I want to add to your great list by noting that because of competition for voice calling among cell, Internet, and landline providers; phone number portability; the convergence of broadband, voice, and TV; and, finally, satellite TV as an alternative to cable, you can really get some amazing deals if you just ask for them or threaten to leave.

Cell carriers are changing their termination fees, with some now pro-rating them. So instead of having to pay $175 to $250 if you leave within any two-year period, it might be $25 to $100. A new carrier will often agree (in writing) to pick up your previous carrier's termination fee, and will sometimes pay you a bonus.

A year ago I was testing a T-Mobile phone system for a newspaper review (T-Mobile wasn't providing writers with review units at that time). I bought it on my own dime and returned it within the 14-day rescission period.

The manager at the T-Mobile kiosk kept offering me more and more stuff to keep the service: two $200 credits for the two lines my wife and I had at Cingular we'd have to pay fees on; $100 if we stayed customers for 90 days credited to our bill; plus the free phone and router that were part of the T-Mobile deal already. I asked if he'd put it in writing, and he said yes. I still declined, but it was remarkable.

For TV services, you can often play one off the other. When I called to cancel my cable TV (in favor of satellite), they were persistent at offering tons of discounts, including a cheaper rate for an entire year -- it would have meant hundreds of dollars off my bill. (The satellite service, by contrast, offered free dish and installation, three months' discount on monthly charges, and a $50 (with rebate) DVR--effectively $0.00 to switch from cable, and I was paying $10 less per month for more service and a better picture.)

Finally, with broadband, if you're in a market that's competitive, where a phone company, a cable company, and sometimes a firm like Clearwire all offer broadband, you can often call and threaten to switch and get a large discount. AT&T has these one-year, $15 a month plans for new subscribers that they will often extend, if you threaten cancellation, to existing ones.

Finally, I had the most remarkable credit card experience. I had a large balance at low interest and stupidly failed to pay one month. The interest rate went to 19% and I had hundreds in extra fees. I immediately transferred the balance via a home equity line of credit (higher interest than the original credit card deal, but not much higher). I called the company to cancel the card, and a retention expert offered me a full point lower than my previous deal (3% instead of 4%), and a waiver of the full month's interest. Done. (I put myself on the automatic payment plan via their Web site, too, so I never miss a payment.)