After years of allowing some subscribers to continue paying through their Apple iTunes accounts, Netflix has notified customers that it will cut off this billing option starting immediately.

These longtime subscribers have benefited from getting to keep older, cheaper Netflix subscription rates – $9.99 per month instead of the now standard $15.49 monthly charge for the Basic plan with ads.

But no more. In an email sent to affected users, Netflix stated that “members on the basic plan who were using an iTunes method of payment” will need to sign up directly with Netflix by providing a valid credit or debit card.

While reasons were not given for ending the grandfathered Apple subscriptions, it likely comes down to Netflix wanting more control over its customer billing data and relationship. By handling all payments directly instead of letting Apple intermediate, Netflix removes a third-party from the mix.

This shift mirrors a similar move in 2018, when Netflix removed the option to subscribe directly from its iOS app, cutting off Apple’s 30% platform fee revenue share. Now Apple will lose subscriber billing revenues as well.

For grandfathered subscribers receiving the notification, choices are limited and not particularly appealing. Either start paying full price for the ad-supported Basic plan or pay $3 less but endure 5-7 minutes of ads per hour. And of course, Netflix raises prices periodically, so even the full-price option will likely cost more in the future.

So for those wistfully remembering the early $8 per month days of Netflix streaming, the Apple subscription route was one final way to defer price hikes. But Netflix continues working to maximize subscriber monetization, and the grandfathered accounts simply weren’t generating enough revenue. So long to the last vestige of affordability as the streaming landscape shifts.