3 Things You Probably Didn't Realize These Big Companies Do

This post is sponsored by Xfinity. All opinions expressed are my own.

If I asked you what Amazon does, how would you answer? Online shopping with one- or two-day delivery? How about Google? Are they merely a search engine? What if I asked you what Xfinity from Comcast offers? Would you answer television or internet services?

You might be surprised at some of the other services these three companies provide. Let’s dive in and take a look.

Amazon Fresh

Amazon Fresh is a grocery delivery service that can deliver fresh groceries to your door in under two hours. Some of you may be thinking this is nothing new. After all, you’ve been ordering cereal and cookies from Amazon for as long as you can remember.

But Amazon Fresh items aren’t shipped to you. Instead, they are hand-picked at a local grocery store or from an Amazon fulfillment center close to where you live. This is how Amazon Fresh gets your groceries to your doorstep so quickly.

Plus, because the food source is so close to your home, Amazon Fresh can offer way more than “boxed” food items that have shelf lives of several months or years. In addition to your cereal and cookies, you can order fresh bananas, avocados or even lean ground beef — or staples like a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs.

And don’t worry about those eggs breaking during shipping, because there is no shipping. Instead, an Amazon Fresh associate will hand-deliver your groceries straight to you (with maybe a few stops along the way).

The best part? With a recent change in pricing, Amazon Fresh is now included for free for all Prime members!

To find out more, visit the Amazon Fresh website.

Xfinity Mobile

These days, Xfinity goes way beyond just television and internet plans. Xfinity now offers home security and automation packages, wireless landlines, and service for your mobile phone.

With Xfinity Mobile, you get unlimited talk and text on America’s best LTE network, which covers 98% of the population. If you have an unlocked iPhone 6 or later or a Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel phone, you can switch your phone over to Xfinity Mobile with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. If your current device isn’t compatible but you are badly in need of an upgrade, you also can purchase a new device right at your local Xfinity Store.

Quite possibly the best feature of Xfinity Mobile is the ability to mix and match between flexible data plans. Why is this important? Let’s say you have a family of four – mom, dad, and two kids.

The kids love to play games, video chat and watch videos. They are going to want the unlimited plan. But mom and dad usually just check their email and social media and surf a few websites. They’ll do just fine with 1GB/month.

With Xfinity Mobile, you can get the unlimited plan for the kids and the “by the gig” plan for mom and dad.

No matter which plan you choose, you get access to millions of secure Xfinity WiFi hotspots all across the U.S. Each of those hotspots has the same network name (SSID), so you only need to connect one time. After that, your phone automatically connects to any other Xfinity WiFi hotspot it comes into contact with.

Throw in the fact that Xfinity Mobile has no long-term agreements, no pesky line access, and no activation fees, and you’ve got yourself quite a deal!

For more information, visit Xfinity Mobile.

Google Flights

You’ve no doubt used one or more of the top travel-booking sites on the web to make flight plans. Next time, try entering your travel request on Google Flights.

The start of the process will feel familiar. Enter the airport you’re flying out of and where you want to go. Next, enter the departure and return dates and click the search button.

Google then displays a list of matching flights, sorted with the best options at the top of the list. It will also indicate whether the prices you’re viewing are lower or higher than usual for the dates you selected.

Where Google Flights really shines is in its ability to broaden the search. Clicking a “Date grid” button brings up a grid of departure and return dates along with the round trip price for those days. In a flash, you’ll see the cheapest days to book your trip.

If you’re flexible about where you fly into, Google can help you save even more money. Instead of entering “Orlando” for your destination, try Florida. If you’re planning a trip to Europe, you could simply enter “Italy” or “Spain” as your destination. Google will do all the work for you and figure out the cheapest way to get you there.

When you’re ready to book, Google will send you over to the airline’s site to complete the booking. Don’t worry about trying to find the matching flight on the airline site. Google pre-populates the flight information, so all you really need to do is verify the flight information to complete the booking process.

Visit the Google Flights website to start your travel search.