Looking to downgrade from Quicken Premier to Quicken Deluxe . . .

dbb_bissell

I have had a Quicken premier subscription coupled with Quicken Bill Pay. Before the Aug 31 transition I wish to _downgrade_ to Quicken Deluxe so that I can take advantage of the 15/15 limit under the new Bill Manager. I am willing to forfeit the remainder of my premier subscription (currently paid through Jan 2021) in order to do this. When I try to make this downgrade by changing the account type on quicken.com, the only option I am given is to upgrade to Quicken Home & Business, which has the 12/6 limits. Surely this is an unintentional limitation on the website. So . . . how does one make the downgrade to Quicken Deluxe? TIA dbb_bissell

Quicken Francisco

Hello @dbb_bissell

Thank you for reaching out on the community and telling us about your issue. I recommend contacting support here as they're the ones who are able to downgrade you if you choose to. They should also be able to answer any questions you might have to clear up any of the confusion as well. I'll list the hours down below as well so you can find a time that works best for you.

Thanks,

Quicken Francisco

Quicken Phone Support Current Hours of Operation:

Monday through Friday

5:00 am to 5:00 pm PDT

 

Quicken Chat Support Current Hours of Operation:

Monday through Sunday

5:00 am to 5:00pm PDT

Chris_QPW

@dbb_bissell You seem to have you features vs edition level backwards.

It is the Premier edition that Bill Manager is included in.  The Deluxe doesn't have it.

dbb_bissell

Is that right? If so, then why do the Quicken reps in these forums state that Deluxe users will be restricted in Bill Manager to 15 quick pay and 15 check pay transactions per month? Whereas Premium users are restricted to 12 quick pay and 6 check pay month. It has always seemed to me that _Quicken_ has gotten it backwards. But I suppose it is their prerogative (sp?) since it (QUICKEN) writes the software.

Sherlock

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7870175/quicken-bill-manager-what-are-the-limits-fees-for-quick-pay-check-pay/



If you are paying $9.95 per month for Quicken Bill Pay, you should be able to downgrade to Deluxe and pay $9.95/month for the additional 3 Quick Pay and 9 Check Pay payments per month if you are in the last 6 months of your subscription.

https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-manage-my-quicken-subscription

dbb_bissell

OK. Let me know if I am understanding this correctly.

Quicken's transition guidelines are divided into two tiers: a "generous" one (meaning higher limits) for "existing bill pay users" and a "less-generous" one (meaning lower limits) for "new Quicken Bill Manager users (users who do not use Quicken Bill Pay)". This makes sense. Companies generally want to reward long-term customers who provide consistent revenue.

I am a Quicken Premier subscriber. Under that plan I receive free Quicken Bill Pay (a $119 dollar value) and access to priority Quicken support (a $49 value). I do not make a separate payment of $9.95 per month. My subscription ends on January 18, 2021. The date that is six months before that is July 18. The transition date from Quicken Bill Pay to Quicken Bill Manager (i.e. the date Quicken Bill Pay will cease to function) is July 31.

I have been using Bill Manager for about 6 weeks now, and the 12/6 limits under Premier do not work for me. I need the 15/15, and am willing to pay $9.95 for the higher limits.

So . . . If I contact Quicken support during the 13 day window from July 18 to July 31 and downgrade to Quicken Deluxe, when - if at all - am I permitted to take advantage of the 15/15 limit? On August 1 (since I have made my downgrade before July 31)? Or on January 18, 2021, when the $9.95 monthly payment will kick in?

And if the answer is I am entitled to do neither . . . what is the reasoning behind that conclusion?

And also . . . could someone explain to me why this has to be so complicated?

Best,

dbb_bissell

Sherlock

dbb_bissell said:

OK. Let me know if I am understanding this correctly.

Quicken's transition guidelines are divided into two tiers: a "generous" one (meaning higher limits) for "existing bill pay users" and a "less-generous" one (meaning lower limits) for "new Quicken Bill Manager users (users who do not use Quicken Bill Pay)". This makes sense. Companies generally want to reward long-term customers who provide consistent revenue.

I am a Quicken Premier subscriber. Under that plan I receive free Quicken Bill Pay (a $119 dollar value) and access to priority Quicken support (a $49 value). I do not make a separate payment of $9.95 per month. My subscription ends on January 18, 2021. The date that is six months before that is July 18. The transition date from Quicken Bill Pay to Quicken Bill Manager (i.e. the date Quicken Bill Pay will cease to function) is July 31.

I have been using Bill Manager for about 6 weeks now, and the 12/6 limits under Premier do not work for me. I need the 15/15, and am willing to pay $9.95 for the higher limits.

So . . . If I contact Quicken support during the 13 day window from July 18 to July 31 and downgrade to Quicken Deluxe, when - if at all - am I permitted to take advantage of the 15/15 limit? On August 1 (since I have made my downgrade before July 31)? Or on January 18, 2021, when the $9.95 monthly payment will kick in?

And if the answer is I am entitled to do neither . . . what is the reasoning behind that conclusion?

And also . . . could someone explain to me why this has to be so complicated?

Best,

dbb_bissell

Not quite.  The "free" Quicken Bill Pay offered with Premier and higher editions was limited to 15 payment per month.  The $9.95 per month plan provided 20 payments per month and $5 for each additional 15 payments.  Quicken Bill Pay is being terminated on August 31, 2020.

So...  Your window is July 18 to August 31 or 44 days.  Of course, you may activate a separate Deluxe subscription at any time.  However, unless you're able to convince Quicken Support otherwise, the issue is establishing the paid Quicken Bill Pay account. 

If you want to issue payments from within Quicken, I suggest you consider using one of the more than 500 financial institutions that offer online bill payment using the Direct Connect connection method.

I don't find this to be complicated.  Metavante Payment Services, LLC decided to terminate their Quicken Bill Pay service.  Quicken is attempting to provide an alternative for their existing Quicken Bill Pay users.   Note: Quick Pay and Check Pay are not equivalent to Quicken Bill Pay but may be adequate for some users.  

Chris_QPW

One thing that strikes me about all of this is that first off even though promised, Quicken Deluxe Bill Manager (where you pay per month) doesn't yet exist.  Correct me if I'm wrong about that @Sherlock because frankly I haven't been reading all the posts on the subject.

So right there there is the risk it might not come out when they say, and then it seems really strange that if they have setup a system to have users use Deluxe and pay for what amounts to more transactions, then I don't see why they haven't pursued the Premier and above users being able to pay more to extend how many transactions they can do.  Certainly seems like very dumb thing to do for what is a payment system that they already have to have for Deluxe.

But frankly I don't get the "essential service" part of all this.

Yeah it is "convenient" to pay from within Quicken, but one could just use their financial institution's website to pay bills.  Especially considering that Bill Manager is far from "problem free".  Or just setup bills to be paid automatically from a credit card/account.

Or of course like @Sherlock use a financial institution that allows you to directly connect to their bill pay services though Quicken.

Sherlock

@Chris_QPW:

My understanding is users that have been paying for Quicken Bill Pay are already able to issue 15 Quick Pay and 15 Check Pay payments per month and may continue to use Quicken Bill Pay until August 31.  When their Quicken Bill Pay service is terminated, the users that have enabled Quick Pay will continue to be charged $9.95 per month for the limited service.

Chris_QPW

OK this is really about Quicken Bill pay continuing, not Quicken Bill Manager getting the ability for Deluxe users to pay for the service.  Makes more sense.

Sherlock

Chris_QPW said:

OK this is really about Quicken Bill pay continuing, not Quicken Bill Manager getting the ability for Deluxe users to pay for the service.  Makes more sense.

Its really about transitioning existing Quicken Bill Pay users to a new alternative.  The Premier or higher editions users may use  the "free" Quick Pay and Check Pay because they were promised the "free" Quicken Bill Pay.

The differences between Quicken Bill Pay and Quick Pay are significant.  Besides the ability to schedule payments, which Quicken says they should have available by the end of the summer, Quick Pay may only be used to pay online bills to online billers.  and some number of these online billers actually charge for their end of the payment service.

dbb_bissell

Sherlock: Thanks for this information. You have been helpful.