Save Money On YouTube TV

A few weeks back I shared a new Amex Offer that can get you a nice discount on your YouTube TV subscription for the next several months. I hinted at a way to save money on YouTube TV subscriptions all of the time in that post. I promised you a follow up article with all of the details and examples and here I am making good on that promise. We switched from cable to YouTube TV a little over a year ago in order to cut down our costs for live TV. I also love that you can use it anywhere, versus just at home with cable. By paying one monthly fee we can use the service at home, up at the cottage, while we are traveling or even if I am just somewhere I need to stream the game (like the hotel pool a few weeks ago).

It has cut our cost some but it is the flexibility of the program that really drives home the usefulness of the service for me. YouTube just announced an upcoming fee increase last week so these savings are more valuable now then ever.

Here Is A Referral Where You Can Get $45 Off Your First 3 Months

Google Play Gift Cards Are The Key

The key to this play is the fact that you can use Google Play gift cards to pay your YouTube subscription. Since Google owns YouTube they let you use your Google Play balance to cover the cost of the subscription. Yes, you heard that right, Google Play gift cards are not just for music and games!

You may be wondering why this is such a big deal though. That is because Google Play gift cards can often be bought at a discount. If you stockpile them when the deals are good then you are essentially getting a discount on your YouTube TV subscription for as long as you want. I'll give you some examples of where to look for these deals in a bit. These will be examples outside of the normal store promos like 10% off Google Play cards at Target, PayPal etc. from time to time.

How Do You Pay Your YouTube TV Subscription With Google Play Gift Cards?

Before we get into how to source Google Play gift cards at a discount we should first look at how to pay your YouTube TV subscription with them. Unfortunately, they don't make it very easy to do. Which is surprising for a technology company to have have a user experience as bad as Google & YouTube have this set up.

First You Want To Redeem Your Google Play Gift Card

First things first, make sure you are logged into the same account you pay YouTube TV with. The Google Play and YouTube TV account need to be the same. Once logged in you can click this link to redeem your card (or follow the instructions on the back of the gift card).

Change Your YouTube TV Payment To Your Google Play Balance

Once you have a Google Play balance to pay a month or two you are going to want to switch your payment selection over to your Google Play balance from whatever card you had set up before. Go to this page to check what your current payment set up is. You can see the update option to the right if Google Play isn't already selected.

Check Your Google Play Balance Since They Don't Do Partial Payments

Once you have your YouTube TV account set up to pay from your Google Play balance you will want to check it every so often. You can do that here. You want to do this because Google's system won't take the remaining gift card balance and then bill the rest on a card on file. I warned you their back end was terrible above, didn't I? You will get an email that your payment didn't go through and will have some time to add to your balance or change your payment method though.

Where To Buy Discounted Google Play Gift Cards?

Now that we know what it takes to save money on YouTube TV, and how to do it, we need to discuss sourcing Google Play gift cards at a discount. I will give you a few different examples that range from always available to ones that you need to be on the lookout for.

Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards

The easiest way, and one that is always available, is to maximize your credit card rewards. You could buy a Google Play gift card with a card that earns a multiplier. Use a card that earns bonus points or cash back in the store's category that you are shopping at. 

It gets a lot better if you pair this purchase up with a store promo too, like a 4X fuel points promo at a Kroger owned store or something similar. On your $65 monthly subscription that would net you 260 fuel points worth 26 cents off a gallon essentially. If you use that on 20 gallons (you can do it on a maximum of 35 gallons) that is an additional savings of $5.20, or 8% off the $65 purchase. When paired with the credit card points / cash back that is 12% – 14% off your YouTube subscription.

Watch For Store Promotions

Sometimes stores like Target or Best Buy will offer deals on certain brands of cards. Often included in those deals are Google Play gift cards. It is good to check their weekly ads to see if anything pops up. This is particularly true around holidays when gift card purchases spike and the deals follow. They can range in the 10% – 15% off range.

Target Circle Offers

One way I have been sourcing discounted Google Play gift cards is from the Target Circle promos they target accounts with each month or so. Some of these are really good, and others are not so good. I have had one that said spend $50 X3 and earn $20 in Target Circle bucks (essentially a Target gift card on your account). Last month was spend $90 X2 and get $15 off and this month is $10 off $90. The worst of these offers is still like getting 8.3% off. The cool thing is third party gift cards (cards to stores other than Target) work to trigger these. If you have a Target RedCard from that deal I posted earlier this week you could get another 5% off there. If you don't have one I would focus on using a card you are working on minimum spend for.

Amex Offers

This will be my last example for you and one where you can do the most damage. Pay attention to Amex Offers and other similar credit card programs. They will give discounts at stores that you can buy Google Play gift cards. There has been nice offers at Walmart and Lowe's in the past that could work for you. Both should have plenty of Google Play gift cards in stock. The $50 off $250 at Lowe's Amex Offer would have nabbed you 20% off your next several months plus whatever return you got in credit card rewards.

Here Is A Referral Where You Can Get $45 Off Your First 3 Months

How To Save Money On YouTube TV: ToP Thoughts

Hopefully this showed you how we can use our miles and points skills to save money on everyday costs, like your YouTube TV subscription. If you went this route to cut the cost of cable, well, let me help you drop that cost even a little bit more. A penny saved is a penny earned after all, and a penny you can use on travel instead!