Our guide will show some of the top companies with it comes to cable discounts for seniors. We’ll even show you a handful of alternatives you can take advantage of if you’re not ready to commit to a 2 or 3 year cable TV or satellite plan.
Before we jump into the list of companies with the best cable discounts for seniors, we wanted to address one of the questions we get all the time.
How old are senior citizens, and how old do you need to be to qualify for a senior TV plan?
According to
SeniorLiving.org, the official age of senior citizens vary from 62 to 65 years old. The age varies depending on who you ask.
For purposes of Social Security Benefits, the age of a senior is 62.
For purposes of Medicare, the age of a senior citizen will be 65 years old.
When signing up for most
senior cable TV plans, the official qualifying age would be 55 years of age or older.
Now that you know all of the basics, let’s take a look at some of the companies that can help you get the best cable deals for seniors.
- Dish Network
– This is our #1 favorite provider when searching for cable discounts for seniors. They offered the best prices, have some of the longest-standing customers and great customer reviews. Dish even locks in monthly rates for 24 months to ensure there are no surprise increases on you monthly bill. While Dish doesn’t announce an official senior citizen discount plan for TV service, they work with seniors to find the lowest price packages and installation deals. No wonder why Dish has great reviews when it comes to satisfaction with pricing.
- Directv
– We rated DirecTV #2 due to their popularity of sports packages and access to on-demand selection. When it comes to senior living, DirecTV offers a unique TV service offering for residents that live in assisted living, skilled nursing facilities, and traditional nursing-home style apartments. DirecTV also offers easy payment options, DVR recording, and free anti-microbial remotes.
- Xfinity
– We rated Xfinity as #3. While they don’t offer an official senior citizens discount for cable TV or satellite service, they do offer Internet Essentials
which offers internet service for $9.95 per month for qualifying residents and families with no credit checks an no long-term contracts. Many customers are taking advantage of the discounted internet service and using this to stream affordable subscriptions services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon TV.
Now that you know what our favorite companies are, we can show you a few other discounts you can ask for when signing up for new TV service. Here are our top 5 discounts that senior citizens can ask for that can ultimately result in huge savings on your new senior cable TV plan.
- Military discount
– Passing on the chance to ask for a military discount is like leaving money on the table. True enough, there are companies out there that don’t offer military discounts, but keep in mind that there are millions that do. Even if they offer you a discount of $5 to $10 per month, if you average this over 5 or 10 years, you’ll begin to realize the amount of money you’ve saved over time.
- Refer a friend discount – Dish Network offers a friend referral program
that will give you a $100 bill credit for each new customer you refer. The $100 bill credit will be spread over a 12-month period and can lower your monthly bill even more for each new friend referral. Bringing in 5 new customers will reduce your monthly bill by more than 70%.
- First Responder Discount – Dish Network also offers a special promotion for first responders
such as active duty military, veterans, police officers, and firefighters. The offer adds additional enhancements and channels to your TV service if you le them know you’re a first responder. Just ask for the “Stars and Stripes” package. Here’s what you get
- a. Stars & Stripes Pack – free channels like Starz, Encore Western, Smithsonian Channel, American Heroes Channel and more.
- b. Free On-Demand Movie each month
- c. Upgraded DVR
- d. Upgrade to stream live or recorded content to your mobile device.