Verizon is updating its unlimited plans, though perks will cost more

After weeks of T-Mobile revamping its unlimited offerings, Verizon is following suit, announcing changes to its wireless offerings on Tuesday. Out is the carrier’s old lineup of unlimited plans; It’s what Verizon offers as a simplified offering: two plans, a basic option called Unlimited Welcome and a premium version called Unlimited Plus.

The new plans, which will be available starting Thursday, all come with unlimited talk, text, and data, though there are some differences.

The unlimited welcome option lacks any hotspot data and is limited to Verizon’s slower 5G network (what it calls “5G nationwide”). The Unlimited Plus option includes 30GB of high-speed hotspot data per line plus the ability to connect to Verizon’s fastest 5G networks (the so-called “5G Ultra Wideband,” which reaches 200 million Americans).

Unlimited Plus plans also include a three-year “price guarantee” and a 50% discount on the monthly plan for connected devices such as a smartwatch, tablet, or hotspot. Both plans will have discounts for those who subscribe to Verizon’s home internet service, though only the Plus plan will let you get home internet for $25 per month.

As before, the carrier allows “mix and match” plans at family expense. So if you have four lines, and one of them needs a faster connection, they can go to Unlimited Plus ($45 per line) while the rest are on Welcome ($30 per line) and pay $135 per month.

Monthly pricing is as follows (automatic payments are assumed). Due to the mix-and-match feature provided by the carrier, the price per line is listed in parentheses:

Verizon 2023 Unlimited Plans

	Unlimited welcome	Limitless Plus
1 line	$65	$80
2 lines	$110 ($55 per line)	$140 ($70 per line)
3 lines	$120 ($40 per line)	$165 ($55 per line)
4 lines	$120 ($30 per line)	$180 ($45 per line)
5 lines	$135 ($27 per line)	$210 ($42 per line)

Read more: The best unlimited plans for May 2023

Change from bundled perks to discounts

Probably the biggest change is how Verizon handles including perks.

Previous Verizon plans like Play More, Get More, or One Unlimited had pre-bundled streaming subscriptions to services like the Disney Bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu ad-free), Apple Music, and Apple One. But the carrier is taking a different approach with its latest plans.

Instead of dropping more services into its wireless offering, it’s shifting to a discount model that allows users to add on to a range of perks for $10 per month per feature. So if you want a Disney bundle, you can add it to your Verizon plan for $10 a month instead of paying $15 a month directly to Disney.

The same goes for Apple One (a saving of nearly $7 per month compared to the regular Apple Single price), Apple Music Family (which can be shared with five people and is usually $17 per month) and Walmart Plus (which is usually $13). per month). month but also includes Paramount Plus Essential).

Other perk options include 100GB of hotspot data (usually $45 a month), three days of international data (what the carrier calls TravelPass, usually $10 a day) and 2TB of storage in Verizon’s cloud (usually $15 a month). ).

There’s also a perk that lets you get a $15 credit for the company’s Plus Play content management tool for $10 per month. This unlocks another 30 or so services, including Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass (which is $15 per month), Netflix Premium ($20 per month), and HBO Max (usually $16 per month).

In the case of Netflix Premium, the feature won’t cover the full $20 monthly price, and you’ll need to pay the balance using Plus Play. Finally, instead of paying $20 per month for Netflix Premium, you’ll spend $15 per month ($10 to add the feature to your wireless account, and another $5 to cover the difference) and save $5 per month.

With any Plus Play service, you’ll need to switch your billing for those respective services over to Verizon through that portal.

In another new twist, the carrier will provide per-line perks regardless of whether you’re on the pricier Plus plan or the cheaper Welcome option. Verizon doesn’t cap perks at one rate per line either, so someone with one line can get discounts on both the Disney Bundle and Apple One.

All privileges are managed in the My Verizon app and can be turned on or off as desired. Users who do not want any privileges can give them up completely at any time.

The carrier says it’s not kicking existing users off their plans and will allow those who already have a “mix and match” (Get More/Do More/Play More or Start) plan to mix and match one of these new options on existing family plans.

Adding it can take some work

While it’s potentially more valuable to those who aren’t interested in faster 5G access, the new plans could get complicated compared to Verizon’s older system. But depending on your needs, it’s also likely to be cheaper.

If you had one line on Play More (which includes the Disney package and had a faster 5G connection) and three on the cheapest 5G Start (which was $35 a month and like the new welcome option also lacks faster 5G access), you’d pay $160 a month (with automatic payments).

Under the new model, getting one line in Unlimited Plus and three in Welcome will cost $135 per month. Adding the Disney package as a $10 add-on brings your total price to $145 per month.

Verizon says it will create some potential packages that it thinks its users might be interested in to help try to streamline the process, but figuring out what works for each individual or family plan may take some work from consumers.

And while it may be cheaper for some, it can also be pricier, something Verizon CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath admits to CNET.

“I tell people, it’s not a price increase, it’s not a price decrease. It’s the ultimate flexibility,” he said. “So some customers will go up, some will go down in price…But that’s total control. And even when the price goes up, you get more for more. That’s the premise.”