Verizon has introduced a new plan called Simplicity, built to reward long standing customers and to take some of the confusion out of a monthly phone bill. Priced at 45 dollars, it sits at the level of an entry plan, yet it comes with top tier network service plus the kind of perks that are usually locked behind premium tiers, such as travel passes and discounted bundled streaming services. Alongside it comes a fresh rewards program offering cash back and free items every Monday. The plan launched today.
What the Simplicity plan covers at its base
Verizon Simplicity is a phone plan that costs 45 dollars per month per line, or 30 dollars per month for eligible new Verizon customers. That base price delivers 5G phone service with unlimited data, talk and text. It also includes international roaming and satellite texting, 10 gigabytes of mobile hotspot data, and on top of that Verizon Dollars, call filtering and Verizon Family, which is a parental controls app. Customers may also be able to bring their own phone. Enrolling in Verizon Loyalty means you avoid any activation or upgrade fees.
The bundles you can add to a line
Once that baseline is in place, you can layer bundles onto your line. The Movie Lovers bundle, for instance, adds Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ (with ads) along with Netflix and HBO Max (with ads) for 23 dollars a month. Bought separately, those services would run 40 dollars a month. Families may prefer a bundle that pairs Apple Music or YouTube Premium with Verizon Family Plus for an extra 20 dollars a month rather than the usual 31 dollars. A different bundle hands you Google AI Pro, a 100GB mobile hotspot and a second phone number for 30 dollars a month instead of 75 dollars.
These bundles look especially appealing if you would already be paying for the services on their own. One genuine drawback is that there does not appear to be a way to get the streaming services without ads. Given how complicated phone bills can feel, the simplicity of this approach is welcome. There is also a new home internet bundle named Verizon One, which combines your mobile service with your home internet for 70 dollars a month. It is reserved for new customers, but if you pay for those services separately and bring your own device, it still reads as an excellent deal.
Verizon Dollars and Verizon Shine
Verizon Dollars is essentially 3 percent cash back that you earn whenever you pay your bill, and it applies not just to your phone service but to the cost of perks and other add ons as well. The Dollars can be redeemed on gift cards, device purchases, products from the Verizon Store and other third party offerings. The program begins in July. Examples of stores where you can redeem Verizon Dollars so far include Wayfair, Target and Starbucks.
Then there is Verizon Shine, which offers different contests to enter each Monday, along with daily drops and access to special seating and tickets for live events. It closely resembles T-Mobile's popular Tuesday in app promotions, which have occasionally featured great giveaways. Longtime Verizon customers will remember that the company once ran a rewards program where you could grab coffee shop gift cards and similar items, so its return is a pleasant surprise. In the past these items were claimed very quickly. This week's drops include free 5 dollar Starbucks gift cards, FIFA wine tumblers and water bottles, and other merchandise. Right now, the winner of Verizon Shine's Epic Win Monday contest will get to attend the FIFA World Cup finale with David Beckham.
Verizon says future rewards will feature items or gift cards from Amazon, Ulta, Dunkin' Donuts, TopGolf and more. All in all, these offerings are worth a look whether you are an existing Verizon customer or a prospective one. Any chance to save a little money counts as a win.
