Satellite radio has become more common over the past few years. Most new cars come with a SiriusXM enabled sound system, and a free trial allowing the vehicle owner to try out the service for a few months. Many people like SiriusXM, myself included, because of the variety of music and sports channels. It’s also convenient to be able to listen to the same channels wherever you go.
The downsize is the sticker shock when that trial period is over and it’s time to start paying for the service, as the current subscription options range in cost from $10.99 to $19.99 per month. The good news is, you don’t have to pay that much. Here are a few easy steps to help you get satellite radio for a fraction of the regular price.
Know The Options
Currently, there are three subscription tiers for SiriusXM:
Mostly Music: This basic subscription will give you 80+ channels of great music. What it doesn’t give you are sports and comedy channels. You don’t get online streaming with this package either, but you can add it for an extra $4 a month. The price for this package is currently $10.99 a month.
Select: At a price of $14.99 a month, this package boasts over 140 channels of music, sports and comedy. Internet streaming is not included and cannot be added to this package.
All Access: This is their top shelf package, providing every one of their 160+ channels, plus online streaming from your phone, tablet, or computer.
You’ll want to know details of the options so that you can choose the right package for you. Also, you may be offered special promotions, and you need to be able to determine if the offer is a good deal or not.
Pay For A Full Year In Advance
The easiest way to save some money on a satellite radio subscription is to pay for an entire year in advance. No such price break is offered on the Mostly Music package, but you’ll save $14.99 on the Select package and $40.88 off the All Access package.
Ask For A Deal
Honestly, the savings for paying a year in advance isn’t enough to get me to sign up. I don’t think the service is worth even that discounted price. I tell them very frankly that their service isn’t worth their advertised price, and that I’ll be canceling my service immediately unless they can offer me a promotional rate. It took several phone calls, but I finally got a representative to offer me a special rate of $119 for a year long subscription to the All Access package if I would pay for the entire year up front. That’s a 50% reduction off the regular price!
Prepare To Walk Away
I was able to get a representative to offer me a promotional rate in my most recent renewal efforts, but I actually cancelled my service in the past because no one was willing to offer me a discount. What ends up happening in that within two months I was getting letters in the mail, and emails in my inbox offering me promotional deals. Going without satellite radio for a month or two is worth the savings.
Online Advantage
Depending upon your lifestyle, having online access to your subscription may be nice addition. If you have streaming included in your subscription, you can utilize it in the following scenarios:
- At work through a computer
- At the gym or mowing the lawn by using a smart phone ap
- For parties through your smart phone and a blue tooth connected speaker
Remove Your Credit Card Information
Once you agree to an offer that you’re comfortable with, make sure to ask them to remove your credit or debit card information on file. If they have an account on file, your subscription will be automatically renewed at full price when the year is up. If you have nothing on file, they will send you expiration notifications reminding you it’s time to play this game all over again.
Satellite radio is not a necessity, but it is a nice feature to have if you love listening to music, comedy, or sports. Whether you’re subscribing for the first time, or looking to renew, these tips will help you get satellite radio for a price that may fit nicely into your budget.
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{ read the comments below or add one }
Great tips! I never thought to negotiate directly with customer service. I’ll definitely give that a try next time my subscription is up. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, all you have to do is tell them to only charge that pedicular credit card once as you are planning on canceling that card before the sirius account expires. I have been doing that since Sirius started. Good luck
Beware! Even after you cancel, you should check your credit card bill b/c they didn’t actually put through my requested cancellation but renewed service at the highest rate. After 2 phone calls and speaking to a “supervisor,” my service was finally cancelled and my credit card refunded. Won’t be doing business with SiriusXM anymore!
After being charged $14.98 for the Select service after my year long promo deal ran out, I called to cancel (and would have). Even before I had to present a story, they renewed my last $5/mo. offer AND credited the amount of my recent charge. I think that is fair and was easy (except that I had to call). $5 per month is reasonable for me as I use it when in the car and now with Alexa via the app at home.
I had a good deal but it ran out this month. They charged me the normal rate so I just called and a few minutes later got a year of select service for $5+fees per month. At first I said the normal rate is too much for me and asked for a lower rate, they offered $11+fees/month. I said that is still too high for what I use it for and would rather cancel. Then they offered me the $5/month deal. This is much better than the normal $16/month for select service. I set up a google reminder on my phone for a few days prior to a year from now to cancel/negotiate a deal.
I’ve been with sirius for a few years. I call a few days before renewal and threaten to cancel telling them the renewal price is to expensive but I would like to keep my subscription if they renew for the price I payed before which was $30 for 6 months or $5 a month. I just renewed literally 2 min before posting this and they didn’t have that rate but they did renew me for $60 for 12 months which is still $5 a month.
I’d also like to say that their products are pretty cheap. I have to replace an antenna or stand every year but sometimes you can call and get a new one sent to you but it takes a few calls to tech support. I have a portable xm radio that’s not built into the vehicle if your wondering.
Forgot to mention that’s the select package.
I called and explained the current bill was too high for the decline in programing with Lou Simon no longer hosting the Sixties on Six Satellite Survey and Ken Merson was way worse. Now Ken is gone poor Dave Ethel is doing it from his home in New Jersey! Also I complained about the Sirius XM application on my Sony Blu-Ray player and superimposes the lettering on top of each other so you can not read the song title. The lady sent me to the technical department where I lodged my complaint and she sent me back to Customer Care where I haggled them down to All Access for $99.00 a year.
Yep, I just got All Access for $99.00 and had them waive any “taxes & fees” they wanted to put on top of the $99.00.
$99 is not “haggled down” that was their first offer to me but it was more than I had been paying.
What happens if you have 4 radios,whats the best price?
I got my 6 months for $25 then, what I thought was a year for $106.something. I’d changed my debit card number between the time I’d renewed and the 6 month , not one year period they told me. They didn’t cancel it and then? I realized they had a free 2 weeks in May for everyone. They cancelled shortly after that, but sent me a bill for $21. 65. It makes no sense. Their itemized bill is so unclear I cant make heads or tails. If they go to renew and don’t have a valid cc on file they should cancelled it. Seems odd they gave me a few extra days and want to charge me for it. I’m not a fan of music as I drive, but love listening to talk radio. I drive a substantial distance every month, but it is hard to justify their price to really just use it once a month. I do listen to it all the time running short errands around town but I don’t have a job where I’m driving every morning and night. I may try to get a deal if I go back but since I’m already cancelled I don’t know if they’re willing to give me a deal.
Just wanted to add that you can always create a free email account (gmail/hotmail etc) and sign up for a 30 day free trial on their website, and use the mobile (cell phone/tablet) app to stream all the channels.
I even use this in my car with bluetooth, so i have XM in the car that way for free.
I wanted to sign up when my trial in my new car ended — I especially liked the Traffic/weather/movie data that it showed directly on my radio, but even with a discount they are asking way too much for their service.
Fine by me, if they arent going to make the price reasonable for someone willing to pay, then I’ll just use the service for free instead. Thanks SiriusXM! 😛
Are you sure what you say works? Did you actually do it?
I say this because they’ll ask for your credit card. If you say no, they will expect you to pay for a paper bill, which is $2.00, and they’ll send you a bill in the mail before it’s activated.
What is the best rate I can expect for the All Access Plan ? That’s the only plan I am really interested in. Thanks
I was subscriber for years. BUT I canceled. I do NOT like the variable rates charged, and the automatic renewal is larceny!!
Stay away from Sirius radio! The fees listed are so bogus. After the 1st year the renewal plan is as follows:
$1014.00 for 3 years
$248.00 for for year. They mention $293.00 but after some credit that is unclear it comes to $248.67 for 1 year. Still way too expensive but for some odd reason a much better deal than $1014 for 3 years which is very strange. Needless to say we went for plan change and opted for the 1 year plan and will review the Pandora plans and any other options that present themselves before November 9, 2017 because Sirius is definitely not worth it.
Best regards,
Chris Gaston
Spring, Texas
To get the discount, you have to call to get it. Insist that you want the 6 month for $25.00 deal for the Select Package, or $119 for one year for the Premium package. Then when you pay, use a Sirius XM gift card that you can buy from Best Buy. Don’t enter your credit card info, otherwise they automatically bill you when it comes time to renew. The is boldly written, but small font, on the agreement.
Put a reminder on your phone about 4 to 6 weeks before the renewal then call to renew, and go through the ‘bargaining’ steps above – you may have to threaten to cancel, and they quickly offer you a discount.
I’ve had the service for five years and have NEVER paid the prevailing rate.
Remember the following:
1. Use a Sirius XM Gift Card to pay…NEVER a debit or credit card
2. Insist on the cheap packages. The two common ones are 6 months for $25 for Select, and $119 a year for Premium. There is a royalty and tax fee on top of these rates.
3. Four to Six weeks before, call to renew (above steps). Remember you may have to threaten to cancel.
Purchased a vehicle with XM capability but service needs to be activated in my name. In search of a affordable price for Satellite Radio/Music
I’ve always been able to renew getting the 6 months for $25 deal. If they don’t offer it i tell them to cancel and either they’ll magically have that available or I cancel and get an email a week or two later asking me to come back for that same special pricing. This is for XM Select package. I don’t think they offer any deals, or at least I never asked, on the All Access package. If they offered that for $35/6 months I’d jump all over that. I guess ill ask once my renewal is up in June.
Do you think SiriusXM can survive once those Internet radio services become more mainstream?
Why pay $5 a month when you can have the same service you can take anywhere with your cell phone using iTunes Music or something similar?
I think the advantage that Sirius XM has right now is that it’s in the dashboard of your vehicles. Sure you could get iTunes Music or something similar on your phone and broadcast it to your vehicle’s sound system via bluetooth (most new car stereos have that function), but then you have to futz with your phone to change the station.
Plus, if you get all access SiriusXm and download their ap, you can take it anywhere with you as well.
I don’t think you’ll ever get a service like this for free…….iTunes Music is a subscription service as well.
Ahh got it. I didn’t know iTunes Music charged a fee too. Glad to see more competition though, since it always brings out the best deals and features!
plus you may pay for cellular data. The SXM dashboard radio makes it easy, like a regular car radio
I’ve never subscribed, but my sister-in-law and dad have gone through endless cycles, and honestly, the best tactic is just to wait. They wait to get the best deal, eventually they’ll get something for $5 or so per month, and they’ll sign up, ride it through the period, and then cancel. They go through periods where they have no service during the times in between, but if you can deal with that, you’ll save a ton in the end.
It’s unfortunate when you have to actually cancel….that’s only happened to use once or twice. Usually we can get them to cave in and offer us a promotional deal without having to end our service all together. But you’re right – if you’re OK with going a month or two without service to get the best rate, you can save big.
The problem is if you wait, they can automatically bill you at the current rate. YOU HAVE TO CALL. It stinks, but this is there policy.
YOU HAVE TO CALL. If you wait, they’ll charge you the current rate on the credit card you have on file. The best thing to do, is remove the credit card, then call about a month before the expiration date and negotiate a deal. Then pay with a Sirius XM gift card you can buy from Best Buy. I’ve been doing this for years. I get the 6 months for $25.00 every time. BUT YOU HAVE TO CALL about a month before the expiration date.