To bundle or not to bundle? When you are trying to determine what you will do for cable, internet, and perhaps additional services (often, you might see landline and cell service included), there are plenty of options. There are also plenty of numbers and prices being thrown around. This can become confusing or even deliberately misleading in several ways. Companies will be more interested in grabbing your attention than giving you complete information, and competition is tight in many regions.
You might consider some service options and bundles, as they can genuinely save you money and improve your quality of life. Yet we want you to get the right bundle and prepare for the long term, hence this article. Please keep reading to know all the essential information and what to look out for.
Here are some of the main pros and cons of service bundles, as well as a few thoughts on what might be best for your household and situation:
While it is fairly self-explanatory, a service bundle is where you can get several services (telecommunications services in this instance), all from one general provider or under the same bill and umbrella. For example, you could get internet services for $80 a month from one company and TV services for an additional $100 from another. With a bundle, you might be able to get both for $130 each month from the same provider, at least at the start. Your provider may also offer a few additional perks and channels for your trouble.
In some cases, it will all be service under the same general corporation (for example, AT&T Internet and DirecTV from AT&T). In other cases, several companies might come together to offer something, though this has become less common in recent years. Bundles can be double bundles (TV and internet), triple bundles (TV, internet, and another service), or even more, adding cell phone services to the mix.
Bundles have kept costs lower for customers, and service providers have increasingly relied on them as a method to keep people from cutting the TV cord and just moving over to internet streaming services for their entertainment. They have only been marginally successful at keeping people from cutting out their landline services.
There is a clear reason why people will often sign up to get bundles: overall, they will cost less and allow people to get more value for their dollar. Getting multiple services in a bundle will be cheaper than getting them separately unless you are sacrificing the quality of one of the services.
For example, the starting price for internet alone from Xfinity can be $54.99 a month (depending on the service), and TV can be $49.99 a month, at least for the starting term of a contract. A bundle combining these services can reach a total of only $69.99. This is a saving of $35 and makes not getting both seem like a bad deal. One can find many similar levels of savings with other providers. However, the total savings can vary from negligible (literally no difference) to massive (there is no financial argument not to get a bundle).
When considering a bundle, be sure to look at the total savings in each instance and balance it out with the services you need and are interested in.
Convenience is also a key factor when bundling and is not something discussed often enough. The potential hassle of working with several different service providers can lead to a bit of a headache, especially when customer service is involved and you need help. While unlikely, they could conflict and cause confusion, which is the last thing you need.
When signing up for services, companies will generally be happy to get multiple things scheduled or set up at once. This can be helpful when moving or setting up in a new place (it is hard to go without the internet for long in today's world).
Bundling is also nice when it comes to billing. All costs are likely to go on one bill, and you have one point of contact if you notice a mistake with your billing or have a question. Fees might also be lower, and there is a lower chance of accumulating late fees or service charges.
In any case, if you value your time, getting a bundle can save some of that so you can use it on more important things than dealing with your services, such as enjoying them.
Unfortunately, some service providers hide their highest internet speeds or best channel packages behind a bundle. There is no way to get these services (even if you are willing to pay a premium) except to sign up for one. Alternatively, the price for getting those services or channels on their own could be so expensive that getting the bundle is outright cheaper, not even considering the value of the additional service.
If there are specific channel packages (often something related to sports programming or premium cable channels) that you and your household absolutely must have, check to see if they are even available on their own first. Then check out their inclusion in bundles.
When getting a bundle, it is also more likely that you will be able to get precisely the services you want. Bundling options open and a greater ability to mix and match services. While there will still likely be limitations and favored packages offered by the service provider, this can result in an even cheaper overall bundle or a better balance with fewer wasted services and perks.
Note that this generally only applies to larger providers. Smaller providers or providers that typically specialize in one service (often cable companies that also provide cable internet) might only have one or two options. In this case, you may have to settle or consider another provider if available.
While this is by no means a guarantee, many service providers are willing to buy out old contracts if you are willing to sign up with their services instead. This offer is often the final impetus needed to push people to make the switch. While companies will be less likely to do this if you are getting a single service, this offer can be far more common with more expensive plans and bundles.
If you hate your current provider but do not see an easy way out, perhaps a new bundle can help matters.
By getting a bundle, you might be able to get some of the following, depending on the provider:
In truth, most of these perks and offers should not be a significant consideration when you are picking between plans, as they are usually temporary or will only save you a few hundred dollars. They probably not worthy of any change in your plans. While several hundred dollars is significant, it pales compared to the thousands you will spend throughout your contract, and you can often get those perks separately from another source.
Additionally, the perks offered often come and go with the times. What was here at the time of this writing might not even be available when you read the article.
In most cases, you will save on the total by using a bundle or get better services than you usually would. However, that does not change the fact that you will be getting more from a provider and getting charged more. You can get some things at a discount, but never truly free.
If you do not use the extra services or features, you will still be subject to a higher bill each month for what is effectively a waste. Better value, in general, is not necessarily better value for your household if the services you're paying for don't get used.
While the price of bundles can seem extremely appealing at first, and the advertised rates seem entirely reasonable, price hikes are inevitable in most cases and can severely impact your bill. They should impact your long-term decision-making. Unless your company of choice makes a mistake or goes out of business, you will likely stick with your chosen provider for years.
While this can happen with standalone services too, it is far more common with bundles, and you can expect a price hike either one or two years after signing up. The hikes can result in you spending several hundred dollars more per month, so be careful and be sure to read the fine print on any agreement or contract. Even if you are signing up online (a more likely scenario these days), be sure to read all the fine print, as it should be available.
If you are working with a company that offers a bundle, you are more likely to be locked into a contract for the term period, usually one or two years. While you can generally cancel your services, the fees for doing so can reach hundreds of dollars depending on how much time you have left on your service contract.
Depending on your local providers and your interests, a contract might be something that you cannot avoid. Just be sure to know exactly how long you have to stick with them and make sure you know everything you need about a company before committing.
It can be annoying and frustrating if you are in an area with superior services when it comes to cable and internet, yet they come from different service providers. While there might still be options for you, in this case, they can be terribly expensive and inconvenient.
Worse yet, those superior services might be locked behind a bundle or extremely highly-priced without one, making you effectively choose between services. Having excellent internet but poor cable (or vice versa) might not be acceptable for you, though this is a con that will exist whether or not you sign up for a bundle.
If you are willing to switch providers, you have a bit of negotiating power if your service provider wants you to stay. You might be able to get promotional pricing, a few extra perks, or other things out of this. While you shouldn't abuse this fact, it remains that if you have a problem with your service provider, you might be able to get it solved easier if it looks like you could switch. If you just signed up for a bundle with a company, you are less likely to go anywhere anytime soon.
However, in some cases, you might have a bit more negotiating power, as there will be cases where the companies want to keep you on all of their services. This is further down the line and more likely if there are multiple strong competitors in your area. It may also not be applicable for some people because there are no other workable options in their area.
While it can be helpful to talk about bundles in the abstract, the truth is the right decision will be heavily determined by where you live and which service providers are operating in your area. People living in rural areas simply will not have as much choice and might have only one bundle option, making the decision a moot point. Alternatively, some cities or large towns might have municipal internet options, saving users a lot of money.
The good news is that you can use this site to help you figure out what is available, some of the prices, and more information on the services. You will, of course, want to use your judgment and perhaps do additional research specific to your situation. You will also want to ensure that the ISP listed is still operating and in good standing in your area. A reputation can change quickly over just a couple of years.
When you can choose between several bundles and services, one of the most important things to do is to compare the services side by side and not just look at the pricing. While there are longer articles on the topic and this very site can help you make your choice, you will want to compare the following main features (outside of price) for each service:
You might find there are things you care about other than what is listed above. You may weigh things differently than another household. For example, stay-at-home professionals will likely want to ensure a good upload speed.
While the idea of a bundle of different services might be appealing when you see the savings, as mentioned, if you are paying an extra $20 for a service you rarely or never use, then you are still wasting $20.
So what will you use? The best way to determine that is to note what you currently use or find yourself wanting frequently.
While the new channels or options might enthuse you at first, you will likely default back to your regular routine after a few weeks or months unless you were genuinely craving specific channels or options before. If your life is just fine without a landline now, what makes you think that getting one in a bundle will make your life different? You might get an additional 100 channels, but how much TV do you watch in the first place? Would you even watch any of the news channels, and what would you stop watching or doing to enjoy the new channels? Remember that you only have so much time in the day, and it's hard to watch TV faster.
If you are uncertain, we recommend keeping a journal of your habits. Doing so will help you make the right choice and keep you focused on what you want to watch instead of what you're passively keeping on.
Even after looking at all the above, it may still be tough to decide whether to go with a bundle, a single service, or separate services. Then you still have to choose a plan or specific bundle once you choose. If you are in this situation, we recommend you ask yourself the following questions:
There are, of course, other things to ask yourself and examine about your household, such as the number of people, your available hours, and even how many neighbors you have. So many things are tangentially linked to this decision, yet you should not lose sight of the critical factors and elements listed above. There will always be a few disadvantages to whatever you pick, or else it would be a foregone conclusion, and you likely would not be reading this piece.
We cannot tell you outright whether a bundle is a good or bad thing for you and your household. You must determine that for yourself and your needs. Nonetheless, we hope that all the information listed above can help make that choice much easier for you and that you will be able to get exactly what you want. Take your time, feel free to come back to this article and others as needed, and read everything carefully. Enjoy your new services when you get them!
