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Verizon's price hike: What are the new perks rolled out? Why customers are not happy
After increasing its Unlimited Ultimate plan by $5, Verizon announces expanded incentives, including loyalty rewards and device upgrade deals.
Verizon Communications is rolling out new perks and offers after recent price hikes sparked complaints from subscribers. Verizon's Unlimited Ultimate plan, which has a three-year price lock guarantee, went up $5 on May 7.
Following the price hike, the wireless giant announced expanded incentives to its myPlan and myHome programs. The incentives include loyalty rewards, device upgrade deals and discounts on connected services.
This comes as the carrier lost over 2.25 million customers in the last three years and has kept changing its phone tariffs.
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What do we know about the price hike?
Verizon made several significant price adjustments in 2025 that were not a happy change for its users. Verizon increased fees for users of myPlan and New Verizon Plan accounts in February of that year.
More recently, Verizon said in March that it will raise the monthly cost of its Netflix and HBO Max streaming bundle from $10 to $13. The move went into effect on May 6.
According to Droid Life, Verizon has now discreetly increased the cost of its Unlimited Ultimate package.
The package cost $80 a month for a single line before the price rise. Regardless of the number of lines on an account under that plan, the monthly charge has now increased by $5 on May 7.
A three-year price lock is included with Unlimited Ultimate. The promise, however, only applies to "the then-current base monthly rate" that Verizon charges when a consumer enrolls in the plan, according to the fine print.
Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said, “Our new accounts are being added with more lines per account, or the percentage of new to Verizon continues to climb, and that’s a leading indicator of where our account number is headed next.”
He added, “But we’re also very focused on driving higher revenue with every line. We are no longer giving away lines for free.”
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What new perks are customers getting?
According to its website, consumers who add a new device line or bring their own device on an Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plan are exempt from the carrier's $40 activation cost.
Users will still have to pay the activation cost at checkout, but Verizon will return the $40 activation price as a one-time bill credit within one or two billing cycles, according to The Street.
Verizon is also offering a $100 Verizon e-Gift card to consumers who buy a new smartphone and add a new line to any of its three Unlimited plans, and waiving its activation fee.
Who qualifies?
Customers who add new lines online are the only ones eligible for the offer.
Verizon said in a statement, “Customers who subscribe to our new Unlimited Ultimate plan will get access to two new features – Identity Secure and Verizon Family Plus – providing an additional $15 in added monthly value for just $5.”
Customers must file a redemption claim within 60 days of placing their order to be eligible for this online-only offer. The gift card will then be sent to them via email in eight weeks.
