How to Get Money Back or Reduce Bill Payments During Covid-19
That steady income may be in question. The bills may be stacking up. You may need to turn off those late payment notifications on your phone. Perhaps you’re simply trying to cut back during these uncertain times.
Thankfully, there is at least some relief ahead. Honey helps find the best savings, whether it’s with our free browser extension, price history tracker, or Honey Gold rewards program. In fact, there are so many brands giving back to their customers right now — including the credit and utility services wearing down your bank account. Meet the companies offering partial refunds or reduced payments on your monthly bills.
21st Century: Customers will get 25% knocked off their April insurance premium.
AAA: If you’re a policyholder with a policy that’s in effect from March 16, 2020, to May 15, 2020, you’ll receive a 20% refund check. These checks are expected to arrive by the end of May.
American Family Insurance: Relief payments will come in the form of checks mailed to each household. It’s a one-time payment of $50 per vehicle. So if you’re a two-car household, expect $100 back.
Amica Insurance: Per its Auto Premium Relief Program, policyholders will snag a 20% discount on their April and May premiums. To get the credit, no action is needed.
Allstate: Its Shelter-in-Place Payback will give its customers a 15% discount on their monthly premiums in April and May. This money will be automatically deposited to the bank or credit card account on file. Customers also get free identity protection for the rest of the year.
Auto-Owners Insurance: Personal policyholders can expect 15% for the months of April and May. The refund will come in the form of a check or deposited into the account that’s linked to your automatic payment method.
Chubb: Chubb is slashing 35% off premiums for April and May in the form of a credit. This bit of credit will be automatically applied at the time of renewal.
Encova Insurance: You’ll get a 15% policy credit in April and May. If you’ve been affected by COVID-19, your grace period can be extended, and non-payment cancellations have been suspended for the time being.
Farmers Insurance: Customers will get 25% off their premium in April. They can also be put on a flexible payment plan. Plus, non-payment cancellations have been paused temporarily.
Geico: If you renew your next policy term, you’ll get 15% docked from your payment.
Hanover Insurance Group: The Hanover CARES Refund will issue a 15% refund to its customers for their April and May premiums.
The Hartford: Customers can expect a 15% on their April and May premiums.
Liberty Mutual Insurance: Personal car insurance holders in the U.S. will get 15% refunded on two months of their auto premium. This will be sent via check or the payment method they use to make their payments.
MetLife: Auto insurance customers will get a 15% credit for their April and May premiums.
Mercury: Customers will get 15% off their April and May premiums.
Nationwide: If you have a car insurance policy through Nationwide, you’ll receive a one-time $50 refund.
Next Insurance: Commercial auto insurance policyholders will see a 25% bump down in their April premiums.
Progressive Insurance: If you have a policy as of April 30, you’ll be credited 20% of your April premiums. And if you have a policy with Progressive as of May 31, 20% of your May premiums will be credited in June.
State Farm: While the credit varies per state, most policyholders can expect to get about a 25% credit through May 31. No action needed; your credit will be given automatically.
Travelers: Customers will receive 15% credit on their April and May premiums.
USAA: If your policy was in effect as of March 31, you’ll get two months’ worth of premiums credited to your account.
AT&T: Wireless customers who aren’t able to make payments from March 13 to May 13 due to the coronavirus can have their late payment fees waived.
Mint Mobile: Free unlimited data add-ons to existing customers until May 14, 2020. If you’re a current customer, tap into your account and add as much data as you need. Before you top off with more data, 95% of your data must be used first.
Sprint: If you have a metered data plan, you’ll get bumped up to unlimited data for 60 days. And customers with hot-spot devices get 20 gigs of data for free. If you’re experiencing a rough financial patch, you can see if you can get more time for payment arrangements.
T-Mobile: All existing customers will be given unlimited data on their phones. And those who have a smartphone mobile hotspot on their plan can add 200 gigs of data for free.
Verizon: Low-income households on its Lifeline program will get two months of waived internet and voice service. And wireless customers and those on business plans get 15 gigs of high-speed data automatically added to their accounts. If you’ve been affected financially by COVID-19, late fees and overage charges can be dropped.
American Express: Through its Financial Relief Program, you could potentially lower your monthly payment, have your late fees dropped, or temporarily lower your interest rate. You’ll need to log in to your account and chat with a customer service rep. Apple Card: You can skip your April payment and not have it rack up any interest. To tap into this, enroll in Apple’s Customer Assistance Program.
Bank of America: If you’re having trouble making payments, you can request online to defer payments. This goes for car and home loan payments, too.
Capital One: If you can’t keep up with your payments, contact Capital One’s customer service to talk to a human and see if something can be worked out. While there are no guarantees, you might be able to defer payments, waive fees, or temporarily lower your payments.
Citi: Cardholders can waive the minimum payment due and late fees for two statement cycles. No need to reach out to a rep. Just log in and make the request online.
Discover: Depending on your situation, you might be able to skip payments. You’ll need to contact customer service to see what arrangements can be made.
Comcast Xfinity: Customers can get a boost to unlimited data. Those with an existing unlimited plan receive a credit on their bill. Late fees will also be waived. Low-income households get two months of Internet Essentials service if you apply by May 13, 2020.
Cox: Families with K-12 kids can tap into its Connect2Compete plan for free until July 15. Those unable to pay might be able to get extensions. However, you’ll need to talk to a rep and inquire about its Promise to Pay options.
Spectrum: Students and teachers can tap into free basic service for 60 days. Late fees will be waived. If you can’t pay for your service, you won’t get disconnected.
If you have federal student loans, the Department of Education will be pausing student loan payments through September 30, 2020. Borrowers won’t need to pay on the principal or interest. This includes direct loans, FEFL loans, and Perkins Loans that are federally held. If you have auto-payments set up with your loan servicer, your payments will get turned off by April 10. What about private Perkins loans? If you’re unable to pay your student loan debt because of a coronavirus-related issue, then your servicer will give you a three-month forbearance, giving you a bit of a break from your payments. In the student loan delinquent doghouse? And have been for more than 31 days as of March 31, 2020? Your payments will be suspended de facto.