A little more than five years, we bought a brand new car (GASP! I know — how not frugal!).
We wanted a Toyota Venza and it was the first model year so no used cars were available. (see???)
If you've ever bought a new car within the last few years, you probably have 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 and even at $10.99 for their lowest “Mostly Music” package. It was too much. Their $15.99 and $19.99 All Access are all reasonable prices (when our trial ended, it cost closer to $30 a month, and now the plan names have changed) given what you get but let me explain how easy it is to save 75%.
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 until they offer you their comeback offer.
Sirius Standard Pricing: $5 / Month
SiriusXM has a few plans but the basic one for your car is $5 per month for 12 months (new subscriptions only).
The three tiers are:
- SiriusXM Select: $5 / month for 12 months for 140+ channels, then goes to $15.99 / month
- Premier Streaming: This one isn't for your car, it's streaming to your computer or phone. It's $5 / month for 12 months for 200+ channels, then goes to $15.99 / month
- SiriusXM All Access: $8.25 / month for 12 months for both streaming and in the car, then goes to $20.99 / month. It also comes with a free 3rd Gen Echo Dot.
After the 12 month promotion period, you're automatically renewed at the regular, much higher, price.
But you can do better than this offer. And it doesn't even require too many hoops.
The Best Deal: 6 Months for $25
You can always get 5 months of Sirius XM Radio for just $25. Sometimes people have gotten 6 months for $25.
All you need to say is “I love Sirius XM, I just can't afford that price. Is there any way you can help me?” — and they will help you.
If they don't, hang up and call again.
It's very important that you 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.
Don't take anything worse than that deal.
SiriusXM Promotions
If you only care about getting the very cheapest, then $4.17 per month is the cheapest.
If 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.
This is their current promotion, which is pretty good considering you have to jump through no hoops to get it:
No bad!
Ha, we just did this. (or rather, we actually cancelled and they kept sending this deal with free installation, so the hubby paid for it as an anniversary present.) We don’t have quite the same collection of channels, but I’m really enjoying having my satellite radio back.
When we had it, we only ever listened to 5-6 channels. Since we both work primarily from home nowadays, it doesn’t make much sense to pay for it… even at such low prices. (tbh, I just don’t want to call back and play this game every 5-6 months!)
Wow, thanks so much for this advice! I have a free trial for Sirius XM in my car and had no idea you could get a comeback offer! I will definitely look into this soon!
Yes, they will very aggressively try to win you back when you leave. 🙂
I tried to do this and straight-up canceled for a month. They really didn’t try to win me back with any kind of deal. Well, they gave us a worse package at around a 40% discount.
It’s my wife’s car and now she just listens to the free, ad-sponsored Google Play through Bluetooth. She’s happy with the selection and quality.
Just wait… the comeback offer will come. 🙂
Don’t ever use a credit card. Buy a gift card from Best Buy and pay using that. Then negotiate for the best price. Currently, here is what I’ve gotten for the last 5 years:
For Select: 6 months for $25.00
For Full Access: 1 year for $119.00
You have to pay tax and royalty fees on top of this. Just remember to call about a month before it expires, or they’ll charge you full price.
Brilliant!
is it possible to get out of their ridiculous “connection fee”?
They did this to my Aunt. She had 4 up for renewal at the same time. XM Radio took over $900.00 out of her checking her account without warning. She forgot that they were all up for renewal and when they tried to negotiate they refused to offer her any deals for 4 cars. On top of that it was around Christmas. She eventually got her money back through the Attorney Generals office. You can buy XM radio gift cards at Best Buy. Never give them access to your bank account.
Yeah, I got dinged for a couple months too… thankfully only for one car. That partially motivated me to write this post… 🙂
what is a connection fee?
Thanks for the tip, just tried it and worked perfectly – $25 per radio ($32.31 with taxes and junk) for 5 months. They even gave me a credit for the previous month since I pay quarterly.
Set a reminder for yourself in five months to call them back, they won’t remind you that your contract is up.
They will also give you a 6 months for $30 deal which is the same as the 5 months for $25 but it extends the subscription out one more month. I just did this.
I got this offer as well. I haven’t started the subscription yet, but just FYI, you can get this same offer through Ebates and they (Ebates) will credit your account $5.00. (Ebates pays you a check once a year anytime you shop through their website). Which would be a great deal !!! Six months for $25.00 🙂 That’s the route I’m going to use . Hope this info. is worthwhile and beneficial. 🙂
I just saved $100 on my Select subscription. $99/year
What does Select include?
It has 165 channels – includes MLB, NBA, NHL and PGA. Does not include Howard Stern, NFL or NASCAR.
My trial just ended a couple days ago. I didnt get All Acess, but I got a year for $60 plus the taxes. Came out to around $78.
Enjoy several talk stations, especially at home. Would miss Dr. Laura and sports talk shows. Music quality is terrible. My car HD radio stations blow it away. Considering using Google Play or IHeartRadio. Possibly Apple Music. Anyone do a cost analysis of data use when playing these services in the car?
We use this method every six months to keep cost to a minimum on our two vehicles. We bought a 2010 Honda Accord for our soon-to-be teen daughter and college sis to drive. Daughter #1 goes to school in DC, so car at home after purchase. Enjoyed the two months free, then let lapse as car was just sitting in garage. Offers come in for 40-50% off…not interested…no one driving car. Then, low and behold, Dec 10th get an offer for 84% off…yes…$99 for 36 months. That was too good to pass up, go to website to accept, and there is a second offer associated with it…60 months for $149! With tax and royalty, came out to $179. I am VERY tempted to let my work vehicle lapse for a few months then see if they will give me this deal again!
That’s a pretty good offer… I’d probably do that long term one because then you don’t have to call back every 9-12 months.
I asked for that deal, 36 months for $99, and was told that deal was for 2009 and earlier models.
I just got a new car and it has this Sirius radio in it. Free for 3 months. I only like listening to 95.1 FM and KFI on AM. Sure hope they do not charge me a renewal for Sirius. Sounds like a rip off to me. Cheaper putting a CD in to,listen to. Can they automatically renew me without my permission .I never asked for the service in the first place it came with the car.
I’m not sure, I believe you have to opt in and give billing information to continue… but I don’t know for certain. You should call the dealership or Sirius to confirm.
I bought a new car in May. When the trial is up, you’ll just get prompted to subscribe if you switch to the satellite radio. Mine’s been expired for 4 months now, no charges. They don’t have your credit card info.
They keep sending me good offers, though.
They forgot about me. I bought a Car in June and I am still on my 3 month trial. My sister and daughter all bought new cars from the same dealership all new Nissan’s. And their trials have all ended except for mine.
I do not believe in paying to listen to music. I will definitely not renew. Most of it is music I do not like anyway. I will enjoy my free 3 months and then cancel . I only posted because I thought you would know the answer to my question seeing you had bought a new car as well and had Sirius in when you bought the car
I don’t remember how the billing part went but I think I signed up after the trial – I wasn’t 100% sure so I didn’t want to steer you wrong!
I currently have 2 cars each with a Sirius XM radio. Each radio is setup on it’s own account, one under my name and the other under my wifes. Do you think it would help or hurt to have them both on the same account when trying to negotiate these better rates?
I’m afraid I don’t know if that’s better or worse, do they have two device discounts? I don’t think they do but I’m not 100% sure.
Hey Bill, I’m currently trying to decide whether it’s worth merging my two car radio accounts, did you ever find anything out about the perks or disadvantages to it?
I currently have two cars under the same account and they give you a family discount. I have had the service for over 5 years. Like most of you folks I call in and request for a better deal because I cannot do the payment. I have always received a good deal as other, but this last time they were unwilling to offer me anything so I did end up cancelling. It has been a month and of course they sent me a deal for each car of 6 months for 29 + their fees. but I got a great deal.
I actually do get a notice in the mail when my current renewal period is about to expire.
Got an offer of $99 for 3 years on my 2008 truck that I rarely drive. Called Sirius and asked for the same deal for my 2019 for which the trial period had just ended. No luck, they said that offer was applicable to older vehicles only. I use to get deals for $3 a month on the 2008. Best they would offer for the 2019 is $60 plus fees for a year. Told them no thanks. They’ll have to come off the nut and sweeten the deal for me to bite.
I love how they pretend they won’t deal… the cost to them to add a new subscriber is ZERO! Collecting $99 from you for three years is $99 they wouldn’t otherwise get!
That’s not correct. There’s a cost associated with every activation. Bandwidth, partnership with OEM, marketing cost, operating cost , content, events etc.
But it’s marginal compared to what they earn, which is the point.
Wow! I will do $99/ 3 years for my just purchased 2009 Aura. I have a Lifetime Select on my other 2009 Aura and they would not transfer it. I really only bought the Lifetime for the Broadway channel and Cinemagic. They made Cinemagic streaming only and that was disappointing. I have a 2 month trial that I just started, so I will call and ask about $99 for 3.
Well I tried to take advantage of the 6 month 8.33 current deal when I tried to pay on line with a gift card visa debit it would not take so I called and the rep tried but would not go through I wanted this to be a surprise so I did not use a debit card from my account. ” I said I guess she can live without Sirius”
Well I got a call back from Exec. services who was going to make it go through.
No way 6 attempts and said is your car by you I said yes she said turn it on and go to Sirius and she sent the signal for 6 months free. not 4.50 8.33 10,00 0r even 15.00 free for 6 months. BEST PRICE EVER THEY WERE VERY NICE AND GOOD TO DEAL WITH…..THANKS FOR THE INFO. HARLEY
I had one month left on my recent year of SiriusXM all access… we have been members for 5 years now…. I have always gotten the cheaper deal and this year since we still had a month left they gave me all access for 114. for a year plus an echo dot….. Life is good…… its too bad though that since my wife also has Sirius that we can’t bundle them both and get a REALLY GOOD price….
I listen to WDGY for free! Sorry SiriusXM. “Are you Serious? Sirius as satellite radio!” I don’t pay to watch T.V. either.
Sirius is such a joke. My husband wants the all access package and its. $25 a month. They wouldn’t give me any deal at all via the chat. I’m going to call now and see what they will offer. So disappointing to have to spend so much time on something they over charge for.
So I just called and they are giving me one year $99 and an echo.
Oh no! I didn’t set a reminder two years ago when I renewed, and now I just realized they charged me $457.06 for 2 years without notifying me….ARRGGGG! Any chance they provide a refund if I threaten to cancel now?
You can give it a try… I wasn’t able to do it with 4 months of charging full price. They let me cancel.
I am trying to figure out how Sirius obtained my contact info; my name, address, phone, auto vin#. I feel kind of violated by this breach of my privacy. Sirius is no help as they refuse to tell me how this came to be.
I suspect the dealership provides that as part of a marketing partnership if you ever got the trial.
I bought a new car and just started my 3 months trial. Do you think I would get a better deal if I stop listening to Sirius? It’s funny that they give better deals for older cars and not late model cars. If they think I really like it because I listen to it all the time, maybe won’t deal much on price? I am interest in the select package.
I don’t think they have that level of usage detail. If you threaten to quit, or actually quit for a bit, they will deal.
Well, I am one of the “oldies” who bought their LIFETIME subscription at top price in 2008-October only to find that the company changed the meaning of “lifetime” to their own benefit. It is a shame, totally deceitful.
Don’t forget they offer a package called “Basic” for $6.99 a month that offers about 50 channels. Hard to find but if you search on SiriusXM Basic using Google, it will find it. There is also another hidden package called BasicPlus which has a few more channels and also Internet listening. Has some good channels and a good mix of music, news, sports and talk.
Thank you for the tip to use a prepaid card instead of my credit card. Brilliant. I just called and had $107 credited to my account. I have to call back in 6 months, but I saved a good chunk of money. Thanks!
I just said I want 1 year for $60. they said okay, total will be $77.21 with fees and taxes. took less than 2 minutes.
Great advice!
After you pay with a credit card, you can delete the credit card from the account. Then they will have to bill you if you forget to cancel. They can’t automatically charge your card. You can always add it back.
I just signed up for the 12-month Sirius Select plan for $99.00 + fees, that equal a one-time debit of $120.19 from my credit card. I insisted that this “one-time” charge isn’t followed up with any recurring charges (at the full rate) in the future. I was assured that my credit card info would not be retained in their system for future use. I called back after 25 minutes to verify that my credit card info was not kept on file. I was told it was not, and that today’s transaction was a “paper invoice billing” transaction. (This is easier than buying a gift card.). Sirius said that I would be notified, by mail, some 54 to 60 days prior to the end of my subscription, so I could renegotiate for continued service. We’ll see if that happens as well….
I would put a reminder in my calendar to confirm this. I know they said it’s off but… 🙂
I just renewed my All Access subscription at the $99.00 annual with Amazon Echo Dot. They say this rate is for new customers only: I said “so basically you screw the old customers?’. [I’ve subscribed since the early 2000’s.] They rolled over in 2 seconds. [Another thing – through Bank of America credit card – you can generate a one time use credit card number, with a maximum value, and as short as 2 month expiration. I use that for things that want to auto renew [like Sirius] and for purchases from shady organizations. ]
Great tip, thanks Jerry!
This is what I never understand about new customer promotions – you are screwing your loyal customers.
You’re making them jump through hoops to get the same deals, which you give them anyway! Why not just give loyal customers a “loyalty plans” that’s the cheaper price, save everyone time, and make them feel happy in the process?