How To Lower Your Optimum Bill

by Allison Cruz | Updated 10/10/23

lowered optimum bill example

One of the top questions we get from our Optimum customers is how the hell do I lower my Optimum bill.

The answer to this question has changed a lot since Optimum was bought by Altice in 2016.  Throughout this period, we’ve still been able to save clients $20-$50 a month on their Optimum bill by figuring out new ways to save the money.

We wrote down some of our top tactics for lowering your Optimum bill from our tens of thousands of bill negotiations below.

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Get Lifetime Discounts

The best way to lower your Optimum bill is to get them to give you a lifetime discount on your service.

You can get a lifetime discount by starting the cancellation process with Optimum at (888) 276-5255.

Mention that you’re thinking of moving to Verizon Fios or Spectrum because they’re offering you a much better price.

Most of the time, this will trigger a retention offer from Optimum.  They’ll first try to give you $50 off for a month or two and then offer to give you a promotion that will last for a year.

Act like you’re on the fence and say that that offer doesn’t work for you.  Then slyly say you’re willing to change your mind if you’re able to get a lifetime discount.

How much your lifetime discount will depend on your plan but in our experience, they’re generally $30-$50 a month and can reduce your monthly bill by 25%-40%. You can still get a better plan with Optimum even if you’re an existing customer.

To get a lifetime discount, you generally don’t need to sign a 1-2 year contract with Optimum or give up any features in your existing plan.

They’re giving you the discount because they think they’re going to lose you as a customer anyway and they think it’s better for them to keep you at a much lower price than having you go to Fios.

Lifetime discounts are most common with Triple Play plans although you can get them with double play and cable and internet plans as well.

You can also learn how to lower other cable bills here.

Negotiate Promotions On Your Promotions

how to lower your optimum bill

If you’re not able to get a lifetime discount on your Optimum plan, there’s still plenty of other ways to save big on your bill.

The best alternative is to get additional promotions on your existing plan.

Optimum changes the plan prices in your area on a weekly basis.  They don’t change your price but they change what discounts are available for new people signing up in your neighborhood.

It’s important to check every couple of months to see if Optimum has any promotions in your area that will save you money.

Optimum doesn’t want to give you a lifetime discount but oftentimes will be willing to reduce your monthly bill by $20-$35 a month.

We’ve often found that even if no promotions are available, they’re willing to give you $50 off for 2-3 months if you call them and seem dissatisfied.

These promotions roll off but you can always call again and try to get them again.

Even if you have an existing discount, you can get additional discounts on your discount.

Oftentimes the discount that you have has an expiration date.  You can always call Optimum to see if they can extend your discount partly or in full. 

Optimum hopes that you’ll forget that your discount expires and that they’ll be able to charge you much more for the same service after a couple of months.

When you call them and ask to extend the discount, most of the time they’ll agree. Don’t be a lazy consumer and make sure you’re not paying more than you need to.

Looking for other ways to save? Find ways to make $3,000 fast with our friends at This Online World.

Optimum Customer Service

There are seven phone numbers that you can use to call Optimum customer support.

Here’s the full list below:

Optimum Customer Service Numbers
Long Island Optimum Customer Support: (631) 393-0637
Brooklyn Optimum Customer Support: (718) 860-3514
NJ Optimum Customer support: (973) 230-6048
CT Optimum Customer Support: (203) 870-2583
Optimum Business: (888) 276-5255
Mobile: (866) 200-7186
Optimum Retention Department: (877) 936-4778

They’ve broken it out by city, business, mobile, and the retention department. Optimum customer service is open from 8 am to 9 pm during the weekdays and 8 am to 7 pm during the weekends.

If you need technical support, you can get it at (888) 276-5255. That’s for Optimum business but they generally help residential customers as well.

It’s also possible to chat with Optimum customer support. Here’s where you can do it: https://www.optimum.net/support

Just keep on going through the prompts until they send you to an agent.

Good luck.

optimum customer support

How To Get Optimum For Free

With the Affordable Connectivity Plan, it’s possible to get your Optimum internet for free (if you choose the lowest tier plan).

The Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) is a government program to provide internet for lower-income Americans. 

You could be eligible if your gross household income is low, you’re on SNAP, your kids receive reduced-price school lunches, or if you’re a Pell Grant Recipient.

ACP is a replacement for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) which was launched during the pandemic to help people who were affected by Covid’s economic disruptions.

With ACP, the federal government pays $30 of your internet bill a month when you enroll with your service provider.  Previously with EBB, the subsidy was $50.

You can get the $30 of monthly credits to apply to any plan.  So if you have a triple play plan that you’re paying $200 a month, you could reduce that to $170 or if you have a $30 plan, you can get your internet for free.

If you’re currently on EBB, you’ll be moved to ACP at the same rate for up to a year but then your monthly subsidy will go down to $30 a month.

Getting ACP to apply could take up to 2 billing cycles but you can get Optimum to process your plan change quicker by calling them to see the status of your application and seeing if they can expedite it.

Cut Your Optimum Bill $15 A Month

You can also save $15 a month on your Optimum bill if you turn on autopay and pay your own modem/router and avoid Optimum’s equipment rental fee.

Optimum will give you a $5 discount if you turn on autopay with them.  If you have autopay on, make sure that you’re getting your $ 5-a-month discount.

We’ve seen many instances in the past where customers will have autopay active but not get the discount because of system errors. 

If you’re not getting the discount an autopay is on, you’ll need to contact Optimum customer service to get them to apply the discount to your account.

If you’re an Optimum Mobile subscriber, your autopay discount will be $5 a line.  This could add up if your entire family is on your plan.

One of the many ways Optimum charges more for their service than their advertised price is with equipment rental fees.

Optimum charges $10 a month to rent a modem/router.  We’ve found in general that these are older and refurbished modems that sometimes don’t even support some of the internet speeds that people are paying for.

Avoid this $ 10-a-month fee by forgoing or returning the modem/router that Optimum provides.  You can find a list of approved modems here.

If you’ve been renting equipment from Optimum, you’ll need to return it to them.  You can bring your modem to any Walgreens or FedEx Office location. Just make sure to bring your label.

Make sure that your next bill reflects that you’ve returned your equipment and that you’re getting the discount.

It’s been our experience that Optimum’s systems make a lot of mistakes and oftentimes doesn’t always reflect the changes you want to be made or did online or with a rep on the phone.

Change Your Service And Save Money

Sometimes the best way to save on your Optimum bill is just to get another service.

Cable and internet companies treat their new customers better than existing customers by giving them signup bonuses.

In more recent years, mobile phone companies like T-Mobile and Verizon have entered the internet market with fixed wireless offerings that are very competitive.

Optimum has a terrible reputation and pretty expensive prices for what you’re getting. You can lower your Optimum bill and save money but you might be happier with a different provider.

Lower Your Optimum Bill With BillSmart

Optimum was never a great provider to be with and has been getting worse since they were acquired by Altice.

The reason they give out discounts like candy is that that’s really all they can do to avoid losing the rest of their customer base to Fios and Spectrum.

Avoid the hassle of getting your Optimum bill lowered with BillSmart

We save our clients $352 on average and our success rate is 83%. Sign up by clicking the button below.

About the author

Allison Cruz is the Head of Operations at BillSmart. She manages the bill negotiation team and doesn't stop until her clients get the biggest discount on their bills. In her free time, she enjoys watching cooking shows and drinking white wine.