Paramount+ has always been easy to get for free if you know where to look, but the process for doing so continues to get weirder.
To drum up new subscribers, Paramount+ regularly hands out codes for a free month of service. These codes have worked for both new and returning subscribers, and you can even cancel shortly after signing up to avoid being auto-billed when the free trial expires. By repeating this process every month, it’s been possible to avoid paying for Paramount+ entirely.
In recent months, however, the free Paramount+ sign-up flow has changed in ways that might throw people off. While my tests have shown that Paramount’s free codes still work—even for existing subscribers—redeeming them now requires a bigger leap of faith.
Free Paramount+: How it worked
Redeeming free Paramount+ codes used to be a simple: Subscribers merely had to visit the Paramount+ website, choose a monthly plan, and plug in a coupon code on the final checkout page. As long as you didn’t have an active subscription, Paramount+ would accept the code and provide a fresh one-month trial. This approach worked from as far back as 2020, when Paramount+ went by the name CBS All Access.
In March, returning subscribers started running into new obstacles. The Paramount+ checkout page would no longer confirm that it was providing a one-month trial, and some users saw an error saying their promo codes were only valid for new subscribers. The fix at the time was to log out and log back in again during the sign-up process, while confirming a charge of $0.00 at checkout.
Now, Paramount appears to have changed the process again, and it might scare away returning subscribers.
Free Paramount+: The new method
Jared Newman / Foundry
As of June 2023, Paramount+ no longer shows a charge of $0.00 for returning customers who enter a valid promo code. Instead, the “Today’s Total” line on the checkout page will correspond with whatever plan you’ve selected. If you choose Paramount+ Premium and bundle Showtime, for instance, “Today’s Total” will read $11.99 USD at checkout, even with a promo code.
But in my testing, Paramount+ continues not to charge when restarting a subscription with a valid promo code. While the site’s messaging implies that you’ll be charged immediately, I’ve yet to see any charge from Paramount+ on my billing statements, even days after signing up.
The sign-up process, then, works like this:
- Go to the Paramount+ website.
- If you’ve subscribed to Paramount+ before, sign out of your account.
- Hit the “Try it Free” button on the home page.
- Choose either tier (including Premium) and choose Monthly billing.
- Feel free to add Showtime when prompted, as this will be free as well.
- Create an account when prompted, or click the “Sign In” button at the top to sign back into your account.
- On the final checkout page, enter the coupon code.
- Confirm that a “One Month Free” trial offer appears on the checkout page.
- Click “Resume.”
As of June 13, 2023, you can try this with the coupon codes PICKETT, CHEERSATX, or LOVEALLWAYS. See this article for an up-to-date list of working codes.
At this point, you should be able to cancel your subscription through the Paramount+ account page. You’ll still get a full month of the service and won’t get billed at the end. Paramount might even offer you another free month in exchange for not cancelling.
Fair warning: Signing up does require a valid credit card, and there’s no guarantee that Paramount+ won’t immediately charge returning subscribers in the future. While I personally have been able to sign up for free with this process, I can’t say with certainty that your card won’t be charged.
How long will it last?
A few years ago, a CBS All Access spokesperson told me that the coupon codes are good for business, with many new subscribers staying on board even after the trial period. That might explain why the service has stuck with this strategy for so long, even through its rebranding as Paramount+.
Still, the latest changes to the Paramount+ checkout flow suggest that the free ride for returning subscribers might not last forever. Further changes could arrive later this month, when Paramount+ raises prices and brings the entire Showtime catalog into its Premium tier.
More broadly, media companies have been shifting their focus from gaining new subscribers to turning a profit on their existing ones. That means raising prices, reining in lavish promotions, and even downsizing their catalogs. Paramount seems likely to do the same at some point.
In any case, I’ll keep posting new codes for as long as they work, and I’ll continue to share craftier money-saving methods in this new era of cord cutting we’ve entered.
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Author: Jared Newman, Contributor
Jared has been a freelance technology journalist for more than 15 years and is a regular contributor to PCWorld, Fast Company, and TechHive, where he's written a weekly cord-cutting column since 2014. His Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 subscribers, and his Advisorator tech advice newsletter is read by nearly 10,000 people each week. Jared has a master's degree in journalism from NYU and specializes in making complex tech topics easy to understand, from streaming and cord-cutting to neat apps and useful tech tricks. He is based in Cincinnati, OH.