T-Mobile Adds New Perks With Magenta Status and T Life App
Car rental refills, Hilton hotel status and discounted concert and movie tickets are coming to T-Mobile as it switches up its rewards programs.
T-Mobile is adding some new perks and a new app for managing its services. Over the past couple of weeks, the carrier has begun transitioning away from its T-Mobile Tuesdays promotion to a new app called T Life that aims to offer additional perks, alongside account-management features like controlling your home internet.
On Wednesday, the carrier introduced another new addition as it looks to boost awareness of the switch with the introduction of Magenta Status, a new program that will offer additional perks to all of the carrier's customers.
The new perks, which start rolling out on Feb. 13, include Silver status and 15% discounts at Hilton hotels, the ability to get 25% off tickets at some Live Nation shows, $5 movie tickets to certain films every month through Atom Tickets (with February's feature the new film Bob Marley: One Love) and the ability to return electric cars at Hertz and gas cars at Dollar without needing to refill them.
Taking advantage of any of the perks will require you to start making your reservations and bookings through the T Life app, with the app authenticating you and then passing you along to the respective service to complete the purchase.
"If you look at what's happening across not just the wireless industry, but across all industries, companies just seem to be rolling back their loyalty programs," Mike Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, strategy and products, tells CNET. He specifically calls out AT&T for shutting down its AT&T Thanks loyalty program and Verizon for unbundling perks like the Disney bundle from its latest wireless plans.
"There just really feels like this trend that's always been there but it's gotten worse about customers have to demonstrate their loyalty first to companies before they get any loyalty demonstrated back to them. And we just think that's wrong."
Magenta Status will be available to all T-Mobile customers regardless of their plans or services. T-Mobile Tuesdays will continue alongside the new program, with Katz calling the new offering a "double down" on its T-Mobile Tuesdays idea with a host of "everyday, always-on deals from brands they love."
Over the next couple of months, the company is aiming to turn T Life into its centralized app for managing all T-Mobile-related activities. Whereas before the carrier had several different apps for T-Mobile Tuesdays, account management and its Home Internet service, it has already moved T-Mobile Tuesdays and Home Internet management into T Life.
Katz says that in the first half of the year the company will be adding account management, as well as the ability for new customers to test-drive its network through its Network Pass program, into the new app.
As for raising awareness of the new program, Katz teased that the company will have a "big spot with a bunch of friends" during this weekend's Super Bowl to showcase its latest move.
"These perks are so great, everybody wants to be a part of it," he teases. "And so much so that people are willing to kind of put themselves out there."