Right up front, I want to be completely transparent and clear with this post: there is no deal where you can walk into a store – physical or digital – with 12 crisp dollar bills in your pocket and walk out with a new Chromecast with Google TV in your hands. There is one key word in that title up there and it is very, very important. With this deal you can essentially score a new Chromecast as long as you have – or plan to have – a subscription to Netflix.
Here’s how we get there. Right now, over on the Google Store, you can take advantage of a deal that scores you 6 months of the Netflix Standard Streaming Plan in the form of Netflix credits when you buy the new Chromecast with Google TV. Now, according to Google’s fine print on the deal, this is currently worth $77.94, but I’m assuming Netflix increased rates since Google inked this deal. $77.94 divided by 6 is $12.99, so it seems when Google put all this together, they were estimating things on that rate. However, that fine print says total current value, so it stands to reason that Google knew a price shift may occur.
Using the actual, current Netflix rates, most users are likely paying $13.99 a month for the service in order to get 1080p video and not be restricted to a single screen. Using that math, when we multiply $13.99 by 6, we get $83.94. What this means, then, is that if you are a current subscriber on this standard plan or are expecting to be soon, you can go get this deal at the Google Store, and get a pre-paid Netflix credit for $77.94 that will get you basically 5.5 months of service. While I think Google should amend the title of this deal since we all know the $77.94 won’t actually cover 6 months any longer, it is clearly stated in their fine print: “Netflix price plans subject to change and the duration of the offer value may be prorated accordingly.”
Get the Chromecast/Netflix Deal from the Google Store
That one quibble aside, my absolute favorite part of this whole thing is the fact that current Netflix users can take the same advantage of the deal. That’s right, there’s no new account restrictions going on here and existing users will simply get a 6-month bill credit (up to $77.94) applied to their Netflix subscription. Pretty sweet if you are in the market for one of these fantastic new Chromecasts and also happen to subscribe to Netflix.
As always, there are some limitations, but these are very mild. You’ll need to purchase your Chromecast before 12/31/2021 (yeah, that’s what Google’s fine print says) and you can only cash in on this deal 3 times per customer and/or Google account. Also, if you return the device and have used your Netflix credits, you will only get the standard $49.99 back. Those who return it without activating the Netflix portion can get their cash back, though. That’s it! This deal is hard to beat, so if you fit the profile of a person who wants our favorite streaming device with Netflix, this is tough to pass on.
