Verizon has revived a free line promotion for existing customers, but make no mistake: the fine print means the deal is still playing catch up to what T-Mobile regularly offers.
Offer includes a free Unlimited Welcome line for 36 months, then pay just the standard price — with a termination date that you won’t find on T-Mobile’s eligible free-line credits config.
This is a substantial chance to save for Verizon loyalists or families already on the carrier’s newer plans, provided you successfully manage the requirements and set a reminder for when the credits end.
It’s different math for customers shopping carriers, though, and T-Mobile still offers a pretty hard-to-beat ongoing policy of giving free lines.
What Verizon Is Offering With Its Revived Free Line Deal
Targeted account holders can locate the promotion in the Offers portion of the My Verizon app, though activation must be done at a store.
Eligible plans are Unlimited Welcome, postpaid Unlimited Plus, and postpaid Unlimited Ultimate. If you added a free line from Verizon before, there’s no way to get another one.
The offer itself is Unlimited Welcome: $0 for 36 months via monthly bill credits. There will still be taxes and fees — usually in the ballpark of $6 to $10 a month because credits don’t touch surcharges. The credits will continue as long as you sign up for paperless billing and autopay.
The promotion is strictly BYOD. You can’t finance a device on this line, and you can’t stack phone promos — this is not meant to be a conduit for handset subsidies. After month 36, credits stop; if you upgrade early, any remaining balance is due immediately unless you have enough remaining lines to act as a credit and offset all costs.
Why Verizon Structured the Free Line Promotion This Way
Thirty-six months is consistent with Verizon’s device installment requirements, further reducing churn during the promotional period. Making it BYOD reduces subsidy costs but still drives up multi-line accounts and average revenue per account. The in-store step helps Verizon confirm eligibility, reduce fraud, and upsell accessories or premium plans.
Analysts said free line campaigns are mostly a retention- and share-of-wallet tool. Research firms like MoffettNathanson and LightShed Partners have long noted how multi-line bundles reduce churn, and Verizon’s offer adheres to that playbook while limiting promotional liability to three years.
How Verizon’s Free Line Offer Compares With T-Mobile’s Policy
T-Mobile’s ongoing free line offers usually apply credits in perpetuity, so long as the account stays qualified. It is that lack of an expiration date that’s the differentiator. It transforms a promotional hook into a structural discount, which helps explain why these campaigns have been so effective at acquiring new customers and retaining current ones.
There are also network and plan considerations. Tests from firms like Opensignal and Ookla suggest T-Mobile leads on 5G availability and often has the fastest median 5G download speeds, while Verizon generally emphasizes consistency and broad reliability, especially inside downtown cores or at dense venues. If you are weighing carriers, the value of a “forever” free line may be magnified by where you live and how both networks work for you.
Bottom line: Verizon’s version is a powerful freebie for current subscribers with the right plan and extra devices, but T-Mobile stubbornly offers the better deal for now (and likely the future) to people willing to shop around.
The Fine Print You Can’t Ignore Before Adding a Free Line
- Credits require paperless billing and autopay; violating those terms would negate the “free” line.
- Because this is BYOD, it’s not possible to add device promos to that line later.
- Taxes and fees will still apply monthly, so expect a minor recurring charge even during the free period.
- Check what adding a line does to your per-line pricing. On most carrier plans, multi-line discounts change at specific thresholds; confirm the totals at the register in-store before you take anything home.
- Set a month-35 reminder to re-evaluate. If you don’t cancel by the 36th month, the line converts to standard pricing — a key difference from T-Mobile, where the free line credit usually doesn’t sunset.
Bottom line on Verizon’s free line offer versus T-Mobile
Verizon’s renewed free line deal is a helpful, narrow bonus that makes sense if you’re already living your life on Verizon and happen to have another device collecting dust to bring over. It’s not the industry’s most generous iteration, and the three-year clock is crucial, but for current subscribers, these are indeed savings — just be careful to dot every “i” of eligibility and expiration.
If you’re carrier-agnostic and the free line seals the deal, T-Mobile’s never-ending credit policy remains the benchmark. Otherwise, this Verizon promo is a convenient way to shave some off the monthly bill without jumping networks.
