How to avoid the Disney+ price increase

Another day, another price hike, and this time it’s Disney+ that’s looking to up its subscription prices. Luckily, there’s something you can do about it.

First, the background: Disney announced on Wednesday that it would soon hike the price of its ad-free Disney+ Premium plan to $13.99 a month, a $3-a-month increase. Do the math, and that’s a hefty 27-percent price hike. 

Disney also announced price increases for Hulu (No Ads), which will go up to $17.99 a month (up $3 a month), as well as Hulu with Live TV, which will see price increases to $76.99 (with ads) and $89.99 (no ads), a $7-a-month price hike for each. 

The subscription rate Hulu with ads won’t go up during this round of price hikes, nor will the price of the ad-supported Disney+ Basic plan.

So, first the bad news: The trick I’m about to describe for avoiding the Disney+ price hike won’t work with Hulu this time, for reasons that will be apparent in a moment.

But here’s the good news: Yep, there is a way to skirt the Disney+ price hike, which is slated to kick in on October 12.

The trick: sign up for an annual Disney+ Premium plan. If you grab Disney+’s annual plan now, you can lock in a year’s worth of Premium for $109.99, which comes out to about $9.17 a month. After October 12, the annual price for Disney+ Premium will go up to $139.99.

OK, so what about Hulu? Unfortunately, Hulu only offers an annual plan for Hulu with ads, which isn’t getting a price hike in October. For Hulu (No Ads) or Hulu with Live TV, you can only pay monthly.

Subscribe to Disney+ Premium for $109.99 a year

How to sign up for the Disney+ annual plan

If you’re a new or returning Disney+ subscriber

• You can opt for an annual Disney+ plan right when you sign up for Disney+. 
• After you switch to the tab for unbundled Disney+ plans and pick either Basic or Premium, you’ll see options for both monthly and annual billing. 
• Just pick Annual, and follow the prompts.

If you’re a current Disney+ subscriber on the web

• Log in to Disney+, hover your mouse over your profile icon, and select the Account menu item.
• Head for the Subscription section, find your plan, then click Change.
• Next, click Save with annual plans, pick the annual billing option, then click Agree & Subscribe. 

If you’re a current Disney+ subscriber on mobile

• Fire up the Disney+ app, tap your profile icon, then go to the Subscription heading.
• Select your plan, switch to the annual billing option (you may be prompted for your email address and password), then tap Agree & Subscribe.

If you’re a current Disney+ subscriber who signed up through a third party (like the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store)

• Launch the Disney+ app, tap your profile icon, then go to the Subscription heading.
• You should see a Switch to Disney+ (annual) option; tap it.
• Finish the plan change through the third party’s billing system.

Two things to keep in mind before signing up for an annual Disney+ plan

• Once you sign up for a Disney+ annual plan, there are no refunds, and you can’t go back to an annual plan for the term of your new yearly plan. So if you want to go the annual way with Disney+, be aware that there’s no going back until the plan expires.
• Don’t wait until October 12 to lock in your Disney+ savings with an annual plan. If your pre-October 12 billing period extends past the October 12 date of the Disney+ price hike, you may be renewed at the new increased billing rate prior to October 12. (I’ve been burned this way before.) So pay attention to the dates on your Disney+ billing cycle and lock in the annual plan during the last full monthly billing period before the price hike hits.