I like value so I tried this out. Not a big fan of free first year subscriptions that you have to attach a payment card to since I tend to forget the ones that I end up not using and then have to deal with a charge and refund a year later.

But for me I figured out that I'd just set up 'virtual cards' for each of the services (thank you Capital One) and then I can disable the cards before the year is up so if (or more likely, when) I forget to cancel the services I don't want to use anymore, I won't have to deal with chasing refunds. I hate chasing refunds.

Anyway, on another note, I totally forgot that I bought this and blew past the windows to activate the services. And here on January 1 of 2026 I tried activating the services. 3 of 4 still worked. The one non-starter? Otter.ai Just came back with 'code invalid'. Ah well, guess I don't get that one.

Obviously haven't used the services yet, but even so, the whole process has been a bit of a mixed bag. But I guess you can expect that when you try to chase 'deals' and find 'value' in a world of monthly subscription fees.

To be honest, I was surprised with all the 1-star reviews. I hope AS takes into account the feedback and streamlines these bundles in a better way.

Happy New Year 2026!

Cheers!