AT&T Implements 36-Month Bill Credits, 227 May Promotions to Boost Retention
T•AT&T ran 227 smartphone promotions in May 2026, leveraging trade-ins, bundles, and 36-month installment credits to boost retention and secure subscribers through long-duration bill credits and veteran-focused incentives. Its Build-A-Plan BYOD offering attracted price-sensitive users without heavy subsidies, enabling controlled subscriber growth with limited promotional exposure.
1. May Promotion Statistics
In May 2026 US carriers launched 1,094 new smartphone promotions across five major operators and 12 promotion types, with Verizon leading 394 deals, T-Mobile 376 and AT&T 227. The high-frequency subsidy market now treats promotions as a continuous pricing layer designed to steer customers into premium unlimited plans and multi-product ecosystems rather than one-off acquisition tools.
2. AT&T Promotion Mechanics
AT&T standardized its promotions around repeatable mechanics—trade-ins, device bundles and 36-month installment credits—to drive long-term commitments and reduce churn. Veteran-targeted bill credits and the Build-A-Plan BYOD option attracted price-sensitive users while limiting subsidy exposure, providing a predictable framework to grow subscribers and protect ARPU.
