Sirius XM Radio runs its business based on subscriptions. You sign up for a monthly or yearly price and the subscription automatically renews at the end of the period. The catch (there’s always a catch) is that when you sign up for a promotional offer, your subscription will renew at full price.
That meant, until recently if you either wanted to cancel your plan or try to get another promo offer (which you should if you’re going to keep your service), you needed to call them and talk to a representative. There was no way to do this through their website.
That is, until now.
On their homepage, they’re advertising a $5/month subscription for 12 months.
Here are the details of that offer.
Activate a new Select subscription and pay $4.99 each month for your first 12 months, plus get free activation (a $15 savings). During your initial 12-month subscription term, your service will be upgraded (at no additional cost to you) and you will receive the channels and features available in our All Access subscription package.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t eligible to sign up for that offer online because I have a current subscription. I logged into my account and picked the “I want to cancel” option for the vehicle, this pop-up appeared:
I clicked the “I want to chat with an agent” option and a chat box popped up at the side of the screen. The first questions were through their AI interface, but when I typed “cancel” it put me in a queue to talk with an agent.
Unlike my last interaction in the middle of the COVID shut down when I was offered a highly discounted subscription immediately, my first offer wasn’t very good.
While working on this I can check that your radio is eligible to get the same All Access subscription at $90 plus fees and taxes for next 6 months.
I replied that this was much more than I was paying before and asked for other offers. This is back the same games SiriusXM used to play when renewing.
As I can check that the best in All Access I can get you is at $144 plus fees and taxes for next 12 months as this time this is the best available offer available for this radio.
It’s a better price ($144 down from $180 per year) but more than I want to pay and much more than the $5 a month for new members.
I saw an opening to ask for yet a lower price. The All Access subscription was thrown in for free on our last renewal. I asked if we could get a lower price for a Select subscription.
Okay I can understand so how if I get you the subscription that is currently active on your other radios for Select plan at $60 plus fees and taxes for good 12 months .
Sold. I had to agree to the terms of service and I’m set for another year for $60. The entire exchange took 20 minutes, including activating the new plan and verifying my credit card and email address.
I believe that you can negotiate for a lower price even if you’re not near your renewal time. They’ll prorate a refund for the time left on your old contract and charge you the price for the new one.
I’m disappointed that SiriusXM is back to having subscribers negotiate to get a lower price, but interacting through chat instead of having to call makes it easier for me to keep pushing for the best deal. That’s something I’m not as comfortable doing when talking to someone on the phone.
Cover Photo Image by NoobInNature NIN from Pixabay
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
29 comments
When did you try this? My renewal is up on April 8th and my only option available is to fill out a online form requesting to cancel which I did several days ago with no response back yet. If they can’t handle the demand then they need to add a way to cancel online.
It was this week. I went over the directions in the post but the chat option came up when I chose the “cancel” option when logged into my account.
YMMV – I subscribe to the Select offering – and to avoid billing to a credit card – I use gift cards that I pick up at different retailers – using a card that gives more points at Staples and/or Office Depot/Max with the Ink card, or sometimes I’ll use the CNB Crystal card.
In the past when it’s time to renew – I just call and sit in queue waiting for a rep – and I’m assuming because I subscribe to Select – they offer me the $5.00 per month deal. Next time- I’ll have to remember to try the chatbox option.
My last renewal, I noticed the “licensing” fee they charge increased significantly!
SO_CAL_RETAIL_SLUT
I just did this online today, didn’t even have to do the chat. Slightly different than original post. Had to take option to change my subscription, then do an “are you sure” confirmation, then it offered me $99 for a year of all access or $60 for Select. I took the $60 plan an it came out to around $75. Best renewal experience ever with these people. I hate going through their renewal hassle.
Right about the renewal haggling, why isn’t the price the price ? Netflix, Prime, Amazon Music Unlimited and none of them force this game on you.
Forget it. I signed up for the free SiriusXM trial during the quarantine. I really like streaming it through my Google Home. Got an offer for extending the service for three month more for only a dollar. I almost did it, but noticed the small print at the bottom of the email about having to call them to cancel. Hello hard sell. After researching online and reading a lot of blog posts and reddit threads it appear SiriusXM is nothing short of a PITA when trying to cancel. No way in hell I am giving them my credit card number. Sorry, SiriusXM, you lost a potential customer due to your strong arm tactics.
I won’t give them a credit card. I ask for an invoice in the mail, then send a check. That way, they can’t automatically renew and charge more. I just use the chat when I get the invoice, and negotiate.
The chat with an agent drop down was no longer available for me but instead was a tab at the bottom of the screen, I asked if there were offers available and they only offered the $99 package. I asked if other packages were available as I didn’t use streaming, and was offered the $60 package. Thanks for the tip, I was due to renew soon and was having to consider dropping it which I didn’t want to do.
I just did this without having to chat. There were three options. I was able to select a $60 annual subscription today (8/7/20) that included the full channel line-up and device streaming (which we use far more than the car during Covid.)
Thanks for the tip. I loathed calling in and going through the rigmarole with the agent.
I was able to use the chat feature after their telephone office had closed. Told the agent I could not pay anymore than we currently were and immediately I was offered me a package for about $.30 more than we had been paying for two cars the past year. Total for the Select package for both cars came to $12.56 a month for 12 months. It took about 30 minutes total wait time and dealing with the agent. Easier than any other haggle I have ever had to do.
Wow, so glad I found this site and so glad the OP put it up ! I had been reluctantly planning to cancel my MostlyMusic ($10.99 with fees and taxes = $14.64) for a while but just did not want to deal with “the phone call”. It was a super simple, no explanation, no awkward budget discussion, change to the Select plan promo offer ($4.99 with fees and taxes = $6.46) in just a few clicks. If I had called I would have totally cancelled regardless of a promo offer BUT since they now appear to be aware of how difficult that “phone call” can be (not to mention a waste of time) I decided to maintain the service as an acknowledgement of there effort to make this process so much easier.
I have been a subscriber since 2007. At that time I got a $5/month rate for each of my subscriptions. Since then, every year when my subscription is up for renewal I call customer service and I begin the conversation by telling the agent that my subscription is up and I’d like to renew at the $5 a month rate I have now. Then the fun begins. The agent tells me that the $5 rate is not available, but I can renew for XXX dollars a year. I say “no, I want the $5 rate I have now.” The agent comes down a couple of times and I repeat my “no, I want the $5 rate I have now.” After a few rounds the agent says he/she has to check with a supervisor and puts me on hold. Eventually I get the $5 rate, with the streaming service. I will truly cancel if I ever can’t get that rate as I am also paying for Amazon Music and there is some duplication, but it has worked so far.
Just to let you and others know. I’ve been with SiriusXM for it’s entire existence and have an auto and a SiriusXM boom box. Perfect customer. They wanted to renew my subscription on the truck for $360 for the year plus $15 a month for the boom box. They made an automated offer..no chat was offered. It was still very high so I selected “No”. They replied “ Sorry to see you go, bye.” Everything is terminated immediately. Guess they don’t want to keep customers anymore. I’d been with them for 18 years.
I’m about to cancel if they can’t give me a very low yearly offer. When I first signed up when when I bought my car in 2015, it was free for the year. Then it went to 119.00 for the year, then 120 something for the year and now my bill is showing 348.00 come January. Not paying that this year, especially when there are only 2 stations I listen to and then it’s very sporadically.
I just called to object to the increase in my (now) monthly of $9.45, including fees & taxes, for Select service. Representative quickly offered an annual plan, to be charged monthly at $6.75, including taxes and fees. Accepted. His spiel said that the rate goes up to the normal rate of $22 per month at the end of the year. Of course, I would never pay that rate, so I’ll just have to call again next year. Call took only 8 minutes.
I had to turn off my advertisement blocker to see the cancellation options. Then it was quick to get the $60 deal for a year.
I received a year of Sirius when I bought a new car. I wasn’t sure whether to continue it but thought what the heck – even though I didn’t really use that many channels. However, dealing with the agents on the phone was so difficult I bagged it. I couldn’t understand what they were saying b/c of the heavy accent. The whole thing was very burdensome and annoying. Since then I keep getting really low priced offers but I refuse to bite b/c I know that it will be a nightmare to cancel. Will never ever pay for this service unless they change their business practices.
Took me about 10 minutes through Chat–they offered the all access for $99+ per year, I said no, and she immediately offered the $4.99/month for 12 months, renewable. Thanks!
YMMV – was this $5 a month for 2 cars? Or just 1? With the crappy new Amex Plat $20 streaming credit, I guess I’m going to do $14.95 for audible and $5 for Sirius. I’d love to be able to negotiate this for both cars, as I never listen to Sirius outside a vehicle. I realize I could use the app and play through the other car, but that requires LTE and I drive in a lot of mountainous areas with minimal service.
This was a price per subscription.
Worked like a charm! Thanks!
I had a $5 a month promo to Music and Entertainment. It expires next month. I selected the cancel option, and chatted with a rep. I said i wanted $5 a month to continue otherwise I was going to use my Amazon Prime Music instead. He gave me $5 a month. Basically started a new promo as of today. Took about 5 minutes.
The chat agent refused to give that deal when I spoke today. He just said he couldn’t and so I canceled! Good thing I’ve got other options!
so disappointed. After having my subscription since it started I am soooo disappointed that they would not negotiate with me to keep me as a customer. I will miss Howard Stern but I guess i will let it cancel and then see if I can get a promotion to come back. Still cant believe they let people leave like that.
Received a letter dated 12/20/21 saying my service ends 1/1/22 and could call to get 3 years for $99. Called the number 1/10/22 and was told the offer expired when the service ended. After 30 minutes on old, spoke with Edward in Listener Care and was told the same. There is NOTHING in the letter that says you have to call before the service ends – no mention of any deadline or expiration of the offer, nothing in the Offer Details about it being a limited time offer. In my view this is false advertising.
I just had to go back through the let’s make a deal game with XM. I have been negotiating my rates for over 8 years. I normally get 40 for 6 months all access. I always complain on the hassle of calling to get the rate to where it is actually supposed to be. I threatened to not take a promotion unless I can get a renewable rate. I was not offer the 30for 6 this time. I was offered the music and entertainment advantage deal. It was 5.99 a month with no promotion. I said the package was not big enough and told them to cancel my subscription. I was then offered the platinum advantage package it was 8.99 a month. I complained it was more than I normally pay. But would take the deal if they threw in a new radio because mine was getting old. After some time, I managed to get the radio free as well. I agreed to that deal. The only catch was I had to keep service for 6 months. I even got them to throw in shipping as well. So, I got the platinum advantage plan for 8.99 and a free radio. It also comes with the perk of never calling them again to battle a price. I did this all on the phone. I have had better luck on the phone, myself, because I can pressure them more on the phone that on chat.
Bill, are you saying that your $8.99 price is forever? “It also comes with the perk of never calling them again to battle price.” I wasn’t aware you could get more than a one-year agreement.
I have a $6 deal for a year right now that expires soon. It’s not worth more than about $6 to me and I practically live in my car for work reasons. There just isn’t that much on XM compared to just streaming podcasts of music. It’s like having CATV, a million channels and only about 1% of the content is decent. XM needs to change it’s business model. If they offered a solid say $7 or so all the time, set and forget it, they would do better. They could cut costs by getting rid of most of their CSR’s and people would likely subscribe and forget that it bills to their credit card. I don’t find much value in XM but enjoy having it as an option and I say all that with my Amex Platinum paying the bill.
I learned to never give them a credit card. Ask them to invoice you, then send a check. That way, they can’t automatically renew you.