How to Lower Spectrum Bill: 9 Discounts for Existing Customers

The first time I opened my Spectrum bill and saw a 30% increase, I was genuinely shocked.

…and I’m clearly not alone.

Since publishing this article almost four years ago, hundreds of people trying to lower their Spectrum bills have left comments — many of them paying as much as $185 for basic internet and TV.

All these bill hikes are frustrating when Spectrum’s cheapest plans for new customers start under $50.

But here’s the good news: lowering your Spectrum bill as an existing customer is possible.

You just have to know the right tactics for navigating their retention system.

I personally test these strategies every year, adding new ones and removing old ones based on what works currently. As a result, I’ve never paid full price for Spectrum service. I currently pay under $35.

As a former call center company worker myself, I know a thing or two about navigating Spectrum’s customer service department to find hidden deals. It takes time, but they do exist — even in 2024.

Before we start, be aware that this is a time-consuming process. It’s not guaranteed to work. In fact, about half of the mail I get about this post is people reporting that they couldn’t get a deal, even after several attempts to reach Spectrum retention agents.

But if you’ve got some free time today and you want to save $130 or more over the next year — keep reading.

Prerequisite: Understand How Spectrum Pricing & Customer Service Work

Before you place a call, you need some basic information about how Spectrum operates.

Like most cable companies, Spectrum uses a tactic called “introductory pricing” to sell internet service. This means that the price they advertise is not the actual cost of service — it’s a promotional rate for the first 12 months or so.

Unfortunately, this fact is often downplayed when customers sign up. In fact, if you ask a Spectrum agent what the final price is, they will invariably say: “the standard rate at the time your promotion expires.”

No matter how you ask, they will be hesitant to reveal the standard rate — or the fact that the “standard rate” can change at any time.

This actually happened recently, when Spectrum bumped the base rate for internet-only service to $79.99 from the previous $74.99. Similar incrimental price increases are scheduled for 2024.¹

Thanks to this pricing strategy, Spectrum customers often don’t realize their intial price is a timed promotion at all. The sudden bill jump comes as a complete surprise.

While Spectrum rarely discloses the non-discounted price in their promotioanl materials, the pricing does eventually show up on bills. So, I’ve been able to track down the current “standard rates” for you:

As you can see, you’re looking at anywhere from 10–80% price hikes, depending on the promotion you signed up on.

Now that you understand the source of the bill increases, let’s get into some solutions:

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Step 1: Prepare your account information

Before you call, have a bill handy so you can give them your account number and any other necessary information to identify the account.

Speaking of accounts, make sure you’ve paid your most recent bill. They won’t reduce the price for you if you don’t have an account in good standing.

Also ensure that you have information on competing offers for internet service in your neighborhood — especially if it’s a fiber service like AT&T Fiber, which Spectrum has more incentive to undercut on pricing. These can be helpful for convincing Spectrum that you mean business about canceling.

Spectrum outages that impacted you is also a good topic to have dates and notes for, since this can make it seem more likely that you will actually cancel.

Step 2: Call Spectrum customer service at (855) 707-7328

When you call Spectrum, your goal is to:

1. Convince them that you’re going to cancel if they don’t give you a better rate.
2. Navigate their call center correctly so you find an agent who can grant price reductions.
3. Be polite to them personally, but express frustration about Spectrum the company.
4. Be exceedingly polite. If you worked in a call center, who would you give promos to: rude customers, or friendly ones? Nice guys finish first in this process.

Finding the right agent is easier said than done.

When you first call, you’ll be given prompts to route your call to the right department. You can either go directly to the cancellation department, or go to general customer service.

I recommend that you start with customer service, because they’re more likely to transfer you to an agent with pricing power than if you go directly to cancellation.

This part is very important: you need to talk to the customer service or billing agent for at least five minutes before they transfer you.

This ensures that they send you to “retention,” rather than simply giving you cancellation information on the spot.

Retention is where you want to be ultimately, because these agents have the best promotional offers and the most power to lower customer pricing. However, sometimes the customer service agent can grant your request on the spot — it depends on the current promotions, and where you call from.

Step 3: Explain your request to Spectrum customer service

Start by asking how their day is going and being friendly. Then, start in with the issue:

I’m calling because I’d like to get some help with my bill – my price recently went up quite a bit, and it’s more than I can afford. I’ve been a customer of Spectrum for a long time, and it’s frustrating to see that my neighbors get the same service for a much lower rate. Can you tell me about your current promotions, or any other ways that I can reduce the bill?

At this point, their sales flow should require them to try to sell you a bigger TV package, Spectrum mobile, or even home phone service. Hear them out but politely decline to add additional services or increase your internet speed.

Thank you for that, it’s helpful to know all the options. Part of the reason I’m calling is because another internet provider is offering me a new customer rate to switch to them. That said, I’ve been happy with Spectrum and as you can see I’ve been paying my bill on time for a long time now. Is there a discount you could attach to my internet price to recover the introductory price I was paying? I’d be happy to sign up for automatic billing if there’s a bonus for that.

At this point, they will do one of two things:

1. Tell you there’s nothing they can do.
2. Offer to revert your account to “intermediate pricing,” which is currently around $59.99/month for the base internet plan.

For the base 200 Mbps internet-only plan, it’s common to be able to argue it down to around $59. The $59.99 price point is an “intermediate” price for entry level plan in some areas.

This is likely to be the best discount you’ll get on an internet-only plan, so I recommend you go ahead and accept it if they offer it.

Step 4: Escalate to a manager to check for promo offers

If they can’t reduce it, ask to speak to a manager, and politely repeat the above script.

Remember, you are frustrated at Spectrum — not the call center employees.

For the manager, try expressing frustration about the “bait and switch,” and say that you weren’t made aware of the standard rate when you signed up. This may trigger them to offer a discount, if they believe you are going to submit an FCC complaint.

Step 5: Escalate to retention by requesting to cancel service

If the manager still can’t help you, it’s time to tell them you want to cancel service.

Telling them you want to cancel — after spending five or more minutes on the phone — should trigger the requirements for transfer to the retention department.

They’ll transfer you to a new agent, who ostensibly is going to help cancel your service. However, this agent has access to “retention offers,” and will make one last attempt to convince you to bundle more services instead of canceling.

Once again, you need to politely decline, and make one final request:

I understand the introductory rate is for new customers, but if I could at least get closer to it, I’d happily just stay with Spectrum instead of going through all this trouble to switch. Do you have any kind of coupon or promotion you can attach to my account?

This is where it comes down to luck. Some agents, on some days, will have the power to attach a discount. Others will not. In either case, the default is for them to simply allow you to cancel.

If you have the nerves, or are truly willing to switch to a competing provider, go ahead and follow the rest of the cancelation process. In some cases, they will “find” a promotion in their script the last second before clicking cancel — similar to how Adobe Photoshop offers you three free months, but only if you go through 4 of the 5 steps required to cancel.

Step 6: Hang up and try again later if no discounts are offered

Since promotions and coupons seem to come and go in the Spectrum call center, you’ll likely need to repeat this charade a couple times to get a result.

If you have no luck with the script above, try calling the following day. It often comes down to the mood and discounts in front of the agent you happen to speak with.

Finally, keep in mind this “negotiation” approach also works well with Cox bill negotiation and Xfinity bill negotiation. Any home service bill with variable pricing is likely to have a retention process; this applies to phone bills, and even some utility companies.

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Check for work-sponsored services

I’m currently saving $50/month on my home internet bill using this simple trick: get your boss to pay for it!

In my case, it’s through my wife’s employment package. But subsidized mobile and internet is actually a common work-related perk offered by the HR departments at large employers.

Given that over a quarter of employee pay is made up of benefits, it’s no surprise that companies would rather pay a few phone bills if it discourages people from quitting.

How to find out if you qualify for work-sponsored internet: contact HR

The catch is that these programs are often poorly advertised to employees once they’re recruited. You’ll typically need to contact HR and specifically request help understanding the full list of perks and benefits available.

This is especially true if you’ve been around a long time; perks introduced to tempt new talent aren’t always advertised to new employees.

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Remove unnecessary services

The easiest way to reduce your Spectrum bill is to “cut the cord” and remove extra services like cable TV packages and home phone service.

Take a look at your bill and you should see line items for each extra service on top of internet, plus fees and equipment.

Between the DVR, receivers, and sports fees, the cost of Spectrum TV adds up really fast. Some customers pay more than $200/month for what amounts to a handful of premium channels. In this day and age, that’s crazy. (Spectrum Sports packages start at $84.98 including the Sports Pack add-on, and go all the way up to $188+ before fees and the incrimental cost of internet service in the bundle!)

The primary reason people stay with Spectrum is the sports packages. However, getting sports over the internet is easier than ever. In addition to league passes and direct subscriptions, there are a variety of streamings services dedicated to live TV and sports, with FuboTV being the top player in 2024.

As for premium channels like Starz, just Google “streaming” and the name of the channels you actually watch. Chances are you can get them “over the top” via a direct subscription and drop your TV costs dramatically.

Pro Tip: Don't change your package within the first twelve months, it causes Spectrum to void your promotional rate, so you are no longer considered to be a new customer eligible for sign-up discounts.

Also take a look at Roku, Firestick, and other streaming platforms. These sometimes have special deals and make it really easy to view sports on your widescreen TV, regardless of who you are buying the sports content from.

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Reduce equipment fees

One of the biggest hidden costs on Spectrum plans is the WiFi router fee.

I’ve written a full guide to dealing with Spectrum’s WiFi equipment fee here, but here’s a quick summary:

When you sign up for Spectrum, they offer you a “free modem.” This is true… but a bit misleading.

The modem only “translates” your internet connection for your home devices. You need a WiFi router in order to connect via WiFi. No router, no WiFi.

The catch: the WiFi router costs money to lease from Spectrum, currently around $7 per month ($84 per year) on all plans except the most expensive “GIG” plan.

So sure, the equipment is “free” with Spectrum — but only if you don’t mind only using the internet from one device, plugged into the modem with an ethernet cable (like in the nineties).

…Obviously, this is a no-go for virtually everyone.

The solution is to return the leased Spectrum WiFi router you’re using, and buy your own.

Aside from increasing your internet performance, using your own router will save you $60/year on Spectrum internet. Considering that a decent modem and router will run you $120 or less, that’s a savings of $180 over five years of service.

It also keeps you safe from equipment rental fee increases, which have certainly happened before with big cable companies.

Spectrum-compatible WiFi router recommendations

View this page for a full breakdown on my modem and router recommendations for Spectrum:

Best Spectrum Routers Guide

For most people, where ease of use is the priority, I recommend the Arris Surfboard modem + WiFi router. It’s typically available via Amazon, Best Buy, and all the big-box retailers.

The Surfboard is very easy to use — you just plug it into the cable jack in your house, call Spectrum customer service to tell them the MAC address written on the back, and you’re done. It pays for itself after the first year in saved leasing fees. (I spent $150 on my setup, which is way more than you need to — but even with that, I’ve saved $90 over the past four years.)

If you want to save even more money, you can hold onto the "free" Spectrum modem and buy just the WiFi router. The TP-Link AC1750 WiFi router is a good pick for all non-gigabit plans, and is compatible with the free Spectrum modem they provide.

However, I think most customers will be happier just owning all the hardware themselves, since it saves you the hassle of returns or disputes with Spectrum when you move or change service.

If you’re more of a “techie,” I recommend that you spend more and get the modem and WiFi router as seperate devices, to keep the setup modular and make it easy to add switches, smart home doo-dads, etc. Spectrum maintains a page of modems that they are compatible with.

Larger homes can also consider mesh WiFi setups like Eero or Google Nest. These basically come with extendors so the WiFi is distributed more evenly in your home, without the need to hard-wire a bunch of access points. it’s not as good as hard-wiring, but if you’re renting, that’s out of the question anyway.

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Qualify as a new customer

If all of the above fails you, another way to get the new customer rate is to take advantage of loopholes in the Spectrum corporate process that allow you to become “a new customer” again.

There are two main ways to do this:

1. Sign up under a spouse or roommates name.

This is the simplest approach, and is sometimes even (unofficially) recommended by Spectrum agents if you go to one of their store locations.

All you have to do is cancel service, then have your spouse/roommate call and sign up under their name, phone number, and email.

If you lease Spectrum’s modem/router, you’ll need to return this first. If you use your own modem and/or router, you’ll just need to act like it was “left by previous tenant” when you call to give the MAC address on the back of the modem (this is how they activate new service if you have your own modem).

2. Cancel and wait 30 days.

Finally, an inconvenient method of getting a new customer rate is to cancel for 30 days. After that, they consider you a new customer and you can sign up for the promo rate in a Spectrum store or via phone.

If you can survive on a hotspot or mobile tethering for a month, this is probably the simplest method. It’s also a good chance to try out a competiting provider like AT&T, who will typically offer a 30-day return and refund policy for new customers anyway.

I’ve also personally tested some more complex options including freezing my online account and requesting a new one in-store. Submitting orders under new email/phone via Spectrum Authorized Retailers can also work.

However, I don’t think these types of approaches are likely to work for long, and they run directly into issues with terms of service. For those reasons, I can’t suggest them in good faith anymore.

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Qualify for a low-income subsidy

For those with below-average incomes, Spectrum has a variety of low-income plan options. I don’t typically recommend these because they have dramatically reduced speeds compared to their normal service; other providers offer better low-income plans in 2024.

Here are the basic plan details for their subsidy plan for verified low-income households:

However, there is a bit of a loophole for qualifying that still works for some locations in 2020–2024. In 2016, Spectrum merged with Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse Networks, two other large cable providers in the US. This merger was a bit controversial at the time, as watchdogs viewed it as anti-competative for the broadband market.

As a result, Spectrum agreed to a variety of terms in order to get the merger approved by the FCC: ²

1. Provide data-cap-free service.
2. Expand high-speed broadband to 2 Million new locations.
3. Provide subsidized plans to qualifying households.

Because the qualification is tied to the user address rather than the user’s name or account, future residents of the same building can often call and sign up for the Assist program… even if they have a high income, or don’t participate in the required programs.

To check if this applies to your location, you can just call Spectrum directly and ask if your address still qualifies for the Assist plan. It’s not likely, but some readers have reported this still happening in 2020–2024. If it works, you get decent 30 Mbps internet for only $24.99/month. However, since three years have passed since the merger terms, this price is no longer protected by the strict limits that originally applied.

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Disclaimer: this is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Always discuss financial decisions with a tax professional.

Deduct the cost of internet on taxes

Last but not least, the most universal Spectrum bill reduction hack in the post-lockdown world: write off home internet on your tax bill.

The details here vary depending on the type of deduction you take (see the IRS official documentation), but as a rule you can write off at least a percentage of the annual cost based on your use in a home office.

“Home office” doesn’t have to be a physical room in your home. If you’re claiming any sort of self-employment income or losses, internet should be factored in as an associated cost along with other work-from-home costs based on space, time, or other criteria as detailed in those lovely tax forms.

You don’t have to have a substantial business to take advantage of this either. Did you sell a couple old coats on Poshmark last year? Chances are the IRS will consider it a small business.

I currently pay well under $35 effective rate for home internet, thanks to writing off a portion, using a work-sponsorship perk to pay the rest, and calling annually to renew my new-customer discount.

…it all adds up to $720 per year in savings; not a bad hourly rate for two hours of work a year!

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Reader not-so-success stories

Here are some write-ins I’ve had about this post that aren’t success stories, but nonetheless contain useful information:

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can existing customers get discounts with Spectrum?

Spectrum's $49.99 discount rate for new internet-only customers is only valid for one year. Spectrum customer service grants discount extensions on a case-by-case basis, for persistent customers who follow a specific path in their phone tree. Bundle discounts for TV and mobile such as Spectrum One are not typically offered to existing customers.

Is it possible to lower spectrum bills?

Spectrum bills can be lowered by either removing services and equipment leases, calling to request a new promotion or discount extension, or by bundling additional services to bring down the overall cost per-service. Existing customers can also apply for low-income discounts or temporarily reduce the monthly cost while out of town by placing the account on hold.

Why can't Spectrum customer service lower my bill?

The fastest way to lower a Spectrum bill is by getting transferred away from customer service to the retention department. Customer service is generally more focused on sales goals, while retention agents are focused on stopping customers from canceling. Follow the script in our guide to quickly get transferred to retention for access to current discount offers.