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Autopay
Autopay is an excellent feature/option if you have a credit
card, debit
card, or bank
account that you can setup with your wireless carrier.
There are typically two main flavors of autopay:
- Monthly
Recurring Charge
- This feature makes the most sense if you have a monthly
type plan
where there's a specific date each month that you have to pay a certain
amount (ex. $50). Basically, you'll setup your account to
charge
your credit card, debit card, or bank account the full amount of your
monthly charge. On that day each month, your wireless carrier
will charge your card or bank account ensuring that you never miss a
payment.
- The greatest benefit with this feature is that you never
have to
worry about getting to a store to make a payment in time for your
monthly payment/anniversary date. In turn this means that
your
phone service is never disrupted. Picking up your phone the
day
after you've missed a payment only to find that it doesn't work is an
experience no one ever wants to have!
2. Low Balance Replenishment
- This feature makes the most sense if you have a classic
pay-as-you-go
(PAYG) plan, so you don't have a fixed amount of money
that you know you're going to spend each month. Basically,
you'll
setup your credit
card, debit
card, or bank
account to be charged each
time your prepaid wireless account balance hits a certain threshold.
When the threshold is met, your wireless carrier will add a
certain amount (that you choose) to your prepaid wireless account
balance. For example, when your account reaches $5 or less,
$20
will be added to your account. You can usually select your
amount from a fixed list (ex. $20, $30, $50, or better, from an open
range (ex. $10 to $100).
- The greatest benefit of this feature is that you never have
to
worry about not having any money on your account. And if you
don't use your phone regularly, you, don't have to worry about
monitoring your account balance to make sure that your phone doesn't
expire (and you lose your phone number!).
- Keep an eye out that your carrier not only includes hitting
or
passing the threshold (ex. $5), but also that the replenishment is
triggered when your account reaches $0. The best example of
this
happening is that you don't use the money on your phone within the
allowed time (ex. 60 days), and the money on your account is
automatically swept (i.e. removed) from your account, taking it
immediately to zero. In this case the balance doesn't
actually
hit or cross the threshold, at least not in a natural way that would
happen if you were just using the phone. This detail might
sound
odd, but having developed such replenishment programs, I know that this
particular functionality is something that specifically needs to be
considered and built. And in my opinion, it's a great benefit
to you, the customer.
Generally speaking, autopay is an excellent option, and also has the
benefit of getting additional points on your credit card.
Many wireless carriers will also give you bonus minutes or
dollars for setting up autopay. This is because the chance
that you'll continue using your phone, never run out of minutes or get
shut off is much higher...a good thing for wireless carriers!
Not to mention that direct
payments (i.e. credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts) are
typically lower cost for them than buying replenishment products in
retail stores.
Lastly, look out for additional steps to setup autopay. Due
to laws regarding getting your approval to automatically charge your
card/bank account, you'll have to authorize the recurring payments, and
if the amount of your plan changes, you'll be required to reauthorize.
Some carriers make this easier than others, but this is a
necessary step, so make sure that you don't miss this step or you may
think you're setup for autopay but you're not.
Return from Autopay to Adding Money
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