Cricket Mobile Customers Get HBO Max Perk, But You Need The Right Plan

Prepaid carrier Cricket Wireless has announced a new perk that is typically only available to postpaid mobile customers: free access to a major streaming service. The new HBO Max perk will be available to some Cricket subscribers starting tomorrow, August 20, though it only includes the ad-supported video streaming plan.

Though bundled streaming service perks aren't unusual for contract and postpaid mobile plans, they're a rare offering for prepaid mobile customers. That makes Cricket's new perk particularly welcome as it offers HBO Max, one of the larger streaming services on the market.

You need to be signed up for Cricket's $60/month Unlimited Plan, which includes 5G on supported devices and hotspot support. Assuming you have this plan, you can redeem the HBO Max ad-supported plan perk, which would ordinarily cost $9.99/month.

As expected, these subscribers will be able to stream HBO Max on all of the platforms the streaming service supports, not just their mobile phones. The downside? The ad-supported plan has some small limitations compared to its ad-free $14.99/month sibling, naming the lack of offline viewing support and lack of access to Warner Bros' same-day theatrical movie premieres.

According to Cricket, existing HBO Max subscribers can take advantage of this perk by simply signing into the streaming service with their Cricket credentials. Existing customers who don't have the qualifying plan will need to upgrade to the $60/month unlimited plan before they can use the perk, which is also available to new customers who get the unlimited plan.

Though this may not be a good deal for subscribers on lesser plans who don't need an unlimited mobile service, this would be a good deal for those on Cricket's $55/month, assuming they're already paying for HBO Max or would like to sign up for the service. Obviously, it costs five bucks to upgrade from the $55/month to $60/month plan, half of the ad-free HBO Max price.