Finding the best ISP can be difficult when there are numerous cheap internet offers, plans with unlimited data, contract-free service and other common selling points aimed at earning your business.
Virtually all the best internet providers offer those kinds of basic incentives, so ISPs often throw additional promo offers into the mix. They know that favorable service terms and short-lived promo pricing won’t always compel a customer to switch. Whether it’s a rewards card, a free gadget, free subscription to a premium service or some other extra, the aim is always to sweeten the pot and entice you into signing up.
Below, we share our top picks for the best internet promotions during the month of August.
Read more: Best VPN of 2021
What’s the best internet promo near you?
If you’re tempted by rewards cards, Frontier and Wide Open West offer the highest amount — $200 available with select plans — but AT&T and Xfinity are also giving away Visa Rewards Cards up to $150 for a limited time. Verizon Fios, has arguably the best bonus of all, though it’s not in the form of a rewards card. New customers can get a free Samsung Chromebook 4 11.6-inch 32GB plus a free router when they sign up for gigabit service.
Of course, the best internet deals available to you will depend on which internet service providers are available in your area:
Top internet promos for August 2021
AT&T Fiber
$150 AT&T Visa Reward Card
Jim Lane/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
How to get it: Order any AT&T Fiber plan online. This offer is only available to new AT&T internet users and must be redeemed within 75 days of reward notification.
It seems like AT&T always has some sort of rewards card offer going on, so the current $150 Visa Reward Card doesn’t really stand out from previous offers. Sometimes it’s $100, other times it’s $200 or possibly $300 when you sign up for a bundle package. That said, an extra $150 is certainly nice to have, and it’s a bit more than you’ll get from most providers right now.
Frontier FiberOptic
Up to $200 Visa Reward Card
Frontier Communications
How to get it: Sign up online for FiberOptic Gig Service.
While AT&T’s rewards card offer is the same across all fiber plans, Frontier’s offer varies by plan. To get the max reward amount, $200, you’ll have to sign up for Frontier’s most expensive plan, Gig Service. Even though it’s the most expensive plan, it’s a fairly good deal on its own, with a download speed of up to 940Mbps for $80 per month. On top of that, the equipment costs are included in the price.
If you don’t need gigabit speed, Frontier FiberOptic 500/500 comes with a $100 rewards card, but the 50/50 plan does not. Frontier DSL also does not have any rewards cards or special offers available at this time.
Optimum
Free HBO Max subscription, free month of internet
Altice
How to get it: Sign up online for Optimum 300, 500 or gigabit plans.
Optimum includes an HBO Max subscription, valued at $15 per month, for various lengths depending on the plan you sign up for. New customers will receive the HBO Max offer for three months when they sign up for Optimum 300, six months with Optimum 500 and a full year with the Optimum Gig plan. Perhaps taking a page out of fellow New York provider RCN’s book, Optimum offers a free month of service (in the form of a credit on the third bill).
Optimum also has one of the best gigabit deals of any major provider right now, with a download speed of up to 940Mbps starting at $45 per month.
Verizon Fios
Free Samsung Chromebook 4, free router
Samsung
How to get it: Sign up for Verizon Fios Gigabit Connection.
While other providers offer rewards cards of varying denominations, Verizon always keeps things interesting with free service subscriptions and/or devices. Currently, new Verizon Fios customers can get a free 11.6-inch Samsung Chromebook 4 (a $180-$220 value) when they sign up for gigabit service, plus free router rental (a $180 per year value).
The Chromebook is only available with Verizon’s gigabit plan, but you can still get a Galaxy Tab A7 Lite with the Fios 400Mbps plan. If you opt for the lowest-priced Fios plan, you’ll get a good deal on 200Mbps starting at $40 per month, but you won’t be eligible for any free devices.
WideOpenWest
$200 Visa Rewards Card
Wide Open West
How to get it: Sign up for a 200Mbps plan or higher and keep your service for a minimum of 90 days.
Along with Frontier, WideOpenWest, aka WOW, is offering the highest rewards card amount for standalone internet service, $200, and it’s easier to get than with Frontier. While Frontier requires you to sign up for gigabit service to get the $200, WOW includes it with all plans of 200Mbps and higher (so basically, all plans excluding the lowest-priced one).
Xfinity
Up to $150 Visa Prepaid Card
Angela Lang/CNET
How to get it: Sign up for the Xfinity Gigabit plan.
Upgrading to a faster (and more expensive) plan isn’t always worth the added cost, especially if it’s more speed than you need, but Xfinity encourages you to take a second look at those faster plans with its rewards cards. Xfinity’s three fastest plans — excluding Gigabit Pro, because who wants to pay $300 for internet? — all come with a Visa Prepaid Card. Order Extreme and get a $50 card, Extreme Pro for a $100 card or Gigabit for the grand prize of $150.
What other special offers are available for home internet?
Kinetic by Windstream is currently offering a $100 instant credit in select areas. Other than that, there isn’t much worth writing home about. Sure, some providers have lower introductory pricing or free install offers, but that’s so common among ISPs now that they could hardly be considered “promos.”
That’s not to say that other special offers aren’t available, they’re just not as heavily advertised or may not be available to all residential customers. When signing up for a new internet service, ask the internet provider what other special offer they can throw in for you. Or call your current ISP and ask what they can do to keep your business. It may get you nothing, but it could get you a lower rate, free equipment or something else that wasn’t advertised online. Hey, you never know, it never hurts to ask.
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