Tag: Virgin Plus

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Mobile Syrup

Virgin Plus launches weekly offers through Member Monday

Virgin Plus has rolled out a new addition to its benefits program — Member Mondays.

The Bell flanker brand will offer limited-time deals through its partners for members to access every Monday. The deals will only be available for a one-week period.

It’s unclear if any of these offers will focus on discounts on services Virgin Plus offers.

The first Member Mondays see the company partner with New York Fries for its members in Ontario, B.C., Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, NWT, Nunavut and Yukon. Members in Québec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and P.E.I will see an offer from Pizza Salvatoré.

Frank & Oak, G Adventures, and Vivid Seats are some of the other partners the company is working with.

While weekly offers are new for Virgin, the Bell flanker isn’t the first to offer them. Fido rolled out its Xtra program in 2018 with a focus on weekly rewards for customers.

More information is available on Virgin Plus’ website.

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Mobile Syrup

Virgin Plus joins Fido, Koodo in raising some plan prices by $2

Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus joined Koodo and Fido in increasing the prices of select plans.

Koodo and Fido raised the prices of their unlimited talk and text plan, 15GB plan and 20GB plan by $2 earlier this week. Now Virgin has matched the prices.

Virgin now charges $62/mo for its 15GB plan and $67/mo for its 20GB plan. It also charges $35/mo for the unlimited talk and text plan, though it’s worth noting that Virgin previously increased that plan from $33 to $34 – now it’s up another $1 to match Koodo and Fido. (It’s also important to note that Fido’s plans are actually $5 more than comparable plans at Koodo and Virgin because it offers a $5 auto-pay discount.)

Virgin Plus plan prices as of April 13th, 2023

As we previously detailed in our reporting on the Fido and Koodo price increases, these changes are particularly frustrating, coming after a period of relatively decent deals. Earlier this month, Virgin, Fido and Koodo offered double data deals and a $10/mo credit that, combined, could net customers $55/mo 30GB and $50/mo 20GB plans. Moreover, during Black Friday, Canadians could get a $45/50GB plan from the three providers.

Worse, the cost of unlimited talk and text plans has steadily increased over the last year or so – unlimited talk and text cost $30/mo in January 2022 and briefly cost $27/mo in August 2022, thanks to a promotion. Particularly egregious is the high cost of pay-per-use data on these plans – Virgin charges $20 per gigabyte up to 8GB and then $0.02 per megabyte after (which works out to about $20/GB anyway). Virgin increased its data overage rate last month.

Thankfully there are better offers out there for talk and text. Several other providers, including Lucky Mobile, Public Mobile, Chatr Mobile and Freedom Mobile, offer plans with unlimited talk and text for around $25/mo. Most of these also include about 1GB of data, making them even better value than the talk and text options available at Virgin, Fido and Koodo.

Source: Virgin Plus

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Mobile Syrup

Virgin Plus increases unlimited talk and text plan to $34/mo

Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus increased the price of its basic unlimited talk and text plan by $1/mo again, roughly three months after the last price increase.

Virgin’s website now lists the unlimited talk and text plan as $34/mo. The plan doesn’t include data, which means any data use gets billed at the pay-per-use rate (which costs an absurd $20 per gigabyte up to 8GB — $160 total — followed by $0.02 per megabyte thereafter, which still works out to about $20 per gigabyte). It’s worth noting that Virgin’s data overage rate increased last month.

Back in January, Virgin and Telus flanker Koodo increased the cost of their unlimited talk and text plans to $33/mo. In January 2022, the plans cost $30/mo. There was a brief period in August 2022 when Virgin, Koodo, and Rogers flanker Fido lowered the cost to $27/mo — something approaching fair for a talk and text plan — but that was short-lived.

Virgin Plus talk and text plan as of April 10th, 2023

At the time of publication, only Virgin had increased the talk and text plan to $34. Koodo still offered the plan for $33 at the time of publication. Fido, on the other hand, charges $38 for the plan but markets it as a $33 plan because of the $5/mo automatic payments discount. Fido added the auto pay discount in January, but instead of offering the discount on existing prices, it increased every plan by $5/mo so that customers need to choose automatic payments to get the same pricing as before the discount was offered.

Canadians in the market for an unlimited talk and text plan should definitely look elsewhere. Lucky Mobile, Public Mobile and Chatr Mobile all offer a $25/mo plan with 1GB of 3G data and unlimited talk and text. Freedom Mobile also has a $25/mo plan with 1GB of LTE data and unlimited talk and text. And that’s just a few of the options out there.

Source: Virgin Plus

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Mobile Syrup

Today is the last day to get $60/20GB and $65/30GB plans

It looks like today will be the last day to take advantage of double data deals at Koodo, Fido and Virgin Plus.

Both Koodo and Fido have added notices to their respective websites warning that the double data bonuses offered for roughly the last month will end on April 3rd, 2023. Virgin Plus hasn’t added an end date to its website yet, but historically the three providers move in lockstep, and I expect Virgin will drop the offers within a few days of Koodo and Fido ending them.

As a quick refresher, the plans in question were a $60/mo 20GB plan (usually 10GB) and a $65/mo 30GB plan (usually 15GB). There was also a $10/mo credit for 24 months available to bring-your-own-phone (BYOP) customers.

Moreover, Koodo appears to have already ended the $10/mo credit offered to BYOP customers. Fido and Virgin both still offer the credit, however.

Virgin and Koodo kicked off the double data deal at the end of February, and Fido matched the deal a day later. Over the first couple weeks of March, Virgin, then Koodo, and finally Fido added the $10/mo credit.

It’s a real bummer to see the deals go away. $55/mo for 30GB of data isn’t bad, and it’s the best offer we’ve seen since the $45/50GB deal over Black Friday. Until we see another decent offer from these providers, it’s probably best to hold off on switching or upgrading.

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Mobile Syrup

Bell, Virgin Plus offering free Galaxy Buds 2 with select Samsung phones

In the market for a new Samsung smartphone? You might want to get one from Bell or its flanker brand Virgin Plus since right now, the providers will give you a free pair of Galaxy Buds 2 with the purchase of select Samsung devices.

If you’d rather not go with Bell or Virgin, it’s worth noting that Telus and Koodo have a similar offer but only on the Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra.

Bell’s Galaxy Buds 2 offer as of March 17th, 2023

Currently, Bell is offering free Galaxy Buds 2 with the purchase and activation of the:

Bell notes that customers need to activate the phones with Bell SmartPay (the name Bell uses for financing) on a two-year plan and that the Buds 2 will ship separately from the device itself. The offer is only available online.

Oddly, Bell’s website includes two sets of fine print (above) for the deal that list availability with alternate Samsung phones, like the Z Flip/Fold or the S22 series. However, when viewing those devices on Bell’s website, the free Buds 2 offer isn’t shown. One of the two sets of fine print also notes the offer is valid from December 6th, 2022, which seems extra odd.

Virgin Plus

As for Virgin Plus, it’s a little more straightforward. You can head to the provider’s devices page, filter by Samsung, and see which devices include the Buds 2 at a glance because Virgin actually put a label on each eligible device. Hurray for basic, clear communication with customers! Devices include:

Considering Virgin Plus currently offers double the data on its $60/10GB and $65/15GB plans, bringing them up to 20GB and 30GB, respectively, I’d argue Virgin is the way to go unless you desperately want 5G and to overpay for it. Unfortunately, if you’re getting a phone, you can’t get the $10/mo bill credit for 24 months.

Virgin’s offer also appears to be online only.

Telus and Koodo

Finally, as mentioned up top, Telus and Koodo have free Buds 2 available with the Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra. As with Bell and Virgin, my recommendation would be to get the deal with Koodo and take advantage of the promotional $60/20GB or $65/30GB plans. You’ll save a bit of money compared to Telus and get more data.

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Mobile Syrup

Koodo, Virgin Plus bump $55/8GB plan up to 10GB

Late last month, Koodo, Virgin Plus and Fido rolled out double data deals on select BYOP plans. Those deals are still on, but now Koodo and Virgin Plus are back with another deal for those looking to spend a little less money and get a little less data.

Both flanker brands previously offered $55/mo 8GB plans, but they recently bumped those plans up to 10GB of data. Koodo’s website lists the $55/mo plan as an 8GB plan with a bonus 2GB, while Virgin Plus lists the plan as a flat 10GB, though it’s restricted to new activations.

At the time of writing, Fido still offered a $55/mo 8GB plan.

Thanks to this change, Koodo and Virgin now offer plans that give customers an extra 10GB of data for an extra $5/mo. At $55/10GB, $60/20GB and $65/30GB, there are some decent options out there (at least compared to what the providers offered before).

Along with the 10GB of data, the $55/mo plans also include unlimited Canada-wide calling and texting, and data at 4G speeds (Koodo says this is up to 100Mbps while Virgin is up to 150Mbps). The providers offer some other benefits as well, such as Koodo’s Pick Your Perk options or Virgin’s Member Benefits. Oh, and they both offer roaming packages that just got more expensive.

You can check out Koodo’s plans here and Virgin’s plans here.

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Mobile Syrup

Virgin Plus, Koodo roll out double data deals on select BYOP plans

Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus and Telus flanker brand Koodo both have double data deals on select plans when customers bring their own phones.

The offers are online and can net users as much as 30GB of data per month for $65 or less and come just a week after Virgin and Koodo ended their $10/mo Lunar New Year discounts.

Starting with Virgin Plus, the provider currently has two online exclusive offers, though they’re only for new activations and if you bring your own phone (BYOP). The first is $60/mo for 10GB of data with a 10GB bonus for 20GB total.

Screenshot of Virgin Plus plans

Double data plans available at Virgin Plus as of February 23rd, 2023.

Similarly, Virgin offers a $65/mo plan with 15GB of data and a bonus 15GB of data for 30GB total. It’s worth noting that Virgin also lists those plans without the bonus data, so make sure you select the right one if you choose to take advantage of the offer.

You can check out Virgin’s plans here.

Koodo also has the double-data offers for BYOP plans but with additional savings. Like Virgin, Koodo has a $65/mo plan with 15GB of data and 15GB of bonus data for 30GB total. However, Koodo also lists the plan as being available for $50/mo for 15 months, making it a far better deal than Virgin’s version.

Screenshot of Koodo plans.

Double data plans available at Koodo as of February 23rd, 2023.

Koodo also has the $60/mo 10GB plan with 10GB of bonus data for 20GB total, but it doesn’t have a discounted price.

You can check out Koodo’s plans here.

At the time of writing, Rogers’ flanker brand Fido did not have a similar double-data offer, though given how these providers operate, I expect Fido will roll out a similar offer soon.

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Mobile Syrup

Bell, Virgin warn of service interruptions in southwest Ontario due to weather

Bell says some of its customers in the “southwest region of Ontario” might experience service interruptions due to adverse weather conditions.

In a tweet from the @Bell_Support account, Bell shared the warning and said it was “working to restore service as quickly as possible.”

Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus is also experiencing issues, according to a similar tweet shared by the @VirginPlus account.

We’ll update this post with additional information as it becomes available.

Source: Bell, Virgin Plus

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Mobile Syrup

Virgin Plus still offering $10/mo Lunar New Year discount

Koodo, Virgin Plus, and Fido logos on smartphones.

Last week, MobileSyrup detailed Koodo’s plan to remove its $10/mo Lunar New Year discount on February 14th. Now that the 14th is behind us, Koodo has dropped the discount. So has Rogers flanker brand Fido, though Bell’s Virgin Plus still offers the discount, for now.

Fido’s website has removed the Lunar New Year discount from the plan page and the listed plans no longer show the discount. As a refresher, customers could save $10/mo for 12 months with the Lunar New Year deal. It appears Fido removed the offer at the same time as Koodo.

Fido plans with no Lunar New Year deal (as of Feb. 15th)

Meanwhile, Virgin Plus still lists the $10/mo discount on its website. Virgin says the deal is a “limited time offer” but there’s no end date listed. It’s not clear how long the discount will stick around.

Virgin Plus plans as of Feb. 15th.

The deal is available on the following plans:

  • $55/mo 8GB ($45 after discount)
  • $60/mo 10GB ($50 after discount)
  • $65/mo 15GB ($55 after discount)

If you want to take advantage of the Lunar New Year deal, you’ll want to move fast.

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Mobile Syrup

Staples Canada signs on to exclusively sell Bell wireless plans, devices

Staples and Bell have entered a multi-year agreement to sell Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile services.

Staples sales associates will man in-store kiosks that will come to Staples retail locations in “late spring.”

300 Staples locations will offer mobility services through the telecom brands. Internet, TV and home phone services through Bell and Virgin Plus will be available in most retail locations where Bell offers service.

“Staples is a leader in providing small and medium businesses the solutions they need to keep their businesses running smoothly, and we’re excited to partner with them to offer businesses superb internet, TV, phone, and mobility services on Canada’s largest and award-winning network,” Mirko Bibic, Bell’s CEO said.

The partnership will see Staples hire 800 employees across the country.

Source: Staples Canada