I’ll be honest: budgeting hasn’t always been my strong suit. For years I’d hover at checkout lines doing fast mental math to determine whether to swipe my debit card or reach for credit.
Last year I finally got serious and began tracking every expense. Once I faced my financial reality, I started hunting for small recurring charges I could cut out.
By far the smallest recurring charge I had was my monthly Netflix bill of $8.67 (subscription plus tax). It wasn’t much, but I figured there had to be a clever way to avoid paying it. After a bit of digging, I discovered how to receive Netflix for free.
The approach I used relies on a particular credit card and a checking account from Bank of America. If you want to replicate this, you’ll need those same accounts — though if your bank offers comparable options, please share your findings in the comments!
Here’s how to use those two accounts strategically to cover Netflix at no cost — and even earn a little extra cash.
Apply for the BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards Card
This credit card grants a $25 reward at the end of each quarter when you make more than the minimum payment or pay your balance in full each month. The card is aimed at customers who carry balances, encouraging gradual payoff, but I leveraged it differently. For this trick, you’ll pay your balance off completely each month.
Here’s what my Netflix spending looks like per quarter:
$8.67 (monthly Netflix charge) x 3 (months in a quarter) = $26.01
That $25 reward nearly covers the cost. Still, I’d be out $1.01 every three months for Netflix. That’s a decent saving, but as a Savinly reader, I was determined to eliminate the expense rather than merely reduce it.
I dug further into the card’s Terms of Service and found a way to increase my rewards.
Open a Bank of America Core Checking Account
The fine print revealed that I could earn an extra $5 per quarter by having my cash rewards automatically deposited into a Bank of America checking or savings account.
Do the math: that’s $30 per quarter in rewards, which covers three months of Netflix and leaves a bit of profit!
I opted for the simplest, low-cost checking option. It has one minor downside, but it’s easy to work around. Unless you’re a college or high school student, the Core Checking account charges a $12 monthly maintenance fee. However, the fee is waived if you keep a $1,500 minimum daily balance or have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 each month (for instance, payroll). I chose to use direct deposit and route bills through this account.
Steps to Get Netflix at No Cost
After you have your credit card and checking account set up, follow these steps:
- If you don’t already have Netflix, sign up for an account.
- Set your Netflix billing to the new credit card.
- Change your credit card rewards setting so cash rewards are deposited into your new checking account.
- Pay your credit card balance in full every month.
- Watch for the $30 reward landing in your checking account at the end of the quarter — that covers everything you spent on Netflix plus a little extra cash.
- Then kick back and enjoy Netflix for free.
Make sure you wait for a fresh credit card statement to post before making your payment. One month I accidentally paid twice within the same statement period and carried a $0 balance into the next month. If that happens, you aren’t eligible for the quarterly reward — meaning you’d be responsible for Netflix for the next three months.
As long as you avoid that mistake, nothing stops you from getting Netflix without paying. Now when I stream my favorite shows and movies, it’s even sweeter knowing it didn’t cost me a dime!
Having eliminated my Netflix bill, I’m now eyeing my renter’s insurance, which runs $12.84 per month. If I discover another inventive method to cover that expense, I’ll share it here.
Michael Grant is a New England native, an AmeriCorps alum, a Kentucky Colonel and a playwright whose work has been staged across the U.S. and overseas. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina with his fiancée and three cats.
