T-Mobile To Verizon Customers: Switch And Get A Full Year Of Hulu For Free

huuulluuuuA week after trying to lure away AT&T customers by offering them a $200 discount on a new iPhone, T-Mobile is going after Verizon customers. But instead of dangling cash back on a fancy phone, this time T-Mo is hoping that a year of free streaming video might do the trick.

It works like this, according to T-Mobile: Starting tomorrow, and through Dec. 17, any current Verizon customer who switches to a T-Mobile Simple Choice postpaid plan — either at a T-Mo store or over the phone — will receive a text message with a $100 gift code for Hulu.

Interestingly, unlike a lot of company-switching promos, T-Mobile is not requiring that Verizon customers trade in their current phones to get this offer.

Hulu is also part of T-Mobile’s “Binge On” program, which doesn’t charge users for data from certain streaming content services (including Verizon’s own Go90). The Binge On video isn’t the full-quality HD you’d get on your TV, but it may be sufficient for casual mobile users.

Of course, the one caveat worth considering with the “free Hulu” offer is the fact that you will have to sign up with Hulu and give them your payment info. The “12 months” part of the offer is also assuming that you subscribe to the lower-tier Hulu service, complete with ads and no premium channels. If you want the more-expensive ad-free version of Hulu, or you want to add Showtime on top of your base Hulu package, the $100 gift from T-Mo won’t go as far.

And once that $100 gift code is exhausted, you’ll continue to be charged each month. The good thing is that Hulu, like most streaming sites, works on a month-to-month basis so you can leave whenever you feel like it.

Just like with the AT&T deal, T-Mobile is also throwing in a half-off promo for accessories. And folks who trade in their Verizon phones can be eligible for having up to $650 of the remainder of their Verizon obligation bought out, or having whatever they’ve got left to pay on their old phone paid off.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.