Back in 2018/2019, I learned a way to get Netflix for around $2.50 a month, and I saved hundreds of dollars for almost 4 years.

The trick involved signing up with Netflix in the USA, putting in a valid credit/debit card number, then immediately canceling. After the cancelation date, I used a VPN and changed my IP address to Turkey, signed back into Netflix, and restarted my subscription and paid in Turkish liras.

This meant instead of paying $15 USD a month for a Netflix HD subscription, I was paying 27.99 TL a month. (Of course this also meant paying a currency conversion fee which was less than 25 cents per month.) This translated to roughly $2.70 a month plus the currency conversion fee.

This tricked worked….until last week.

Last week, I went to update my payment method, and Netflix wanted me to add a mobile number located in Turkey.

I just tried the trick again, and now my payment methods are being declined despite having the funds.

So if you’re looking to use the VPN trick to get cheap Netflix, don’t bother. It won’t work.

Other streaming services have already caught wind of this trick and have taken steps to prevent you from getting streaming services at discounted prices. Among these are Spotify, Apple Music, and HBO MAX.

Last year, I predicted that Netflix would eventually catch wind of this trick and take steps to prevent this from happening again as well as potentially banning credit/debit card numbers used for this trick. (I think the latter is why it wouldn’t let me use my cards.)

UPDATE: I tried reactivation my account, and it said I put in an invalid password. When I tried account recovery to change my password, it gave a “system error”. So it’s safe to assume that my email address – and possibly any IP addresses I used while using Netflix – has been banned.