(Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify earlier information provided by Verizon.)
More service members, retirees and veterans are eligible for a 15 percent discount on monthly wireless service, Verizon announced Thursday.
The company has identified more than 100,000 additional accounts that are eligible for the discount, according to a press release, and the price break is being automatically applied to those accounts.The discount is not new, but previously it was available only to those who met a minimum plan requirement for their postpaid monthly wireless service. Information was not available about how many in the military community were already receiving the discount.
Officials are automatically applying the discount to more than 100,000 eligible accounts.
Those eligible can also receive a 25 percent discount on certain accessories such as select chargers, cases and extended batteries, and 12 percent off certain calling features, such as International Travel to Mexico and Canada, HUM by Verizon and Tech Coach.
To sign up or to find out if you've been automatically signed up for the discount, visit the Verizon website.
You must verify your military service in different ways, depending on your status:
Active duty: Your military email, or leave and earnings statement.
Retirees and veterans: Your retiree account statement from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service myPay site; DD Form 214; the planned Veterans ID Card; or VetRewards Card from Veterans Advantage.
Verizon officials say they aim to make it as easy and simple as possible for military members, veterans and retirees to access services. That includes making it easy to keep and manage accounts while deployed.
"We want to give active-duty service members and veterans one less thing to think about when doing business with us," said David Small, executive vice president of wireless operations at Verizon, in a release.
Verizon ranked No. 1 in our Best for Vets: Employers 2015 rankings. Look for the 2016 list in March.
Karen Jowers covers military families, quality of life, and consumer issues for Military Times. She can be reached at kjowers@militarytimes.com
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
