Seniors discounts on mobile phone and NBN plans

Stores and service providers offer fewer discounts for seniors and pensioners these days, and even when they do, they are rarely the best way for seniors to save money on their monthly bills. In fact, in a few cases, a seniors discount can still work out more expensive than the regular options available.

Take Telstra, for example. As one of the few mobile providers offering a discount to eligible concession card holders, Telstra offers 2GB of phone data and unlimited calls/text for $30 per month. But in no world is 2GB for $30 per month considered good value. Telstra’s MVNOs (that is, providers that use the Telstra network) offer more than 2GB of data for as low as $15 per month – and the value for money only gets better the more you spend.

There are still a few NBN providers that offer discounts, including customer-favourite Aussie Broadband. Aussie NBN and phone bundles for seniors offers some incredible value, with options for unlimited home phone calls.

As for your entertainment options, Foxtel phased out seniors packages when Foxtel Now dropped its pricing, and there are no discounts for pensioners on Foxtel iQ packages either.

But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many seniors plans have gone the way of the dinosaurs because utility and entertainment services have become cheaper in general. So even though your old Seniors Card might be gathering dust, there are still less expensive offers on the market since the last time you compared.

Here are the seniors discounts available at the moment and cheaper alternatives where applicable.

Mobile and home phone seniors discounts

Telstra seniors discount

Telstra used to offer a seniors discount on its 2GB mobile plan ($30 per month) but it’s now been changed to a concession card-holders discount, meaning your standard Seniors Card won’t cut it. Still, if you have a valid Health Care Card, you may be eligible.

That said, Telstra’s seniors discount is far from the best option if you are looking for a cheap plan on the Telstra network. The plans below offer far more value on Telstra’s wholesale network.

All of the options below are month-to-month with no lock-in contract or setup fees and cost no more than $30.

If you’re a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card Holder, you can also get a $10 per month discount on Telstra’ home phone service, taking the total cost of their Ultimate Voice plan from $55 to $45 per month.

Optus seniors discount

Unfortunately, Optus no longer offers a pensioner discount. Thankfully, there are much cheaper SIM options for seniors on the Optus network as low as $5 per month. Here’s a look at the most popular plans under $30 on the Optus network.

Vodafone seniors discount

Out of the big three telcos, Vodafone offers the best value discount for seniors. If you pop into a store or call 1300 138 907 with your Seniors Card on hand, you can take 10% off the monthly cost of any SIM-only Vodafone Infinite Plan. The 10% monthly discount also applies to any Modem Plan over $20 and any Tablet Plan over $30.

Below are Vodafone’s Infinite mobile plans at full price. The plans below are eligible for the 10% discount.

If Vodafone’s Infinite Plans are out of budget even with the 10% seniors discount, it’s worth checking out some of the other providers on the Vodafone network, as they tend to offer better value. Below are the most popular plans on the Vodafone network under $30.

NBN seniors discounts

Is there free internet for seniors?

Unfortunately not, but as outlined below, there are some super cheap options available to seniors and pensioners. For a seniors internet deal with free phone calls, we recommend Aussie Broadband’s nbn 12/1 Unlimited + Seniors Phone package.

Aussie Broadband NBN seniors discount

One of the country’s most beloved internet providers, Aussie Broadband, offers seniors discounts on its NBN and home phone bundles. Aussie’s award-winning customer service team can connect you to one of their NBN phone and internet seniors bundles, with discounts across its Basic NBN 12 range.

Here are those discounted plans.

Aussie Broadband’s senior bundles are good value, but there are more savings to be had if you’re only after an NBN plan, rather than a phone and internet bundle.

Below are the cheapest NBN 25 plans (which are more than twice as fast as Aussie Broadband’s seniors plans) currently available.

Westnet seniors discount

Westnet offers a great NBN deal for seniors who don’t mind signing up for a 24-month contract. For $39.99 per month, Westnet will give you 50GB of home internet at 12/1 Mbps speeds, a bundled modem, and a home phone with local and national calls included. Eligible customers can even port their existing home phone number.

10MATES seniors discount

Internet and home phone provider 10MATES offers a $10 per month discount off its NBN and home phone bundles.

Flip seniors discount

Flip offers two NBN plans for seniors. The first is an NBN 12 plan, priced at $34 for the first six months (then $39.90 ongoing). For NBN 25, you’re looking at $44 for the first six months (then $52.90 ongoing).

Seniors pay TV discount

Sadly, there are no longer any Foxtel packages for seniors. Still, there are now cheaper ways to get Foxtel and Foxtel’s content these days.

If you don’t need a set-top box, you can access Foxtel’s sports coverage online via Kayo Sports from $25 per month, and Foxtel’s premium TV shows and movies via Binge from $10 per month. Otherwise, you can sign up to Foxtel Now from $25 per month (with additional costs for each channel pack).

The best thing about these streaming options is that you can try before you buy. Here’s what each service offers:

• Binge has a two-week free trial
• Kayo Sports has a two-week free trial
• Foxtel Now has a ten-day free trial

If you do need a set-top box, you can get Foxtel iQ4 with Foxtel Plus (basic channel pack) from $49 per month. At the time of writing, Foxtel is also waiving hardware and connection costs.

Outside of Foxtel altogether, there’s even more value to be had with Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus. Here’s how much each service costs, and whether or not there’s a free trial.