Coming up a bit short at the end of the month? It could be your subpar budgeting skills, or it could be the wave of price hikes that your subscription services have hit you with so far this year.
Streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix are among the latest to announce price increases, with the former bumping up the price of its premium subscription from $9.99 to $10.99 a month this week, and the latter scrapping its cheapest ad-free plan.
With so many price increases being announced, it can be hard to keep track of them all and, more importantly, determine which ones affect you.
To silence that nagging voice in the back of your head, we've compiled a list of 5 streaming services available in Canada that have gotten more expensive recently — and how to cancel your subscription in case you're tired of paying more for the same old product.
Curiosity Stream
How prices were affected: Earlier this year, Curiosity's monthly standard plan took a bit of a leap, from $2.99 to $4.99. So, you can count on your innate inquisitiveness costing you the price of roughly two coffees a month instead of just one from now on.
If you're an annual subscriber, grab onto your bargain bin socks and hold on! Your bill just catapulted from $19.99 to $39.99 a year — yup, that's double. On the bright side, Curiosity did offer to gradually transition its existing subscriber base into the new plan, but you xn expect that pesky price jump in the next 11 to 12 months
How you can cancel your subscription:
- First, hop over to the 'Your Account' page.
- Now, scoot on down to the bottom of the page. You're looking for the 'Plan and Payment' section. Once you've found it, hit 'Manage Plan' on the right-hand side.
- Click 'Cancel Plan' in the top right corner.
Crave
How prices were affected: In 2023, Crave underwent a notable pricing change. The streaming platform discontinued its mobile subscription option, which was priced at $9.99 per month, leaving only a $19.99 per month plan as the sole available option for new subscribers.
This change didn't seem to be widely advertised, leading to some surprise and dissatisfaction among users. Despite this, existing Crave Mobile subscribers were allowed to remain on their current plan. The upside of this transition was that, even though the Crave Mobile plans ceased to be available for purchase, subscribers could now cast content from the Crave app to their big screens, with up to 720p video resolution.
Don't want any surprises on your next credit card bill? To dodge any future charges, pull the plug on your subscription before the start of your next renewal. So, if your monthly renewal is the 15th of every month, make sure you've canceled by the 14th of the following month.
How you can cancel your subscription:
- Look for the user icon at the top right corner of the home page and click it to find 'Manage Account'.
- Next stop is 'Subscriptions'. Click on it.
- In the upper right corner of the active subscriptions page, click 'Cancel Subscription'.
Paramount+
How prices were affected: Paramount+ hiked up the price of their ad-supported plan earlier this year. The cost went from being $4.99 per month to $5.99 per month, with its annual pricing plan shooting up to $59.99 per year.
When it first launched, Paramount+ offered two ad-free premium plans — one without Showtime at $9.99 per month and another that included Showtime at $11.99 per month — but they decided to streamline things. They rolled out a shiny new plan called Paramount Plus with Showtime which effectively replaced the old $9.99 per month plan. So now, instead of three, we've got two subscription options left on the table.
For those who were already enjoying the old Premium plan, don't fret! You've been automatically upgraded to the Paramount+ with Showtime plan. However, starting from your next billing date after July 27, 2023, you'll be charged the new price of $11.99 a month or $119.99 per year.
How you can cancel your subscription:
- Head over to paramountplus.com/account. Once signed in, you'll find an option there that says "cancel subscription". Give it a click. You're done. However, it's worth noting if you subscribed through a third-party distributor, you'll need to follow their specific instructions to cancel.
Another thing to keep in mind is that when you hit that cancel button, it won't kick in immediately. You'll still have access to Paramount+ until the end of your current subscription period.
You'll also need to cancel your subscription before it renews to avoid being billed for another cycle, so make sure to keep an eye on that!
Spotify
How prices were affected: On Monday, July 24, Spotify rolled out a series of price changes that shook things up not just for Canadians, but for their international audience too. Starting this week, the once-friendly $9.99 Spotify Premium plan is asking customers for an extra loonie each month, taking it to $10.99.
Here's a full breakdown of how Spotify's other pricing plans are increasing:
- Duo Premium plan was 12.99 per month, now $14.99 per month.
- The Family Premium plan climbed from $15.99 to $16.99 per month
- The Student Premium hiked up from $4.99 to $5.99 per month.
How you can cancel your subscription: First, visit spotify.com/account and log in. Find the section titled "Your plan" and click on "Change plan". From there, you'll want to scroll down to "Cancel Spotify" and select "Cancel premium".
And voila! It's done. But here's a heads up: your premium benefits will stick around until your next billing date, after which you'll revert back to the free version. But don't fret, your playlists and saved music aren't going anywhere, although you'll have to groove with a few more ads.
Netflix
How prices were affected: Netflix decided to phase out its $9.99 basic, ad-free option this year leaving many to reconsider their streaming priorities.
Those looking for a bargain through the service now have to tolerate commercial breaks via Netflix's $5.99 ad-tier plan. Worse yet, anyone wanting an ad-free binge-watching experience will now have to shell out a minimum of $16.49 a month.
On the bright side, if you're currently on the basic $9.99 plan, you're safe. You'll be able to stay with the plan for now unless, of course, you choose to switch or cancel."
How you can cancel your subscription:
- Open up Netflix.
- Find and click on the profile button (it's hiding in the top-right corner).
- Click on 'Account'.
- Now, you'll see 'Cancel Membership' - go ahead and click that.
- Last step, hit 'Finish Cancellation'.
And just like that, you've navigated the Netflix cancellation maze!
5 Subscription Services That Have Hiked Prices In Canada & How To Cancel Them
Source: News Article Viral
0 Comments