I received an email from Netflix yesterday advising me that they are discontinuing the $9.99/mo program I originally signed up for.  This gave me unlimited streaming and 1 DVD at a time checkout (unlimited per month, I think).

They told me they were going to split my plan into TWO plans: 1) Unlimited streaming for $7.99, and 2) Unlimited DVDs, 1 at a time for $7.99.  So, I’d be getting this neat new plan for the low low price of $15.98/mo.  Gee, thanks guys.  Obviously, they are hoping that people will ignore the email or just not care and pay the extra money every month.

In my case, I use the streaming occasionally, but rarely care about the DVDs.  In fact, dealing with the physical DVD and having to mail it back is not really a pain, but is something more to think about.

So, I logged on and changed my account to Unlimited streaming, no DVD for $7.99.  I’m now saving a whopping $2/mo 🙂

Being a good and considerate son, I emailed my Mom and told her of the rate increase.  She’s on a fixed income and surprises are not a good thing.  She doesn’t care about the streaming, so she switched her $19.99/mo plan to Unlimited DVDs, 3 at a time for $15.99.  She’s saving a whopping $4/mo 🙂

She did comment that finding the right plan was difficult on their website as they seem to try to hide the alternates under a small text link.  Shame on you, Netflix

I’m wondering if this genius rate change is working well for them.  As you can see above, at least 2 customers are paying them a total of $6 less per month.  I’m just guessing, but my assumption is that making less money was not their goal.