Verizon to waive fees for customers traveling to the Winter Olympics
Verizon is offering its customers free international roaming during the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Those at the Olympics will save on the $10 a day it would normally cost to use your talk, text, and data allotments while overseas.
Customers must be enrolled in the carrier’s reward plan and TravelPass to qualify for the promotion.
Traveling out of the country is always nerve-racking. You have remember supplies, enough money, and all of your documents. The last thing you want to worry about is cellular service. To help those travelling to the Winter Olympics, Verizon has announced its customers will get international roaming for free during the event when it is held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February.
A few requirements need to be met before taking advantage of this offer. First off, you must enroll in its rewards program, called Verizon Up. The program offers free movie rentals and gift cards for every $300 you spend with the carrier.
You also have to be enrolled in TravelPass. TravelPass is Verizon’s international service, which allows you to use your talk, text, and data allotments in other countries. Normally, it would run you $10 per day in South Korea, but the Olympics promotion will wipe out that cost. To be enrolled in TravelPass, you’ll need to have either a More Everything or Unlimited plan.
Verizon put together a handy little international trip planner, which we’ve linked below. It’ll let you know if your device is eligible to use TravelPass. Most modern devices are, but it’s always good to make sure. Keep in mind that you must sign up for Verizon Up and TravelPass by January 28. That’s less than three weeks away, so don’t wait!
Verizon’s new rewards program comes with a big catch
has launched a new rewards program called Verizon Up that rewards its customers with a credit for every $300 they spend on their bill.
These credits can then be redeemed towards a variety of rewards as a way of giving something back to customers. The various rewards could include discounts towards your next device purchase, discounts on accessories, or partner rewards. There are also some additional offerings that operate on a first-come, first-served basis such as ticket opportunities.
The rewards scheme appears to be a great way to get something back just for paying a bill — but it comes at a price.
Noted by Brandon Robbins on Twitter, to be eligible for the Verizon Up reward program you have to enroll in Verizon Selects. The catch is that the Verizon Selects program allows the company to track massive chunks of your personal data including web browsing, app usage, device location, service usage, demographic info, postal or email address, and your interests. The data then gets shared with Verizon’s newly formed Oath combination (aka AOL and Yahoo), plus with “vendors and partners” who work with Verizon.
While the Verizon Up is an opt-in program, meaning if you don’t agree with the Verizon Select data collection you don’t have to take part, it is a give with one hand take with another scenario. The rewards Verizon is offering are certainly appealing when it comes to getting something back from your bills but may not be enough to entice customers to hand over pretty much their entire mobile activity to be shared.
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