Whether you’re a cable subscriber or not, odds are that if you’re reading this, you’re a Netflix user. In fact, while 50 percent of Wi-Fi connected homes use at least one streaming service, 75 percent of those are Netflix users, according to comScore, a media measurement and analytics company.
How much do we love Netflix? To put it into perspective, the average Netflix subscriber streams one and a half hours of content a day, according to calculations based on the company’s January 2016 quarterly letter. It’s the undisputed champion among streaming services, easily surpassing even YouTube, according to comScore.
However, even with the low price tag, paying a monthly subscription fee isn’t something to take lightly. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top ways you can make sure you’re getting the most value out of your Netflix account.
[See: 6 Ways to Treat Yourself on a Budget.]
1. Get the right tier subscription package. One of the most important things is ensuring that you have the tier subscription on Netflix that fits your needs. There are three streaming-only packages ranging in price and features:
— Basic: $7.99 per month to stream on one device at a time in standard definition.
— Standard: $9.99 per month for streaming on two devices in high-definition.
— Premium: $11.99 per month to stream on up to four devices in ultra high-definition.
As you can see, the tier you choose should depend on how many people need to use the account at once and what sort of picture you’d like to receive. For example, if you live by yourself, then you’ll only stream on one device, so you can save money with the basic plan. However, if you want a higher quality picture, you’ll want to upgrade to the standard tier.
If you have a large family, you might be tempted to go with the premium package. However, keep in mind that packages are built around the number of simultaneous streams. In other words, the standard tier could still work for you as long as only two people in your family stream at the same time. You might not actually need the ability for each family member to stream his or her own show at the same time.
2. Consider sharing an account. A great way to lower the cost of a Netflix subscription is to just not pay for the entire thing yourself. You can always split an account with a friend or family member and still get full access to the service. If you have the standard or premium package, you can even watch Netflix at the same time.
Feel guilty for gaming the system? Apparently, you shouldn’t. Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, has publicly stated that he saw no problems with sharing accounts. So perhaps you can split a package and save $5 or $6 a month.
[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]
3. Keep up with new releases. The content on Netflix is always changing, which can be hard to keep up with. Unfortunately, this can lead to the scenario where you rent a show or movie on Amazon or another service, only to realize that it had already been added to Netflix.
What you should do is find a better way to keep up with new and upcoming content updates. There are plenty of newsletters or mailing lists out there that send these updates right to your inbox. Now, you won’t have to go hunting for the updates every time you’re looking to watch a movie.
4. Cancel during periods of inactivity. If you aren’t using Netflix regularly or don’t feel like you’re getting your money’s worth, you can always cancel your subscription temporarily. You can go right into your account settings and click the cancel button. Since there’s no contract, there’s no penalty. You’ll still have access to the service until the end of the billing cycle. And you can rejoin at any time with no reactivation fee.
5. Leverage the new download feature on the road. You may not realize it, but Netflix adding the ability to download its streaming content directly to your devices was huge. A lot of the times you’ll miss Netflix the most when you’re traveling or away from home. Now, you can download a show or movie to watch at any time. This means that you won’t have to pay rental or other fees in airports or hotels and you won’t have to resort to streaming over data if you’re away from home.
6. Adjust your data settings to save cell data. If you do resort to streaming Netflix on your phone using data, you just need to make sure to do it in an intelligent manner. Netflix says streaming standard definition video for an hour will use up a 1 gigabyte of data and HD streaming will eat up 3 GB per hour. Depending on your cell data plan, you could run through your allotted data quickly and get hit with some hefty overage fees.
Thankfully, Netflix makes it easy to toggle your playback settings to reduce the amount of data Netflix uses. This results in a much lower chance that you’ll have a huge bill at the end of the month.
7. Consider leveraging new offers, such as Binge On from T-Mobile. Binge On is an app from T-Mobile that allows you to stream video from select services without affecting your data limits. That means if you sign up for one of these plans on T-Mobile you can watch as much Netflix as your heart desires wherever you can get cell phone coverage.
Keep in mind, this only helps on mobile devices. If you’re hoping to use the app to stream to your television, it won’t work, so you’ll have to stick to traditional Wi-Fi. However, it’s a great option for streaming on the road.
[See: 10 Fun, Frugal Ways to Spend Your Free Time.]
8. Don’t forget the original Netflix DVD service. Remember the original version of Netflix where you’d pay a monthly fee to get DVDs in the mail? It still exists, and you can add this service to your existing streaming subscription. Netflix’s standard DVD plan is about $8 per month, and you can get as many DVDs as you want, one at a time.
If you buy or rent just two newly released movies each month, this will easily save you money. Considering that a rental on Google, Amazon or your cable’s on-demand service is usually around $4 or $5, this will definitely be cheaper. Plus, the DVD library is enormous, so you’ll have way more to choose from compared to the streaming library on other services (or even Redbox).
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8 Ways to Get the Most Value From Your Netflix Account originally appeared on usnews.com
