Maybe some people smarter than me can understand why Bitdefender chooses to charge higher prices for automatic subscription renewals than for manual renewals.
I received an email on 04 July 2025 as follows.
Hello [Surname Forename],
We are glad you decided to continue using Bitdefender and automatically renew your subscription on September 26, 2025, and would like to show our appreciation by offering you a special price this year's renewal.
Your new special price: 135 AUD
Old price: 160 AUD
Next billing date:2025-09-26
Notice that the above email was several months before the renewal date. (And the renewal date itself was a couple of weeks before the expiration of the existing subscription.)
I then received a further email on 22 September 2025 as follows.
Renewal Notice
Renew Today and Enjoy Exclusive Savings on Bitdefender!
Hi [Forename],
We’re excited to offer you an exclusive renewal opportunity to stay safeguarded against all digital threats.
Bitdefender Total Security (Individual) 1 Year - 5 devices
Save 50%
AUD160
AUD80
While the email literally said "renew today", it was not clear that the offer would expire on any particular date, nor that it wouldn't apply to automatic renewals. I interpreted it more as meaning "if you renew on this occasion".
When the subscription was automatically renewed just five days later, on 27 September 2025, I was charged 135 AUD.
So BD can look at the amount I paid and argue that I got a discount of 25 AUD (compared to the official 160 AUD full price). But I am looking at the 80 AUD figure and wondering what the logic is for BD to offer me that price on the 22nd of September, but charge me 55 AUD more than that on the 27th of September.
—DIVERSE
P.S. I've written before about BD's marketing/offers of 'inconsistent' discounts having a potential to annoy customers. https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/308428?utm_source=community-share#Comment_308428
Note: all prices above have been rounded.