Seniors discounts on NBN, phone plans and bundles

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.

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.

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.

• $50 per month
• 100GB data
• 12/1 Mbps speeds
• Pay as you go calls
• Free calls to other Aussie customers

• $55 per month
• Unlimited data
• 12/1 Mbps speeds
• Pay as you go calls
• Free calls to other Aussie customers

• $60 per month
• 100GB data
• 12/1 Mbps speeds
• Unlimited local and national calls
• Unlimited mobile calls

You can compare them to other Aussie Broadband plans below:

But  while 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 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.

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

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).

How much data you need depends on, well, how much data you use. Luckily though it's becoming less relevant as more and more providers are offering NBN plans with unlimited data.

To get an idea though, social media uses 720MB of data an hour, on average. Netflix uses up to 3.65GB an hour. So if you watch a movie twice a week, you're looking at over 50GB a month potentially, just for that.

If you use loads of data, then it's best to opt for a plan that offers unlimited data use, and pick the best speed tier for you needs.

What NBN speed you'll need depends on what you need the internet for, and how many people will be using the internet at the same time.

An NBN 12 plan is best suited for single households who don't use the internet for much - just light internet browsing.

NBN 25 plans are suited for households of 1-2 who are light internet users. If you want to browse through social media, check your emails and watch some movies, then an NBN 25 should suffice.

It's when you have more than one person streaming movies at the same time, downloading big files or playing data-heavy games that you'll need to think about an NBN 50 or NBN 100 plan.

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.

There's also the option to choose and NBN plan that bundles in a home phone option. They're becoming less and less popular in recent years, but if you'd like it one included there are a few providers that still offer the home phone bundle.

Generally speaking, you'll get the home phone service with your NBN plan, and opt for pay-as-you-go calls. You can see the plans below that have the option to bundle in a phone plan.