Same email here. My plan renewed in May. Absolutely no advertising that I could keep my "classic" plan. It seemed like the only choice was $129 or the highway.

I just did the steps described in[0] to convert back to the "Classic" plan. Microsoft says my plan will renew in May for $99, but I'm not getting the $15 of the $30 I was forced into paying in May back. I've never used any of the Copilot "features". I'd rather have my renewal discounted by $15 to $30.

As I said in another comment: We need a US class action. It will only enrich the lawyers but it might serve as some type of deterrent to Microsoft. Maybe. Probably not.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45722444

Netflix and Spotify also auto bump the prices even for auto-renewal. I believe the issue here is that Microsoft created a new pricing category while keeping the $99 one, but bumped everyone to the new one. That is where it gets sketchy.

If they eliminated the $99 one then it might be a nothingburger.

Might be class action worthy.

To me this is what seems odd, how can you charge my card more without me explicitly allowing that?

I would have thought visa and Mastercard would have something to say about it, but they’re probably in bed with FAANG anyway.