Dish Pay-As-You-Go

mitch5252

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Oct 10, 2004
28
8
My friends just yesterday bought a 2014 handicap accessible Class A motorhome with a satellite antenna "built in". I was trying to do some research for them on getting Dish Pay-As-You-Go for the times when they are traveling. They have cable at their home. (I personally have Directv and just throw a receiver in my camper when I go traveling)

While looking at the Dish site, I read that EQUIPMENT PURCHASE REQUIRED to get the pay-as-you-go...

Does anyone know if this is an absolutely requirement since they already have a satellite antenna on their rig?

Thanks for your help.

Michelle
 
If they own the antenna they just have to buy whatever receiver they are going to use for service. Just make sure it is compatible with the satellite they have. They just have to call to activate service after that. Ignore all the junk on the Pay as You Go site about packages. The minimum package you can activate s new account with is the "Flex" pack but you can immediately call back or do an online chat to switch to the Welcome pack if they want cheaper. They most likely will want a vip211z. It will work with the majority of the portable satellites and can be connected to an external drive for a one time $40 fee to gain DVR capability (I got $10 off, your mileage may vary on that)
 
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If they own the antenna they just have to buy whatever receiver they are going to use for service. Just make sure it is compatible with the satellite they have. They just have to call to activate service after that. Ignore all the junk on the Pay as You Go site about packages. The minimum package you can activate s new account with is the "Flex" pack but you can immediately call back or do an online chat to switch to the Welcome pack if they want cheaper. They most likely will want a vip211z. It will work with the majority of the portable satellites and can be connected to an external drive for a one time $30 fee to gain DVR capability
I generally agree with this, but the fee is $40. Also, it is not really necessary to call back. You can change packages on the same phone call if you want. At least, that is what Dish let me do when I opened an account with Welcome Pack. (They required Dish Family (now called Smart Pack) to open an account at the time. My package was switched to Welcome Pack before I got off the phone.)
 
I generally agree with this, but the fee is $40. Also, it is not really necessary to call back. You can change packages on the same phone call if you want. At least, that is what Dish let me do when I opened an account with Welcome Pack. (They required Dish Family (now called Smart Pack) to open an account at the time. My package was switched to Welcome Pack before I got off the phone.)

I recently opened a Welcome Pack account and they refused to do the change on the same call, so YMMV on that. The rep quoted and charged me $30 for the external drive feature. Maybe that was a promo or they just discounted it somehow. This was less than three weeks ago.
 
The rep quoted and charged me $30 for the external drive feature. Maybe that was a promo or they just discounted it somehow. This was less than three weeks ago.
That could be. When my sister opened a pay-as-you-go account with Welcome Pack, she got the first month of DVR service for free with a Model 512 receiver. The fee was $6 per month at that time, which was credited back on her first bill. :)
 
Interestingly enough when I go to my "programming" screen it lists all of the available package. "International Basic" is listed as a choice at $15/month. If you choose that plan do they make you choose an international package in addition to that, or is that a "loophole"? This is only being used for locals, if I could shave another $5 a month it would be great.
 
Interestingly enough when I go to my "programming" screen it lists all of the available package. "International Basic" is listed as a choice at $15/month. If you choose that plan do they make you choose an international package in addition to that, or is that a "loophole"? This is only being used for locals, if I could shave another $5 a month it would be great.
International Basic does not include locals, so that would be $25 per month ($15 International Basic + $10 locals) plus the cost of the required international package you have to choose just to qualify for International Basic. Directv has a cheap package for international subscribers (Basic Choice) that does include locals, but with either provider you have to add another international package to qualify for the cheap basic package.
 
Is "Pay-as-yo-Go" still a thing? I'm helping my sister and her husband get our Family vacation home set up for the summer and I can't seem to find anything on Dish's website. They didn't have too much trouble reactivating the account, but I wanted to update our documentation with what packages are available and I'm coming up empty on info.

D'oh! I was searching the "MyDish" site, not the full Dish website:
Pay As You Go Satellite TV Packages | DISH

Edit: We were subscribing to the Smart Pack and while it's still available (to us) for $32.99/mo, the locals are an additional $12. Over-the-Top is looking better and better...
 
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Is "Pay-as-yo-Go" still a thing? I'm helping my sister and her husband get our Family vacation home set up for the summer and I can't seem to find anything on Dish's website. They didn't have too much trouble reactivating the account, but I wanted to update our documentation with what packages are available and I'm coming up empty on info.

D'oh! I was searching the "MyDish" site, not the full Dish website:
Pay As You Go Satellite TV Packages | DISH

Edit: We were subscribing to the Smart Pack and while it's still available (to us) for $32.99/mo, the locals are an additional $12. Over-the-Top is looking better and better...
Make sure you check out Welcome Pack to see if that would work for you. It is only $22.99/mo, and that includes locals.
 
Before doing anything else, you need to determine what dish is installed on the RV and make sure it's compatible with Dish receivers. The "EQUIPMENT PURCHASE REQUIRED" is correct for a PAYGO (FLEX) account, but that does not mean you have to buy a receiver from Dish. It only means you cannot get the free receiver and installation supplied with a 2-year service contract.
 
I agree with the Welcome Pack. It may also be labeled as Pay in Advance. Just make sure to not do the Flex24 plan, because then it is not a pay as you go.
 
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