ReverendOlaf

I hear you with the lineup changes post merger. Not sure if the could have possibly made worse choices.

blaser

I'm not big on XM either, tried it for 3 months, I think it's too expensive.
Especially today with all the MP3 players you can hooks to your car and customize the music you love to hear for long drives.

037

I just renewed my XM as previously posted and the deal was $77 and I get whatever I had before.

Well, today was the first day of the new year and I noticed my XM online is gone...I was pissed...but not surprised.

I called in to cancel service, complaining that I was promised the same thing I had and now I've lost a feature I use.

The first person was useless, so there's no reason to talk to them, just ask to cancel and you'll move on to the person who can actually do something.

Explained my situation to the next person and without a hesitation was offered to get the online listening for free.

Enjoy!

jmlaser

Im in the same boat,.. Bought an 06 Rl and my XM works,... Figure it was still running on previous owners years service fee. I too would like Howard Stern again (Have a standalone Sirius unit for the other car).
Thoughts on a way to get it besides paying the $4 ?

socal28

I just renewed my XM for $77+tx for a year (XM Everything, no Stern). Plus, they gave me 3 free months of traffic. No online though.
Promotion is still out there.

Rob144

What was your magic script?

I find that they now let my subscription roll over and send me a new bill for the full subscription price. I'm trying to decide whether to be proactive and call to cancel and see if they offer me the lower rate rather than getting hit with charges.

socal28

Yes, they rolled over my subscription to regular price and charged my CC for 3-months. I called to cancel and woman on phone actually offered me the ~$27 (forgot the exact figure) for 5 months deal first, but I asked for something that's longer term (so I don't forget and need to call to negotiate again) and then she offered me the $77/year. She prorated the 3-month charge and subtracted from the $77. I asked about the traffic and she offered me the free 3-months and then it will be regular price after that. She said that there's was no package deal or promotion with the traffic option.
Hope this helps.

TampaRLX-SH

I think the key is to request a cancellation.

Last 2 years I call a week BEFORE my subscription runs out or they roll me onto a new full price subscription. As soon as I get transferred to a retention agent I claim it is too expensive to continue and I get the $77 deal and package it with NavTraffic (no discount) for something in the $130 range with appropriate Florida taxes and communications fees.

lland

Was on the $77.00/year plus a second radio in the MDX. Got my letter changing the renewal pricing to the current full rate of $38.95 (plus $5.94 royalty) for the RL and $26.97 (plus $2.91 royalty) for the MDX (both quarterly). Told them it was too much. The rep said OK, I'll note your account that you want to cancel because of the price then transferred me to "cancellations."

Cancellations verified my reason for canceling and then offered me an annual rate of $88.78 per radio (plus Nav traffic at $3.99/month - no discount available). I said no, then she offered me the $77.00 annual rate per radio and offered to waive the royalty fees. I asked if she could include online access which she did for six months. Nav traffic was still $399/month.

She also offered me a five month promotion for $23.05 per radio, which is very cheap, but I took the annual rate simply because I didn't want to have to call back in five months.

So, I got two radios for $77.00/year each, Nav traffic for $3.99/month (regular rate), and six month of XM online for free...just for the asking. A savings of close to $200 over the regular rates.

LL

eaglewatch

Just started year 4 of getting my annual renewal for $77. This time, I called before the autorenewal date told the first XM rep that I had another car with Sirius and I was looking for a multi-radio discount. Was told (as seen on other chat boards) that they have still done nothing to integrate their two systems (i.e., they have no way to tell if you have both services or not and can't give you that discount). So, time to transfer to "cancellations" and get to the rep who can actually do something for me. Was offered $77 for XM Everything, or just over $100 if I wanted best of Sirius with that (NavTraffic is still an extra $3.99 regardless). Now I need to call Sirius with the same story and see what happens.

CSpaR

Okay, this was an easy 1,2,3 process. I called the number on my renewal statement. First person said, must transfer you to another person. The other person said no problem, will renew at $77. piece 'o cake.

But hold on! There's a kicker now. (There's always a kicker). There's a new fee... the US Music Royalty Fee. $11.78 per year. Yeah! Total was $88.78 for the year.

Rob144

I called and told them I wanted to cancel -- too much given the amount I drive the car. Transferred to another operator. Told her I wanted to cancel. She asked if I would be interested in a $23.05 deal for 5 months -- I said no, because the rest of the year would be standard rates. She offered $77 annual deal that would come to $88 after royalty fee and taxes. I said that's more than I paid last year, and I don't remember paying that much. I grudgingly said OK, and by the time she came back after being on hold she said they'd waive the royalty fee.

You've got to know when your year is up and call ahead to say you want to terminate before you get the discount-free inflated "renewal" statement -- usually sent after your renewal date.

Get to try again in a few months on the other car......

Rob144

eaglegreen48

My turn again. I called for my 3rd renewal. She asked if I wanted to renew. I said It depends on what the renewal rate is. She then told me how great it was that my credit card was on file and the renewal fee would automatically be charged to it. Then asked me if I wanted to renew again. I said how much? She says " $164.25 for a year. "what you had last year was a promotional rate". I said "I can't handle that, I'm going to have to cancel". She says we can give you 4 months for $44. I said "thats not really saving me much, I'll just cancel". She says, " I'll have to put you through to someone who can help you". So I hold for 10-12 minutes someone picks up and she wants to know why I wish to cancel. I say "the renewal rate is something I can't handle". She says " How about if we give you the same rate you had last time ($77 year). I say "If you can do that I'm in".

All you need is patience to play the game. I wonder how many are paying $164

rplain

My XM was given to me as a gift by someone in my family in the end of 2008. When the subscription ended and they automatically renewed it. Now they want me to pay 2 months for something I didn't use. Any advice on how to get this fixed. I won't be using them again because of their renewal policies. They are real tought to deal with. Any ideas would be welcomed.

bnaritomi

This evening, I followed the "script" and renewed at $88.78 for a year. My start/end date is actually in March but the rep. started my new subscription today thus giving me a month for free.

GoHawks

I got the requisite letter from XM that my contract was coming due and unless I called, I would be renewed at $43/quarter plus $47/year for Navtraffic. The total coming out to just over $230.

I called today and said that I didn't want to renew and unless I was able to keep my previous agreement I was willing to let the agreement expire. I was transferred over to retention where I was offered $88.78/year for XM and $47.88 for Navtraffic for a grand total of $136.00 for the year..

rl35kb1

This sticky is so old that I thought surely it cant still be working. I was wrong. It still works. I stuck to the script and got the deal for $77 for the year. Thanks guys!!!

walrus2

i used the info other folks posted.
I had a 3 month free, and then i called and said "My wife's friend gets it for $77, and i'm interested in that amount."
XM said there is an $11 "artists" fee, and i didn't argue.
So it was $88/tax.

My bank of america account allows me to use an expiring userid, so i used that, so they can't auto-renew.

Rob144

I called in advance of my renewal date and mentioned that I intended to let my subscription expire due to the high cost of renewal. That resulted in the $77 + $11 royalty fee, but I got 3 months of free NAV traffic as part of the renewal.

There was a lot of scripted talk about when the subscription expires in 2011, it will be renewed at the standard rate. The idea is to call before you get to that date.

I'd be happy to pay less and have fewer stations -- I don't need 20 sports stations, and some of the programming is of absolutely no interest. I'd probably pay close to what I'm paying now for a package with half the stations if I could choose them.

As a side note, I find that other XM-equipped cars I've driven show the song/artist info more quickly than my RL. A new TSX I drove had a neat feature that let you scroll through the list of stations (showing their name) letting you pick one from the list while you listened to the current station. Much nicer than having to step through to get to a non-saved station.

adambrett

Thanks for posting, though I wish I had read this before last week when I paid to renew!

TampaRLX-SH

I got my renewal notice today and decided the pre-emptive strike approach.

I called and stated I planned to cancel once the current subscribtion ran out (a month away). The rep immediatedly offered me to renew my XM Music + NavTraffic at the same discounted rate I have had for the last 5 years (including my TL days). No fuss, no script, no manipulations.

foam4me

Just renewed again, $77/yr including music royalty.
Other renewals have been for shorter time periods but essentially the same rate, or slightly more. This time transferred to "Cancellation Dept", told them it was too expensive (about $180/yr quoted) and the promotional rate of $77/yr was offered and accepted!

Kmzine

Free 3 month expired. Renewed for $77 + royalty + taxes using script. Big thank you for the folks on this forum!

sneed52

Just received the $77 rate....let's keep this thing going!!!!

iceburg

My subscription is up in a couple weeks so I revisited this thread which has provided years of entertainment.

If I'm reading correctly, some are getting $77 inclusive of the royalty fee and some got saddled with the royalty fee on top of the $77 charge. Guess I'll hold the line on the former and see how far I get.

My_1st_Ac

Still works. I called and said that it was too expensive and I have been with XM for 5 years and the CSR says, since you have been with us for that long I can give you the 1/2 off rate which is $77 dollars for XM Everything. The total was $88.78 with fees. Literally, this took less than 10 minutes!

I called back after reading the TL XM thread to inquire about adding the "Best of Sirius". Way....too expensive for me. I couldn't get a promotion rate as TL member stated S/he received. So..just XM. Thanks for keeping this thread! I'll be doing it again next year. This is my 3rd time renewing! Or maybe its my 4th?

hads

Worked for me in a roundabout way. Called the number on the script.

Thought my subscription was up on 9/30/10, because that's what the letter said, but when I called, they said it was up on 10/4/10.

So, I told Customer Care that I cannot afford the fee that they wanted to charge, so I wanted to cancel my subscription as of 10/4. They then transferred me to someone who could help me cancel my subscription.

I told the cancellation guy that I wanted to cancel the radio as of 10/4 because it's too expensive. He said he would help me with canceling it. I think he was waiting to see how serious I was, then said "Because you have been a good customer of XM, I can offer you the rate of $88.78". I said, "Well, okay, that's more affordable"

I've been an XM Radio subscriber since 2005 and have now got this rate for both my 2006 TL and 2009 MDX every year (now twice a year).

UniqueFlips

Was offered 77 + royalties and passed and took the 5 months for $23.05 plus NAV at 3.99

Ballinger

77 +12+48 for radio, royalty & navtraffic, just for the asking at the cancellation desk. Another year set, well worth the 10 minutes online to get it done.

HTC-RL

I stuck to the script and was offered $77 subscription fee and $12 Royalty. Since I called a month before my first subscription expired (full price) I received a $17.54 credit. After taxes total was $78.57.

vhdoshi

Was wondering if anyone has had any success in trying to get XM Radio online for free, so we can use their mobile app for free on smart phones.

Usually XM radio online is an extra $2.99 a month (or $35.88/year).

But would like to try to get it for free or at a discount, if possible when calling to cancel service.

CDR A

New development! I had just repaid my XM traffic automatically at $47.98 / year and was coming up on my annual XM radio renewal. I called and went through the motions again turning down the various proposals until she came up with 3 months free at the "half-price" rate with a total of $43.23 for the year! I don't quite believe it yet, so if my credit card shows otherwise I'll update the group.

teekay

Just called and got the $77/year plan. It took me a couple calls, though.

I went through the motions with the first rep. for about 10-15 minutes including time spent on hold, but then he said "Oh, we'll honor the $77 price, but we'll have to call you back in 3-5 business days to set things up." ???

I told him that I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow (which is true) and asked if there was a supervisor or anyone else I could talk to who could set me up right now as I would obviously not be around to answer my house phone during that time--and I got a big fat NO.

I called back about 10 minutes later, got a different rep who seemed genuinely surprised when I told her what the first rep said and she apologized profusely for what happened. She had me set up with the $77/year deal in about two minutes, no questions asked, no codes needed, nada.

Thanks to everyone who has posted to this thread! After poking around online about XM discounts, this was THE best discussion on the topic.

037

just renewed at $88/year including online listening.

they screwed up in the beginning and gave me traffic too...oh well.

lausy

Just renewed for annual rate $88.XX. Haven't done the NAV Traffic last couple of years, not too useful where I drive. I also told them to renew my MDX and that was done at $6X.XX I didn't ask why it was cheaper, didn't want her to double check since it was cheaper. Doesn't matter which number you call, you just have to tell them you want to cancel and they will transfer you to retention, and at that time, you just say it's too expensive and they will always offer the cheaper packages.

037

it could be cheaper if you had service left on your MDX, they just deduct that and tack on a full year.

white05rl

LOL, I just got my credit card charged $175 from XM for one year. Call to ask about any "specials/promotionals" and was told, "There are none".

Told them to cancel my service and was transferred to the department that handles cancellations. Once there, told them I was cancelling due to the high cost. Immediately was offered $77/year (plus taxes, etc.).

Thank you gents, you just saved me almost $100!

lausy

That wasn't it. I had actually cancelled service on the MDX and that account and radio was deactivated. But I'm not complaining.

thephantom

I, too, called and asked for the $77/ year deal and got it without any resistance. I also got traffic for $3.99/ month.

Chas2

got the same $77 renewal fee. I told them I wanted to cancel because the plans they offered were way too expensive. Immediately offered me the $77 price + 46 for the Nav traffic. I was prepared to go to cancellations, but I guess they empowered the first tier guys.