimited free cracked screen repairs. And it has a $99 deductible for a full-device replacement. 

Does it sound like a bad plan?

No.

Until you do the math out and realize you’re spending $204 per year for a service you may never use. 

Over the 3 years you’ll likely own the device, that’s $612 extra on phone insurance. 

That’s almost enough to buy a new phone entirely!

And the worst part?

Apple sells AppleCare+ insurance for just $8 per month for an iPhone 14. 

You’ll save yourself over $100 per year just by getting your phone insurance through Apple instead of through Verizon!

Look, I’m not saying getting phone insurance is a bad thing.

But getting phone insurance from Verizon certainly is.

I’m also a big believer that getting a good case and glass screen protector are enough to protect your phone and make it last 3+ years.

So skip Verizon’s phone insurance plan. Save yourself $200+ per year. 

4. Switch to a Prepaid Carrier

This may sound crazy.

But what if it is not?

Verizon leases access to its cellular network to prepaid carriers known as MVNOs.

And these prepaid carriers can save you HEAPS of money.

Take the $45 Visible+ plan, for example. 

It includes about the same features as Verizon Unlimited Plus. 

And it costs $35 LESS per month. 

That instantly saves single-line users $420+ PER YEAR.

Here’s the full comparison of Visible+ vs. Verizon Unlimited Plus:

The Visible Base plan can also save you a lot of money. 

It has about the same features as Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome plan, but at under HALF the price:

But, BEFORE you switch to a prepaid carrier, there are two factors you need to consider:

1. Device costs. Postpaid carriers, like Verizon, offer free phones and trade-in deals. Prepaid carriers do not. You’ll need to purchase your phones unlocked from the device manufacturers instead of financing them through a carrier. You’ll want to consider how these device promos impact your total monthly plan costs (I’ll do this for you in a moment).
2. Customer service and support. The big thing here is that prepaid carriers are typically online-only. That means there is no option to go to a physical store for help and support if you run into an issue. Now, ideally, you would never need to contact customer service for any carrier, but we all know that doesn’t exactly happen. The kind of support experience you want from a carrier may impact which ones you consider. 

Here’s a table that compares the plan costs + phone costs + taxes and fees for a single line:

And here’s a table that compares plan costs + phone costs + taxes and fees for four lines:

As you can tell from the tables above, you’re losing upwards of $1,000 per year by paying for a plan from Verizon directly.

If you’re not opposed to it, prepaid carriers really can save you a lot of money per year. 

My favorite carrier on the Verizon network right now is US Mobile.

I think US Mobile’s Unlimited Essentials plan is a great balance of price and features for many people:

Regardless of which prepaid carrier you decide to go with, the good news is that your existing Verizon phones will work with the prepaid carrier as well. 

You just need to make sure your phones are paid off. 

Summary

1. Apply for discounts (save $10-$25 per month)
2. Switch to Verizon Unlimited Welcome (save $5-$20 per month)
3. Skip the phone insurance (save $17 per month)
4. Consider switching to a prepaid carrier (save $35+ per month)

Hopefully these four strategies help you lower your Verizon cell phone bill and enjoy having extra cash that you can put toward your next vacation or big purchase!

If you found this article helpful, please do me a favor and share it with one friend.

Thank you!