Swapping Between Sportspak and Starz

[sdsat]

A few months ago, I was told by Directv customer service that I could sign up for the sportspak and then freely change during the month between the sportspak and Starz (or any premium channel other than HBO--which has a higher monthly cost) without any fee and without extending the cancellation date. In other words, a premium service is a premium service and DTV doesn't care which one you have or whether you swap back and forth every day. Folks on this site confirmed that understanding as well.

I signed up for the sportspak last week. I then went to the website to try to swap to Starz, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. When I called customer service yesterday, I was told that I can't swap between premium services without incurring a cancellation fee. True or false?

Thanks.

 

[jtwex]

I believe there is a one month minimum per package before you can switch to another package. Some CSR's seem to go out of their way to mislead but if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. If you could do what you wanted, you could sub to the sports pack on Saturday morning (watching your favorite football games) then switch Saturday night to Starz to watch a movie.

 

[sdsat]

I believe there is a one month minimum per package before you can switch to another package. Some CSR's seem to go out of their way to mislead but if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. If you could do what you wanted, you could sub to the sports pack on Saturday morning (watching your favorite football games) then switch Saturday night to Starz to watch a movie.

That is exactly what the CSR told me I could do and there was a thread here that said the same thing (from a few years back). It did sound great. But, it looks like it can't be done anymore if you ever could . . .

 

[jtwex]

A few years back (many years) they allowed all sorts of things that would seem almost ridiculous now. They're still a few people using DTV just for the Sunday Ticket/Super Fan then dropping the service after the season, a practice definitely frowned upon in today's climate.

 

[jcrandall]

You can change programming on the premium tab under "My Setup" on directv.com

You can do it in less than 30 days. you can only change once "per day".

If you turn off a premium (not switch, turn off) within 30 days you are charged $10.

Switching is ok, but it resets the 30 day clock. You need to keep an individual service 30 days before you can turn it off without penalty.

 

[sdsat]

You can change programming on the premium tab under "My Setup" on directv.com

You can do it in less than 30 days. you can only change once "per day".

If you turn off a premium (not switch, turn off) within 30 days you are charged $10.

Switching is ok, but it resets the 30 day clock. You need to keep an individual service 30 days before you can turn it off without penalty.

Can you clarify the exact steps? I tried the my setup tab, but the only "premium" tab is "add premium." There is no obvious way to swap sportspak for starz, etc. Thanks for any help.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

You have to drop your sports pack from your current setup (click remove) and then it will ask you if you want to exchange your package instead ,Then just check which one you want.

 

[jcrandall]

Hemi's right, they changed it slightly.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Be aware that if you still have a discontinued package (Total Choice, etc.) you cannot make programming changes on the website without changing to a current package. You can still do this by telephone, but that ability may also go away at some point.

 

[jtwex]

You have to drop your sports pack from your current setup (click remove) and then it will ask you if you want to exchange your package instead ,Then just check which one you want.

Hemi,

Are you saying he can drop the Sports pack on Saturday afternoon & add the Starz package then the following Saturday morning drop Stars & add Sports?

Rinse & repeat each weekend.