A little more than eleven years ago, we bought a brand new car (GASP! I know — how not frugal! But we are still driving it so there!).
We wanted a Toyota Venza and it was the first or second model year so no used cars were available. (see???)
If you’ve ever bought a new car within the last few years, you were gifted a trial subscription to Sirius XM radio. I think our trial subscription was for six months.
SiriusXM is pretty great. You get high-quality audio, a bazillion different channels so you’ll always be entertained, and it’s available practically everywhere except if you’re surrounded by mountains or in a tunnel. It’s a solid service.
I just didn’t want yet another subscription. We have multiple streaming subscriptions (Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, etc.) and I didn’t want to pay for one in our car.
Their packages aren’t ridiculous. $12.99 for Music Showcase, $17.99 per month for Music and Entertainment, and $22.99 for Platinum still come out to less than a dollar a day. But why pay more when you don’t have to?
But… you should never pay full price for Sirius XM. Never. Ever.
SiriusXM is a prime case where negotiating your subscription rate will always save you money.
All you have to do is call in, threaten to cancel, and wait for them to offer you a “comeback offer.”
The Best Deal: Here are the Cliff Notes to this post – to get the best deal, you have to call and threaten to cancel. They will then offer you the best deal. If they don’t, call back.
Or, you can take their current deal of 6 months of SiriusXM for $30. It is very close to the best deal I’ve seen and you don’t have to call to cancel. The “best” varies month to month but the best I’ve ever seen is 6 months for $25, which is only $5 off. I think SiriusXM got wise to what people were doing so they offered this deal publicly.
SiriusXM Standard Pricing: $5 per Month
SiriusXM has a few plans but the basic one for your car is $5 per month for 6 months (new subscriptions only).
The tiers are (all these are plus fees and taxes, see offer details):
There are a few offers going on at once, it can be a little confusing:
| Plan Name | Trial Terms | Regular Price | 1-Year Price* |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming Platinum | 6 months for $30 | $10.99 per month | $95.94 | Get this offer |
| Streaming Platinum | 3 months for $1 | $10.99 per month | $99.91 | Get this offer |
| Streaming Platinum | 12 months for $4.99 a month | $10.99 per month | $59.88 | Get this offer |
| SiriusXM In-Vehicle Free Trial |
3 months free trial | TBD | Get this offer |
There are essentially two types of plans – ones that include your vehicle and ones that don’t. The first “Streaming Platinum” plans do not include streaming to your car’s radio. You can still stream to smartphones and Smart speakers, so you could use it in your car but through your phone.
The fourth plan listed in that table is for your car. It’s a 3-month free trial and they do not ask for your credit card. So it’s truly a free trial, just have your Radio ID or car’s VIN number ready (or they can search for your VIN based on your license plate).
After each promotion period, the Streaming Platinum will automatically renew at the regular price but there’s no contract so you can always cancel. The fourth in-vehicle plan does not automatically renew, it will just end (they don’t have your credit card offer).
The Absolute Best Deal: 6 Months for $25
For years, before they started pushing their streaming services so heavily, the best deal I’d ever heard of was getting 6 months for $25.
Today, that isn’t that much better than the promotional offer they’re offering everyone.
All you need to say is that “I love Sirius XM, I just can’t afford that price. Is there any way you can help me?” — and they will help try to get you on a plan.
If they don’t, and some representatives won’t, you need to hang up and call again. You may have to do this a few times.
You must take note of when your promotional period ends because they will start charging you full price immediately. There will be no warning, it’s automatic renewal at the full price, so mark it on a calendar somewhere and set up notifications.
When the time nears, call them up again. Sometimes they’ll cut right to the chase and offer to extend the deal. If you don’t, cancel it and you’ll get a “winback” offer in a month or two.
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What If You’ve Called Several Times?
It could be a note in your account or just bad timing or luck, but if you’ve called a few times and they won’t budge – just cancel.
SiriusXM frequently will send a “winback” or “comeback” offer that is similar to the best price. They know that it costs them the same to run their service and each customer is just profit. They will attempt to win you back shortly after you cancel and you will just have to manage not having satellite radio for a little bit.
SiriusXM 25% Military Discount
If you are military personnel, which includes veterans, retirees, active duty, and reserves; you can get a 25% military discount. This is for the life of the subscription and you can call customer service at 1-866-635-2349 to learn more .
SiriusXM Promotions
If you only care about getting the very cheapest, then $4.17 per month is the cheapest.
If the price is less important (say, if you’re being reimbursed or it is a tax-deductible expense) and you want to take advantage of promotions, SiriusXM runs promotions periodically. We don’t know of any right now but will update this when we see one.
It’s really up to you.
