How switching phone providers helps me save money on streaming services

This year, the cost of living has massively increased which has had a drastic impact on how we spend our money and how we pay our monthly bills. One of the best ways to cut down on your monthly outgoings is by assessing what you spend the most on and searching around for cheaper options.

For many of us (including myself), phone contracts and streaming services are the things we spend the most money on. This is due to a multitude of reasons, whether your phone provider has increased your contract price or you have a few too many streaming subscriptions in your household.

Switching phone providers is a great way to save money, especially if you’re coming to the end of your contract. Most of the time when you switch to a new provider, you’ll get a cheaper monthly price and other free or discounted incentives, which can include more data for a lower cost, cheaper roaming, flexible contract lengths and free streaming services.

If you’re looking for a new phone or a cheaper contract, it’s worth having a look at what benefits and features are included in your phone plan and what price you’re paying for it. Many mobile providers offer streaming service deals when you sign up with them. By shopping around for the best phone deals or the best SIM only deals, you can find cheaper prices on a new device or contract and get free monthly or annual subscriptions as a bonus.

As a Deals Writer, I look for the best discounts that can help T3 readers save money. I’ve rounded up my top 3 places to shop for the best phone plans that include cheap streaming service deals and other extra benefits, within the contract price and length.

EE Smart Benefits

Firstly, EE has some of the best SIM only and phone plans, plus tons of extras and features with EE Smart Benefits. To get started, you’ll need to choose either a Full Works or Smart plan for a new phone or SIM and add it to your basket. Once at the checkout, you can select your Smart Benefits which are included in the price of your monthly phone bill. These benefits include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and BT Sport Ultimate. These plans are available on iPhone and Android devices. If you choose a Full Works plan, you can get up to three Smart Benefits or just one if you have a Smart plan.

O2 Extras

On selected devices or SIM only contracts, O2 has plenty of O2 Extras for new and current customers to choose from. You get to choose between streaming services and music, books and audiobooks apps, plus most of these extras are free to you for up to 6 months, before you pay for them through your phone contract. One of the best offers from O2 is 6 months of Disney+ for free when new customers switch to the network with a selected device or SIM only deal. Current customers can also get Disney+ as an extra to their current plan for just £2 a month. Other services you can get through O2 include 6 months free on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music Unlimited and Audible.

Vodafone Entertainment Plans

Vodafone offers pay monthly, pay-as-you-go and data deals on phones, contracts and SIMs. Vodafone Entertainment Plans are available on both their phones and SIM only contracts and give users access to Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium or Spotify Premium. You’ll need to check if your phone is compatible and you’ll need to activate the Entertainment pack to start using the streaming service that you’ve chosen (you can only choose one out of this list). The price is included in your mobile plan and for the duration of your contract.

Another way to get more streaming from Vodafone is to Charge to Bill. Charge to Bill manages and keeps all your streaming apps in one place and allows you to buy services from other places and pay for them through your Vodafone account. It’s an option on all phone or SIM plans and will run alongside your Entertainment plan if you have both. With Charge to Bill, you can add Netflix, discovery+, YouTube Premium and Spotify Premium to your Vodafone account and you’ll pay for them through your phone bill. You’ll also get to use the free trials, so when you sign up today, you’ll get 3 months of Spotify for free and 1 month free of YouTube Premium.

For more money-saving tips, check out my guides on how to save money on streaming services and 3 things I do to save money on phone bills.