By pure chance, we get television, internet, and wireless cell phone service through one company – Verizon.
The Verizon Up rewards program is strictly for Verizon Wireless. We use Verizon Wireless for our phones because we get great reception in our home and the packages are well priced for us. I've debating switching to a Republic Wireless type of service (or even Freedom Pop) but never got around to it. Inertia is a real thing folks.
When Verizon first debuted their Verizon Smart Rewards program, I took one look and saw it was trash. I suspect many people felt the same way because they shuttered the program last fall.
Verizon Up took its place.
Is it worth it? Or is as bad as Verizon Smart Rewards?
What are the Verizon Up Rewards?
Is Verizon Up Worth it?
How Do I Cancel Verizon Up?
Verizon Up is a rewards program that gives you 1 credit for every $300 you spend. This includes monthly bills, devices, accessories, etc. All you need is to enroll in the Verizon Up program, install the My Verizon app on your phone, and wait to accrue points.
If you want to join, you'll want to enroll as soon as possible because you only accrue points after you sign up. The program has been going for a few months but I didn't earn any points even though I've been paying my bill.
You earn one credit for every $300 you spend and the credit expires after 60 days.
Earned Rewards: Every month the program refreshes the 6 reward options, which include “device dollars” to new devices, discounts on an accessory, or a reward with a partner.
Unexpected Rewards: These are rewards offered on special occasions and do not require any credits.
Super Tickets: These are tickets to sporting events, shows, concerts and similar live experiences. There's a countdown and when it reaches zero, you can claim the ticket like a regular reward. First come, first served.
Nothing in life is free and for these rewards, you're giving them your usage data.
When you enroll in Verizon Up, you also enroll in Verizon Selects. When Verizon acquired Yahoo and combined it with AOL, they renamed it Oath. It's 50 brands (includes some names you know like HuffPost, Tumblr, etc.) and Oath is part of Verizon Selects.
And what does Verizon Selects do?
Verizon Selects collects data to better serve you advertising.
Information about your wireless device and how you use it – including web addresses of sites you visit, similar information about apps and features you use, as well as device and advertising identifiers.
Information about your device location, including network data and location information transmitted by apps you permit to use your device location.
Information about the quantity, type, destination, location, and amount of use of your Verizon telecommunications and interconnected voice over internet services and related billing information (also known as Customer Proprietary Network Information or CPNI).
Information about your Verizon products and services and how you use them (such as data and calling features and use, Fios service options, equipment and device types).
The information they collect may be kept for up to three years.
As someone who spends a lot of time on the internet, I'm familiar with having my data collected in this way and I'm comfortable with it. You may or may not be, and I pass no judgment, so your decision hinges on whether you are willing to sell this data for essentially a few gift cards.
After a few months of seeing the offers, I have to say that the offers aren't that good. It's a couple $5 gift cards to places I don't go (Bed Bath & Beyond, Panera) and sometimes there's a 2GB data offer… so they're meh. The “cost” of giving up your data is low but so are the awards.
We had a reader comment that it was impossible to cancel but we found that you can log into your account and set privacy preferences.
You have to ask yourself, are these rewards worth the data you're giving them?
Is the American Express Platinum Card Worth the $550 Annual Fee?
I’ve heard of a Verizon FiOS and other amazing Verizon services, but never something called “Verizon up.” My folks used Verizon bundled services in the past. They had internet, phone and cable. I’m not sure why they switched but Verizon is definitely among the leaders in the industry.
At least you give an honest opinion of what you thought of the former Verizon Smart Rewards program and thought it was trash. I never ventured into it so I don’t know how it is. But I’ll take your word for it, Jim.
I absolutely agree with you Jim that nothing in life is free. Some people mask things that free, but there’s a hidden cost. Opportunity cost. Trade off cost. But one thing for sure is that a person is not getting what they think is free for free. Sooner or later they’ll have to give up something.
I’m wondering if there’s an affiliate program for the Verizon up service that affiliate earn a nice commission from. Verizon does have a pretty good affiliate program where they have decent affiliate payouts, but I’m a member of other affiliate programs and don’t want to stretch myself too thin.
I’m not cool with them collecting and selling information about how I use my data. I refuse to sign up for that reason.
I’ve only been on it a month but so far the perks have been “meh.” This month the $5 gift card is to Gap, where I haven’t been in years. The data is useful I suppose but we never go over so it’s of no value. I will give it a couple more months but it’s not looking good.
I stupidly signed up for Verizon UP, because generally I am very satisfied with Verizon. A few months later, I realized the awards are basiscally useless and I don’t want them collecting data on much of my browser activity AND all my phone calls AND all my family’s activity.
So I tried to cancel. Almost impossible to figure out how to reach anyone. When I finally did, I was told, that, “You can’t cancel. It’s a provision of the User Agreement with ‘UP’ that prevents you from ever canceling” (unless one cancels all their business with verizon wireless.
I like my cell service but I want to get out of Verizon UP. If there is a class action legal effort here, sign me up!
After a few months, I feel the same way.
I see a $5 gift certificate for the Gap. That’s pretty much it. I get those in the mail every month.
I think the way to make Up work, if you’re likely to stay with VZW, is the “Device Dollars” option on Up. While your CREDIT expires after 60 days, if you use it on the “Device Dollars” option the device “dollars” accrue. Currently I have 70 device “dollars” accrued toward my next phone, whenever that might be needed (my 2-year-old Pixel is working fine at the moment.) When I look at the “Device Dollars” in the app, it says I need to use them by April 2020 (it’s Jan 2019 at the moment.) I’ll look next time I use a credit to see if that extends the use-by date. One thing I *DO* notice is that every couple of months they’re only offering 5 “device dollars” per credit, when the previous month offered 10. Since the credits last 60 days I wait until the next cycle to bag a $10 offer.
I really appreciate your review. I just received another marketing email from Verizon about Verizon Up. I have resisted joining all this time, as it just has seemed like more trouble than it’s worth to keep track of some programs like this that may just be more of a nuisance than a value. You give a great reminder that things are not always what they seem, and to me it is increasingly important to protect my privacy and my information, so I would be quite unhappy to have joined and be told I could not discontinue the program.