I've been trying out the Netflix streaming-only service, mostly using a Wii to display on the TV. It doesn't have everything I'd like to see (many titles are still available only through their DVDs), but it's got plenty to keep me (and the family) busy.
The web site says I can put my account on hold while I'm on vacation, so I did that while we were away. I expected it to work like my newspaper subscription: while I'm away, I don't get those papers, and I don't get charged for them. Seems fair, and I'm glad the newspaper business works this way.
When we got back, I checked my account, and the billing date hadn't changed. A little bit of googling didn't clarify how they handle it, so I called customer support.
Turns out, for streaming only, it doesn't have any effect. You can put it on hold all you want, and they still bill you on the next scheduled date. It's completely pointless.
Well, not quite. After a discussion with the customer service agent, I learned that if you have a hold that crosses the billing date, billing is delayed until it restarts. So if your vacation is conveniently scheduled across a billing date, you might get partial credit for you. But that seems like an odd policy (although it's sort of obvious about how that's easy to implement in the code for the billing system).
I had a nice discussion with the customer service agent about it. She both explained the situation and took notes on my comments about it, which is far better than most phone customer service usually goes.
Turns out the Netflix “Contact Us” page is also rather confusing. The first few links, such as “Questions about a charge?” take you back to your account information page, which is where I started. Only the final link “Call Customer Service,” actually gets you to something that resembles actual contact. So the information is there, but it's concealed by things that may be helpful, but are not actually “contacting us.”
Bottom line: don't bother with vacation holds on streaming Netflix, unless you're going to be away on your billing date. Or unless they change the policy, so keep an eye on that.