Is EE One discount worth it for me? & Query about current airtime plan discounts

[Sparky1986]

Hi all. So I signed up for EE broadband yesterday with one of the main draws being the discount on future mobile plans but having received a good offer from my current broadband provider to stay, and looking at my existing mobile plan, I'm not so sure the EE broadband will be the best value for money.

My current broadband is at £35 per month for 500MB/s and EE offered pretty much the same at £34.99 for the same speed, but the sales advisor explained that I would get a £20 discount on mobile plans - not my current one, but when the that minimum contract term had finished next March, I could then upgrade/change to a different plan that would have the £20 discount.

Upon receiving the switch request my current broadband provider have offered a definite £50 bill credit to stay with them and renew their contract, plus a discount on the monthly price of "up to £4" so I guess I have to speak to them to see whether I'd get that much off the monthly.

The EE benefit of £20 off the mobile plan would still be a better deal, if I actually save £20 off my current price. But now I've had a look at my current mobile plan in detail, it actually may be better just to stick with that if I can.

The airtime part of my current mobile plan has a standard price of £35 per month but there is an £8 discount (I can't see any details about the discount - assume it was an incentive at the time of getting that contract). There's also an EE&BT 10% discount as I had BT broadband back then, although I haven't had that for a while now. So that makes the airtime £25.85 per month, and that also has one of the inclusive extras which is Microsoft 365 - something I do use. This was worth £5.99 at the time but Microsoft have since increased the price to £8.49 which EE are still covering.

This current airtime plan has 50GB data (doubled from the standard 25GB from the EE&BT offer), and has uncapped speeds which I do want.

I am most likely going to switch to SIM only in March as I am happy with my current phone - but the prices are pretty high. The cheapest SIMO plan that has uncapped speeds is £43.50 so with the £20 'EE One' broadband discount that would be £23.50 - about the same as I'm currently paying for airtime. So really I wouldn't be saving anything with the EE One, only getting the unlimited data which I don't need anyway. Also the inclusive extras don't seem to show Microsoft 365 anymore.

So what I'd like to know is whether I can keep my current airtime plan as it is when the 24 month minimum contract term ends in March 2026.

So specifically the questions are:

- Would I lose the unspecified £8 monthly discount, 10% EE&BT discount and double data when this contract term ends or do those keep running until I change the contract?

- Would I keep getting the Microsoft 365 inclusive extra after March 2026 too? I imagine I would lose this if I changed the contract as this does not appear to be one of the available inclusive extras anymore, but I don't know if EE would keep providing that as long as I keep the existing plan.

I have looked through at my original contract details and most recent bill to see if it says whether these things end after the 24 month contract term but I can't find anything about that. 

I had actually only called EE yesterday to get a new Samsung smartwatch but the broadband deal the sales advisor offered sounded decent then but it's not looking as competitive now. The sales advisor did suggest he may be able to discount my watch plan as an incentive if I went for the broadband but after completing the broadband signup he wasn't able to do that. To be fair he did say 'maybe' but still a bit of a shame.

Also he believed the credit EE do for early termination fees from my current broadband provider could be taken as a bill credit or a payment to me but reading through all the details it seems as if it's actually only a bill credit. At least my early termination fee amount isn't much more than 1 month of what my EE bill would be with the broadband added. But still need to make a decision as to what is going to provide me with the best value. If I was to actually upgrade my phone in March, the EE One discount actually may be worthwhile.

The sales advisor was really great & friendly which is one thing I like about EE, they always seem to be very friendly so can forgive getting one little bit of incorrect information regarding the early termination fees credit. And of course deciding whether the EE One £20 discount is worth is up to me to decide.

Thanks for any advice!

[Matt_124]

Any discounts would usually expire at the end of your minimum term. You can usually see if there is an expiry by checking your Mobile Add-ons section and tapping on the discount add-on, but not always. If this does not provide the date, the EE Billing Guides on 150 would be able to tell you by looking at their system for any expiry dates.

The Best of Both discount (10% EE&BT discount) and Double Data are both benefits that come from being a BT BB Customer, the Double Data I would have expected to be removed when you left for your BB and EE would likely be able to remove either or both of these when your minimum term expires - although there is no consistent logic as to when or if this happens.

The £8 plan discount is likely to expire as that sounds like it could have been a promotion on the plan, which usually only lasts for the duration.

In terms of your Microsoft 365 Inclusive Extra, EE could technically withdraw this at any time in line with the Inclusive Extra Terms and Conditions.

After checking the above won't give you any nasty surprises you likely could just roll on with your existing Airtime plan on a monthly rolling basis, although with the risk of your plan being discontinued and being moved to a different one with notice by EE.

It is very much a value judgement for yourself, the EE One offers do give a lot of flexibility as the SIM Only and Airtime plans are only a 1-month-rolling minimum term. This means on a Flex Pay plan the only thing holding you in the deal is your Flex Pay balance on the device and not the usual 24-month minimum term on the Airtime.

Plans with Inclusive Extras and Uncapped Speeds (All Rounder and Full Works plans) are also quite expensive now as an Airtime Plan, so the EE One discount does become quite useful when upgrading in the future.

Worth noting also that EU Roaming is included free-of-charge on the All Rounder plan, and the Full Works plan includes the EU and ROW Zone 1 (includes Turkey, USA etc.)  The included level of Roaming will be baked into your plan, no longer requiring the swapping of Inclusive Extras as before.

I'll link the EE One page which shows the plans available. These should be the same for Airtime and SIM Only plans, so the SIM Only section can be used as a reference for you.

https://ee.co.uk/ee-one 

In terms of the EE Broadband Switching Credit, while it does specify "no cash alternative", once the credit is put onto your Broadband Account you could call EE Customer Services and ask if this can be withdrawn to your bank account - not necessarily the correct procedure or in line with the spirit of the offer but it has been known to be done. I would say 'no guarantees' if that makes sense.