I recently received an email from XM saying that if I renew now, then I’ll get to keep my online listening account for free. I like to listen to XM online, especially now that Rogue Amoeba created Pulsar so I can broadcast XM in my house (with Airfoil) and record XM on my Mac (with Audio Hijack Pro), so I clicked on the link. When I got to the promotional page, I saw options for one, two, and three-year plans. I like to save money, so I usually buy in bulk. When I got my Honda Odyssey almost 4 years ago, I bought the 5-year XM subscription plan. I think it was around $6 a month. Today, they don’t have a 5-year plan, just a 1, 2, or 3-year plan. (3 years for $349). Curious, I decided to go to XM’s website and see when exactly will my XM subscription run out. While looking, I found the renewal options page. To my surprise, they were promoting a lifetime subscription plan for only $399. That’s only $50 more than the 3-year plan, but the lifetime plan didn’t mention anything about lifetime online listening. Just to be sure, I decided to call XM up on the phone. Sure enough, the lifetime plan does include the online service. That’s great! However, since the radio that I have is built into my Honda Odyssey, they said that the lifetime service needs to stay with the car, and is not transferrable. That sucks! Working the numbers out, as long as I keep this car for 4 years or more, getting the lifetime service is the way to go. Hopefully, the car runs for many more than that, though. And worst case, I guess I’ll be able to listen online for the rest of my life.