The sneaky way to get a Peacock Premium free trial

Officially, Peacock doesn’t offer a free trial, so the only way to watch its exclusive sporting events or movies such as Oppenheimer is to subscribe up front.

Unofficially, though, there’s a workaround: Peacock is currently included for free with an Instacart+ subscription, and Instacart+ does offer a free trial–with no credit card required. By signing up for the latter, you can also check out Peacock at no extra charge.

Here are the details:

Getting free Peacock through Instacart+

Instacart is primarily a grocery delivery service. You order items from one of Instacart’s partner stores, then a gig worker shops for them on your behalf and delivers them to your home. Instacart+ is a premium tier that includes free delivery on eligible orders, lower service fees, and faster delivery from eligible stores. It normally costs $10 per month or $100 per year.

Last November, Instacart added Peacock Premium (with ads) as a free benefit for Instacart+ subscribers. On its own, Peacock Premium’s ad-supported tier costs $6 per month or $60 per year, so getting it for free is a pretty nice perk.

But even if you have no interest in Instacart+, you can still use its two-week free trial period to access Peacock. The trial is available to anyone, including folks who’ve subscribed to Peacock before. Here’s how to redeem it:

• Sign up for an Instacart+ trial.
• After signing up, head to the Instacart+ benefits page.
• Scroll down to the “Unlock special offers” section, find the Peacock benefit, and click “Activate.”
• On the Peacock redemption page, enter your email address and either create or sign into your Peacock account.

If all goes according to plan, you should see a message confirming your Peacock Premium subscription, and you’ll have access to the service for as long as your Instacart+ trial remains active.

Extending your free Peacock subscription

While the standard Instacart+ trial only lasts for two weeks, MasterCard holders can currently extend the trial period to two months, including access to Peacock Premium.

To redeem the extended trial, head back to the Instacart+ benefits page and scroll to the “Unlock special offers” section. Find the “2 free months of Instacart+ with your eligible Mastercard” benefit and click “Activate.”

While this step does require you to put a credit card on file, you can still extend the trial without being auto-billed at the end. Just make sure to select “I’ll decide later” in the renewal options section after adding your MasterCard details. Unless you select a monthly or annual plan later, the subscription will automatically end after the two-month trial period.

Although Peacock’s movie and film catalog is surprisingly robust, it still leans on a small number of tentpole exclusives to lure in subscribers. After hosting an exclusive NFL Wild Gard game in January, for instance, it shrewdly scheduled the arrival of Oppenheimer for one month and one day later, thereby preventing subscription hoppers from being able to watch both with just a month of service.

Getting a free trial through Instacart isn’t a permanent solution to such tactics, but it can come in handy if there’s just one thing you want to watch. (Those who use PlayOn can also record from Peacock’s catalog for future access.)

More Peacock deals

After you’ve exhausted your free Peacock trial, there are other ways to avoid paying full price.

Peacock discounts are always available for military and veterans, first-responders, and students. Some Comcast Xfinity customers can get Peacock for free, while others can get extended trials, and a 12-month subscription is free for some JetBlue customers.

Peacock also routinely offers discount codes for both new and returning customers. None are available at this moment, but Black Friday is usually the best time to subscribe, with Peacock offering a full year for just $20 last time around. I keep an up-to-date list of deals in this TechHive article and post new codes in my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter.