How to get Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and more for free with your phone plan
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Perks are often a crucial factor in choosing one of the best unlimited data plans. The deals, discounts and features are usually the only way to see if a pack is offering a good value for money, especially as most plans offer the same basic package. As it stands, it is prudent to know what the perks are to pick the best cell phone plans.
We've just checked the major wireless carriers (again), and we count five different wireless carriers who incorporate some kind of streaming media subscription into at least one of their plans. And that's after some providers dropped that perk for new customers.
How to stay on top of whether you can hook up with one or more of the best streaming services through your wireless provider? Turn to us for help. As part of our research into the best phone carriers, we've identified the ones that include streaming perks, breaking down the different unlimited plan options that currently include streaming service subscriptions.
Cricket: HBO Max included, with a catch
If you wanted a wireless phone plan that included HBO Max, the place to turn to was AT&T. Sadly, during 2022, that perk came to an end. But you're not totally shut out if you're an HBO Max fan — and even better, the perk comes from a carrier that uses AT&T's network.
Cricket Wireless is owned and operated by AT&T, in fact, and it continues to include complimentary HBO Max for customers. There are two catches, though. First, you'll need to sign up for Cricket's most expensive plan — the $60/month Unlimited + 15GB Mobile Hotspot plan. (Only one guess as to the other key perk included with this plan.)
Second, not all versions of HBO Max are created equal. The one that Cricket features is the ad-supported tier of HBO Max, which normally costs $9.99/month. This tier also used to be locked out of the day-and-date releases where HBO Max would get big movies the same day as theaters did, but HBO Max no longer offers this.
You can only stream in HD quality on Cricket's Unlimited plan, though enrolling in auto pay saves you $5 each month.
Google Fi: No more YouTube ads
All right, so YouTube Premium isn't a streaming service with the depth and breadth of an HBO Max. It's just a paid version of YouTube that eighty-sixes the ads, lets you save videos offline and includes music content as well. In fact, we've got five good reasons to pay for an $11.95/month YouTube Premium subscription.
Sign up for the Unlimited Plus plan at Google Fi, though, and you don't have to pay for YouTube Premium for six months. It's included along with unlimited talk, text and data for Google's wireless service. Google Fi is particularly of interest to Pixel 7 and Pixel 6a owners since the service is optimized for those devices. (Select Samsung and Motorola phones are optimized, too.) Unlimited Plus is the only Google Fi plan to include a year of YouTube Premium as a perk — the cheaper unlimited plan and pay-as-you-go option skimp on this benefit.
We'll concede that a year of YouTube Premium for free is probably not a big enough perk to get people to switch to Google Fi. But the real benefit is to world travelers, who can use their plans at no additional cost when traveling in 200-plus countries.
Shop Google Fi Unlimited Plus plan
Metro By T-Mobile: Video via Vix Plus
Some bad news if you're considering Metro by T-Mobile — new customers can no longer get a free Amazon Prime membership when they sign up for the carrier's $60/month unlimited data offering. That's a bummer, as you not only enjoyed the shopping and shipping discounts that come with Prime, but you could also access both Prime Music and Prime Video.
Spanish speakers still have something to appreciate with Metro by T-Mobile, though. Any of the carrier's three unlimited data plan options includes a year subscription to ViX Plus, the Spanish-language streaming service.
You get the best additional perks with Metro's $60 monthly plan, which includes 20GB of hotspot data, 100GB of Google One storage and unlimited texting to 210-plus countries. The $50 unlimited option loses the texting benefit and drops the hotspot data to 5GB. The $40 monthly plan is a bare-bones option, including 5G coverage and access to T-Mobile weekly giveaways — benefits also included in the more expensive Metro plans.
Shop Metro by T-Mobile unlimited plans
T-Mobile: Three different streaming services
T-Mobile was one of the first wireless carriers to see the benefits in including access to streaming services as a perk for its unlimited data plans. A few years back, it started picking up the cost of Netflix subscriptions for customers with two lines of unlimited data. These days, the $70/month Magenta unlimited plan qualifies for T-Mobile to pick up the cost of one Netflix Basic subscription for accounts with two or more lines. Pay up for Magenta Max — which costs $85/month — and a single line of data can get the cost of a Netflix Basic account covered; two lines or more of Magenta Max entitles you to a Netflix Standard subscription.
Magenta Max subscribers can stream video in up to 4K UHD resolution. You're stuck on standard definition with the regular Magenta plan.
Regardless of whether they have Magenta or Magenta Max, T-Mobile customers get some Apple TV Plus. Regular Magenta subscribers get a six-month free trial, while Magenta Max subscribers get the service for free. And all T-Mobile customers regardless of their plan can now get Paramount Plus for a year through the wireless carrier.
Note that seniors who opt for the Magenta Max 55+ plan get the same streaming benefits as the regular Magenta Max offering, but at a lower monthly rate. That's why we think T-Mobile has the best cell phone plans for seniors.
Verizon: So many streaming services on so many plans
Verizon offers the most streaming services for customers with its unlimited data plans. But Verizon also offers the most convoluted collection of plans and streaming perks. Which services you get and for how long depends on which of Verizon's four different unlimited options you've signed up for.
Let's start out with the streaming services that Verizon includes. The big one is the Disney Plus bundle, which actually encompasses three different services. In addition to Disney Plus, Verizon includes ESPN Plus and the ad-supported tier of Hulu (the one without live TV). All Verizon unlimited plans include some form of the Apple Music streaming service. In addition, you'll get a choice of game streaming services — either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass — presumably depending on your choice of phone with the carrier.
Customers who like a lot of streaming options should go or Verizon's Play More plan ($80/month for one line, with discounts available as you add more lines). Play More includes the Disney Plus bundle, plus a year of either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass. You get 6 months of Apple Music.
Verizon's Do More plan costs the same $80 as Play More, but puts the emphasis on cloud storage perks. Here, you just get 6 months of Disney Plus, Apple Music and the gaming service subscription.
Verizon's ultimate plan, Get More, features the entire Disney bundle plus an Apple Music subscription for as long as you keep your Verizon account. You get year trials to a gaming service, along with the cloud storage from Get More. Those are big perks, and Get More has a big price tag to match — $90/month for one line.
Verizon's cheapest unlimited data plan offers a minimal assortment of streaming perks — just 6 months of Disney Plus, Apple Music and the gaming service of your choice. 5G Start costs $70/month for one line.
All four of these plans — Get More, Play More, Do More and Start — include a six-month Discovery Plus trial.
That's not it for Verizon and streaming services. The carrier's One Unlimited for iPhone plan includes the Apple One bundle with an unlimited data offering. As part of Apple One, you get Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and Apple Music. At $90 a month, One Unlimited isn't cheap, but it saves you the $17 monthly cost of an Apple One subscriptions. If you have two or more lines, you can share your Apple One benefits with up to five other people.
Prepaid carriers don't offer a lot in the way of streaming perks, but Verizon's two unlimited prepaid options do throw in six months of Disney Plus. Those unlimited options start at $50/month after an autopay discount and are among the best prepaid phone plans you can find.
Shop Verizon unlimited data plans
Streaming services and unlimited data plans — Which offer is best?
Who has the best streaming service perks depends on what you're looking for from your unlimited data plan. Verizon clearly offers the widest variety of services, while T-Mobile packs in three different services — Apple Plus, Paramount Plus and Netflix — for a lower monthly rate. Cricket offers just one service, but White Lotus and The Last of Us fans won't much care, since HBO Max's catalog is so vast.
As you might imagine, discount services like Cricket and Metro have skimpier offerings. (Verizon's prepaid streaming perks aren't as generous as what you get from the carrier's more expensive unlimited options, either.) But consider that perks of any sort are few and far between on even the best prepaid phone plans, the services they do offer will be welcome to subscribers willing to pay up for unlimited data at those two carriers.
