How do I extend my subscription with the new CD I bought at Amazon?

Bubby_120

My current subscription is valid through June, 2023.

Boatnmaniac

You might want to review https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-manage-my-quicken-subscription.  Click on the link in that article for "Instructions for Purchases from a Retailer...".

A couple of other things to note:

1. A subscription can only be extended during the final 6 months of the subscription so you won't want to try extending the subscription with this CD's activation code until 2023.
2. Make sure that the CD you bought does not include a subscription for new users only.  Most (not all) of the really good retail deals on Quicken are for new users only.  If you have a CD that is for new users only you will not be able to extend your subscription with this CD's activation code.
   

jacobs

That's an unknown which unfortunately no one here can answer. Some older Quicken boxes have activation codes which expire after two years. There's no way to tell from the outside of the box when it was created or when the code inside would/did expire. We've had users report that if they just recently bought a package and the code inside was already expired, when they contacted Quicken Support, the Support representative was able to honor the code and extend their subscription. But if you wait five or six months after your purchase to try it, and then it doesn't work… there's no certainty Quicken Support would still honor it. So it if were me, I'd probably return it unopened if I still could. But you might luck out and have it work if you keep it.

Quicken has the 6-month policy because otherwise if someone found boxed copies on sale somewhere, they might buy five of them and try to extend their subscription for five years at the discounted price. By only allowing you to extend your subscription with 6 or fewer months remaining, it prevent people from buying and using multiple copies. 

jacobs

You can only extend a subscription when it has less than 6 months remaining. The package you purchased from Amazon should have come with an activation code. Wait until your current subscription has under 6 months remaining, and then you can enter the activation code. (In Quicken Mac, the last item on the Help menu is for "Enter Activation Code"; if you're using Quicken Windows, I assume their is a similar option in the program — or you can do it on the Quicken.com website by logging into your account.)

Boatnmaniac

You might want to review https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-manage-my-quicken-subscription.  Click on the link in that article for "Instructions for Purchases from a Retailer...".

A couple of other things to note:

1. A subscription can only be extended during the final 6 months of the subscription so you won't want to try extending the subscription with this CD's activation code until 2023.
2. Make sure that the CD you bought does not include a subscription for new users only.  Most (not all) of the really good retail deals on Quicken are for new users only.  If you have a CD that is for new users only you will not be able to extend your subscription with this CD's activation code.
   

Bubby_120

If I wait until 6 months before my subscription runs out, it would be too late to return the program to Amazon. I see that it says on the label Quicken Deluxe 2020, although I just bought it last month. Do you think I'd better return it before the 30 days passes?

jacobs

That's an unknown which unfortunately no one here can answer. Some older Quicken boxes have activation codes which expire after two years. There's no way to tell from the outside of the box when it was created or when the code inside would/did expire. We've had users report that if they just recently bought a package and the code inside was already expired, when they contacted Quicken Support, the Support representative was able to honor the code and extend their subscription. But if you wait five or six months after your purchase to try it, and then it doesn't work… there's no certainty Quicken Support would still honor it. So it if were me, I'd probably return it unopened if I still could. But you might luck out and have it work if you keep it.

Quicken has the 6-month policy because otherwise if someone found boxed copies on sale somewhere, they might buy five of them and try to extend their subscription for five years at the discounted price. By only allowing you to extend your subscription with 6 or fewer months remaining, it prevent people from buying and using multiple copies. 

Bubby_120

Thank you very much for your experienced advice. I decided to return it to Amazon while I still can. I thought I'd save some money - but such is life. I do enjoy using Quicken. I've been using it since 1989! It's just a pity that it became so expensive. Especially difficult for Senior citizen on a fixed income.