Spectrum Internet Deals: A Master Haggler’s Guide to Cheap Internet

As one of the best-rated cable internet providers, Spectrum offers a basic internet plan for $49.99 a month for 12 months when you set up AutoPay. The plan gives you download speeds up to 300Mbps. But you can upgrade to the 500Mbps plan, which costs $69.99 a month for 24 months when you have AutoPay. Bump up to $79.99 a month (for two years guaranteed when you have AutoPay) to get the fastest, most reliable internet, delivering speeds up to 1,000Mbps.

Spectrum also has a package called Internet Assist available to California customers who qualify for certain government benefits. Take a look at our low-cost internet guide for info on how to sign up.

If you look at the fine print, Spectrum states that these offers are for “new residential customers only,” which they specify as someone having “no Spectrum services within past 30 days.” This is what we in the haggling business like to call verrrrryyyy interesting information to keep in your back pocket.

If you really want a cheap deal on home internet, you can also search for other internet providers in your area. Search your zip code below to see all the Wi-Fi options you have.

The best promotion from Spectrum Internet right now is the chance to get a free Spectrum Mobile line for a year when you bundle it with the 300Mbps internet plan. The offer saves you $400 a year in cellular costs. You also get Advanced Wi-Fi and you don’t have to worry about data caps or annual contracts.

• No data caps
• No annual contract or early termination fees
• Only $5/mo. to cover Wi-Fi when you use a Spectrum modem (compared to $10-$12/mo. from other providers)

First and foremost, when it comes to getting the best deal from Spectrum, you must have knowledge in your arsenal. Look up what promotions are currently being offered by Spectrum, which you can do in a few different ways:

• Start by checking our regular roundup of the best internet deals. We’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting to find the sweetest Wi-Fi promotions and discounts, including from Spectrum, and we update the page monthly.
• Go to the Spectrum website and see what deals they currently offer. You may have to enter your address to see if there are any different or additional offers for you based on your location—which could mean a few extra emails in your inbox. But that’s where the handy “unsubscribe” button can come to good use.
• Call Spectrum customer service and ask what deals they are offering for new and existing customers. The customer rep likely only can offer promotions to new customers, but, as my dad always said, the answer is always “no” if you never ask. Besides, it’s important to know what new customers can get, even if an existing customer is ineligible.

When you’re ready to score a deal, consider what may be your style of negotiating. I take the “online troll” approach, hiding behind my phone and calling customer service. I am much more likely to wave a white flag if I have to look someone in the eye and demand a deal. But I have a few tactics in my handbook that have proven successful in securing Spectrum bargains.

You certainly take advantage of a bundle deal as a way to get a discount on internet. On top of offering internet services, Spectrum also sells cable TV plans as well as cellular packages through its MVNO brand, Spectrum Mobile. The provider can get you a free mobile line for a year when you get the Spectrum One package, while a TV package can get you indirect perks like free subscriptions to Disney+ Basic and ESPN+.

Fidel Diaz, who works in the nonprofit union space, prefers a softer, in-person approach when he wants to save on Spectrum.

“My neighbor Greta and I trade war stories about this,” he says. “Her approach is to bottle up every work slight and frustration from being a mother and unleash hell on Spectrum management until they give her the correct deal. My approach is to walk in and be as charming as possible.”

In the past, Diaz has walked into a Spectrum store with pastries from a local bakery that everyone loves and “got free streaming TV for a year.” The following year, he dropped in “with candy on Halloween and they helped me set up for the federal discount.” Catching flies with honey instead of vinegar (or mild bribery) is certainly a worthy strategy. But it could absolutely backfire.

“I think both ways work. I just don’t have the Attila the Hun gene,” he says.

Whether you’re in a store or on the phone, your success in bargaining with Spectrum customer service all depends on the employee or management style of whoever you’re talking to. However, the thing to remember before going into a call or visit with Spectrum is that the company wants to keep your business. A customer rep absolutely does not want you to cancel service: They’d rather give you the deal than lose you as a client.

So—and brace yourself if you’re like me and are easily embarrassed—you have to be willing to try my dad’s go-to preferred strategy: the fake walk away. Even if you’re a current customer, insist on getting the new customer deal. If they can’t give it to you, threaten to cancel your services. This may be a long back-and-forth, but remain strong. And, importantly, be ready to actually walk away.

You only need 30 days as a non-Spectrum customer to re-qualify as a new customer and, thus, score their promotional deal that would last a whole one to two years. Is it worth not having home internet for a month just to get the deal? Maybe, maybe not. The worst case scenario is for one month you have to use a coffee shop Wi-Fi or stream TV and movies from your phone under your phone’s internet plan.

Another option, if Spectrum doesn’t budge, is to cancel and set up internet through a different provider. Not everyone lives on a block where multiple internet options are available—and you may not even have another viable option that can deliver speeds as fast as Spectrum. But it’s worth running a search to see what other internet options are available in your area.

The deals are there. There is money to save. It’s just a matter of how much you’re willing to haggle like my dad.