T-Mobile is doubling down on loyalty rewards and on Wednesday introduced Magenta Status, a new program offering a bevy of discounts and freebies the company said adds up to $1,500 in extra value.
The perks include a free hotel status upgrade with Hilton Honors, $5 movie tickets once a month, a gas discount at rental car service Hertz/Dollar and cheaper concert tickets with Live Nation. T-Mobile Tuesdays, the popular weekly giveaway program, will remain as part of Magenta Status, with the company saying it will add more “always-on” deals like free crazy bread from Little Caesars.
The company said Magenta Status is available to all post-paid customers, small businesses, and T-Mobile prepaid customers as well. Prepaid customers on Metro aren’t eligible for the program. it kicks off on February 13.
T-Mobile has had a history of offering different perks — a hallmark of its early run as the un-carrier — including free Netflix or Wi-Fi on the airplane. The company codified it with T-Mobile Tuesday, a beloved app that offered everything from free beach magenta beach towels to discounts on Shell gas. But Magenta Status is an attempt to raise the game with new perks, which already come on top of features like Netflix and Hulu for free.
The announcement comes as carriers have pulled back on throwing perks and freebies on top of their services. Verizon, for instance, has dropped including Disney+ and Apple Music as free additions to its plans, instead offering them as part of discounted bundles. In October, AT&T quietly shut down its own loyalty rewards program, AT&T Thanks.
“We see a general trend in people pulling back on rewarding loyalty,” said Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy, and products at T-Mobile, in an interview with Cord Cutters News. He stressed that this program was available to everyone, and doesn’t requite time or “miles” like other status programs.
For consumers, Magenta Status offers a lot of value — if they take advantage of the deals. As with some of T-Mobile Tuesday’s deals, they’re often discounts for services that you may or may not need. Other perks include quicker entry into some concert venues and sporting events, access to T-Mobile’s Reserved Tickets program, and entry into Club Magenta VIP lounges at sports and entertainment events.
For the Hilton Honors program, all customers will be upgraded to silver status, which gets them free Wi-Fi and water during stays. The upgrade lasts until March 31, 2025.
The $5 movie ticket will be for a single film each month, typically a big box office film, and will work at more than 20,000 theaters. This month, it’s the Bob Marley biopic One Love.
T-Mobile has been able to use its massive base of 118 million customers to strike deals with companies to offer these perks. In exchange, the carrier is delivering companies like Hilton and Dollar a potentially large number of potential new customers.
Customers can access their Magenta Status perks on the T Life app, which replaces the older T-Mobile Tuesday app. The company has been switching customers out of the old app over the last week and a half.