T-Mobile describes its top plan as carrying the best entertainment bundle in wireless, included in your plan. Five services sit under that sentence and they do not behave the same way. Two are included for as long as you keep the line. Two are free for a few months and then renew onto your card at full price. One is a discount rather than an inclusion. Told apart, the bundle is still good. Told together, it is worth less than the headline implies.
The five perks, separated
| Perk | How long it lasts | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix Standard with ads | As long as you keep a qualifying line | Nothing: it is on us |
| Hulu with ads | As long as you keep a qualifying Experience Beyond line | Nothing: it is on us |
| Apple TV | As long as you keep a qualifying line | You pay $3 a month throughout |
| SiriusXM All Access (app only) | 6 months | Auto-renews at $11.99/mo + tax |
| Pandora Premium | 4 months | Auto-renews at $10.99/mo + tax |
Netflix and Hulu are the substance. Both are genuinely on us, both continue for as long as the line is in good standing, and Hulu is tied specifically to Experience Beyond rather than the Experience tiers generally.
The two that bill you later
SiriusXM runs six months on us and then renews at the then-current All Access app-only rate, currently $11.99 a month plus tax, unless you cancel before it renews. Pandora Premium runs four months and then renews at $10.99 plus tax on the same basis. Both are cancellable at any time, and neither is a trap in the sense of being hidden — the terms are on T-Mobile's own streaming page. They are simply not the same kind of thing as Netflix on us, and they are counted alongside it.
The one that is a discount
Apple TV is $3 a month on both Experience tiers. Against the standalone price that is a real saving, and it is worth having if you watch it. It is not included, and it does not appear in T-Mobile's own On Us list alongside Netflix and Hulu — on the streaming page it sits under new releases with a link explaining how to redeem it.
The distinction matters when you price a plan. T-Mobile values Apple TV at $9.99 a month when it totals what its top tier is worth. Paying $3 against a $9.99 valuation saves roughly $7, not $9.99, and only if the subscription would otherwise be on your card.
What the bundle is worth to you specifically
- Count only the services you already pay for. Anything you would not buy is worth nothing, however it is priced.
- For Netflix and Hulu, count the full subscription price. These are real inclusions.
- For Apple TV, count the saving rather than the price — the list rate minus the $3 you pay.
- For SiriusXM and Pandora, count a few months of value, not a monthly figure. They are trials.
- Compare the total against the gap between plan tiers. If the gap is bigger, the bundle is not paying for itself.
Done honestly, the bundle is strong for a household that already subscribes to Netflix and Hulu, and close to worthless for one that subscribes to neither. That is true of every carrier bundle, and it is why the perk list is the least useful part of a plan comparison until you have written down what you already buy.
Every plan ranked on all-in cost, with perks listed separately so you can judge them against what you already pay for.
Compare phone plans →Frequently asked questions
Is T-Mobile's entertainment bundle really included? +
What does SiriusXM cost after the free period? +
What does Pandora Premium cost after the free period? +
Which plans get Hulu? +
Is the bundle a reason to choose Experience Beyond? +
Do the perks survive a plan change? +
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Jean Gilles has researched personal finance, consumer technology, and wireless pricing for over a decade. He founded ShopCellPlans in 2019 and writes every review on the site.